• 
• 
• 

Tips From The Tour With Brady Riggs

Learn from the best players in the world

Big Hitter, Great Mechanics
While most amateur players probably think there’s not much they can learn from studying the swing of an extremely fit, 21-year-old professional golfer, that’s simply not the case. In fact, there’s a lot to be learned from checking out Anthony Kim’s technique, because while he does have outstanding physical skills, his swing is simple and fundamentally sound. Most importantly, Anthony’s swing features the perfect sequence of movements, a trait that can help any player hit it longer and straighter. When studying Anthony’s swing, it’s important not to focus too much on the static positions of the club, but rather to try and appreciate how his swing is being driven by the proper loading and unloading of his body rather than the muscles in his arms and hands. AK (as he’s often called), has a swing based on building torque through stretching his body against itself and unwinding at the optimum time to produce a “cracking of the whip” through impact. Anyone who’s ever watched videos of Ben Hogan’s swing knows that while he wasn’t a physically big man, he could create tremendous clubhead speed and power through a combination of strength, outstanding flexibility and awesome mechanics. AK utilizes almost the same exact attributes to hit the ball prodigious distances with accuracy. A key to both accuracy and distance is driving the club with the pivot of your body, not the muscles in your arms.


(l-r) Anthony’s core is tight, his knees are flexed and his weight is poised in the balls of his feet—a great athletic position. The chest, shoulders and arms move the club away from the ball, not the hands. The lower body is quiet; his torso turns against his legs while he fights to maintain the angle between his stomach and right thigh.

(l-r) Anthony’s body is now in full stretch. His feet remain steady, his knees flexed and his posture is near perfect. Now the lower body takes the lead as the feet help the knees rotate all the way back around to the target. The majority of his body weight remains in the balls of his feet as the legs drag the upper body  and the club.

(l-r) The rotation of the hips begin to throw the arms and club out to the ball. There’s no independent motion here! The drive from the lower body now stops as it collides against a straight left leg and firm left side. This is power!




(l-r) Both arms have completely straightened, thrown outward by the powerful pivot of the body. The momentum of the arms and club are now dragging the body around to the finish. The right arm and club are on plane. His right side is perpendicular to the ground, his arms are relaxed and his right foot is on the toe. A great finish to a great swing!

Add Comment