Ho-Sung Choi Golf Swing: Top 25 Teachers Chime In

The Ho-Sung Choi golf swing quickly became a conversation piece on social media, drawing countless YouTube viewings and commentary across the golf media spectrum. So, Golf Tips put the question out to its Top 25 Instructors: What do you think of the South Korean sensation’s swing, including that wild finish?

Here are some of their responses.

DALE ABRAHAM

I think he’s got a pretty good golf swing as long as you don’t look at his finish. He picks the club up slightly with his hands and wrists in the initial part of his back swing, but makes a good shoulder turn which only gets his club slightly across the line at the top of his back swing. From there, he has a good transition where he starts his down swing through the shifting of his weight in his lower body to his left side, allowing the club to drop on-plane. Through the ball he is solid, then makes his crazy finish position. He is known for his demonstrative body language after he hits, but has a good swing up to this point.

ADAM BAZALGETTE

No doubt he delivers the club nicely. All the add-on stuff with aiming right, then jumping around after contact, masks a decent delivery to me.

No doubt he’s gifted, and plays with a very uncluttered mind, too.

ALISON CURDT

I think one main reason his swing works for him is because he believes in it. The ball only knows impact conditions, so what happens before and after impact can be personal to the player. As long as impact has the right conditions, as Ho-Sung correctly does, then the shot can be successful.

I personally think his successful swing is great for the game. It shows that there are many different ways to hit the golf ball successfully!

VICKI GOETZE-ACKERMAN

Looking at Ho-Sung Choi’s swing, he gets the club in a lot of good positions. He loads up extremely well into the right side on his backswing, which is probably helped by his closed stance. He comes into the ball from the inside, but I don’t think at the level to cause the crazy antics at the end of his swing. He does need to come up on the left foot due to his feet alignment, and turn with the right side of his body, but the extra foot work is for show. His swing looks very natural and fluid vs. mechanical.

BARRY GOLDSTEIN

I love it because it’s 100 percent his, and he owns it. His years of hard work, sweat and determination have made that golf swing work for him under pressure. And that is all a golf swing is designed to do. I give him a lot of credit.

BOB GRISSETT

This goes to the the crux of everything. “Impact is king.” While there are preferred ways of delivering the club, many players through time have had very unique swings but get the matchups right at impact. Jim Furyk, Gay Brewer, Miller Barber, Jim Thorpe, Charles Owens, Calvin Peete, Ed Furgol: all had unique swings BUT all had great impact alignments. If you can have the path and face alignments fairly close, then you can create a tighter cone.

Ho-Sung Choi has found a way to create good impact alignments with great face/path control, with a swing that works under pressure for him. He actually achieves some very good body positions from start to impact. Another great player whose feet are everywhere is Bubba Watson.

ROB LABRITZ

Impact is very good. His weight is going toward the lead leg and the club is coming down on a nice path. He understands the club face as well. Great showman!

TOM PATRI

Years ago we watched Calvin Peete play with a permanently bent left arm; he repeated the motion beautifully.

Along came a guy named John Daly; he seemed to wrap the shaft around his head. He won two majors.

Then this guy name Jim Furyk appeared and swung like an octopus falling out of a tree. He has done just fine.

I could continue to name another 12 to 15 examples of slightly out-of-the-classical-norm type motions.

Ho-Sung Choi is just another amazing and talented freak of nature that as Adam stated plays golf his way and totally uncluttered. I love Jim Roy’s comment (below) that at hip to hip, Choi is pretty darn good. After all, isn’t that the area that matters most? The rest is simply window dressing.

Now understand: I’m not suggesting others follow Choi’s lead and throw time-tested fundamentals out the window. I’m simply suggesting that while you are in search of the perfect golf swing (which doesn’t exist by the way), allow a bit of your own personality to be part of your golf journey.

JIM ROY

If you look past the antics, I think his motion is great. Hip to hip, his club is in real good shape. I love how his club has a slinging motion. You get the impression all he’s thinking is “target!” As Adam Bazagette said, he’s uncluttered.

TINA TOMBS

I like Ho-Sung Choi’s Golf Swing: His motion matches his personality as well as what he can do physically. His set-up allows him to swing the golf club the way he naturally wants to swing the club and in motion for his whole golf swing.

He has his right foot back (closed stance), which may look like he is aligned right of the target line, but his upper body is aligned perfectly. He does this to allow for more room for his upper body, arms and golf club to be efficient during his transition, and also to give him better ground reaction forces throughout his swing.

He has an “on top” right hand grip, and because his right hand is more on top, he needs this kind of set up — this allows him to take the club outside the hands, with the on-top takeaway, and leave more room for him to swing his arms and club to the inside on the down swing to have the great impact position that he has. As we know, impact is the moment of truth!

He uses the ground efficiently, and all that he does at the finish is a release and maybe for show. Because everything is really good.

DEB VANGELLOW

Golf swings don’t win tournaments, PEOPLE Do. Anyone who shoots 67 under tournament play pressure has my respect — immediately. Any commentary on this golf swing motion hopefully agree that the swing motion through impact is very good. It does not mean post-impact is undesirable (and so what if it is). Rather it shows individuality, style, and uniqueness.