Patrick Reed Swing Analysis: Swing Changes Simplify Release Action

The story from the TV announcers during the Torrey Pines event was that Patrick Reed had begun working with David Leadbetter and that Reed was getting accustomed to the swing changes.  He was a bit vague about what they were working on, but he did mention trying to get his hands to release more in tandem with his body.  Reed in the past has played with a cupped left wrist and an extremely open face well into the downswing, but his genius in squaring the face without much if any lateral hip movement is obvious.  In the new swing it appears that they have flattened the left wrist at the top and slightly shortened the swing (the flatter wrist will sometimes do that without conscious effort), making the face less open at the top, in transition, and into impact, allowing Reed to square the face without as much forearm and wrist roll, which also allows him to move his hands and arms more around to the left through impact with less “chase” of the right arm releasing out to the right.  It should feel like a simpler, more “body driven” release with less hand action required, and with the rest of the swing looking pure and his short game and putting other worldly Reed will be a force in the weeks and months to come.  Watch for him at Augusta.