Carlos Ortiz Swing Analysis: Super Aggressive Hip Rotation Helps Clear Right Arm

As I mention in the video, I played 9 holes with Carlos in 2017 in a group with Tony Romo, who I was teaching at the time, and Jordan Spieth, a good friend of Tony’s who was in between Fed Ex Cup tournaments and ranked #2 in the world at the time.  I was obviously paying more attention to Tony and Jordan, but Carlos hit it right up with them and looked to have a strong game.  He finished 24^th on the Korn Ferry Tour money list in 2018 and took advantage by winning over a million dollars in 2019 and 1.6 million last year.  He had not gotten off to a great start in 2021 but put it all together at Houston to win by 2, impressively holding off second place finishers Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama.  Carlos has a wonderful backswing with nice extension, excellent plane, and a neutral left wrist at the top, which he accomplishes with a smooth, unhurried tempo.  Listed at 150 pounds (I’m sure he has picked up some weight since then) and producing close to 180 MPH of ball speed while flying it consistently over 290 yards and averaging 300+, you would expect him to have an extra aggressive downswing move into and through impact, and he absolutely does as you will see.  That aggressive clearing of his hips is essential to his success as he needs it to counter his transition move, which moves the hands straight downward with the right arm staying behind him momentarily, a move that I’ve found problematical for the players I have taught over the years.  It is reminiscent of Rory McIlroy, who also uses extra fast hips to take the right arm past impact without it releasing out to the right.  It’s not my preference, but it is obviously workable at a high level.  He was a nice guy to play with (I’m sure he would never remember) and it was nice to see how much winning meant to him after years of hard work.