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After winning the British Open by 7 shots in 2010 everyone figured that Louie would be a top 10 performer and multiple major winner. He has finished 2nd in all 4 majors, which is a feat, but that Open Championship is the only PGA Tour win he has ever had, and that’s with over 180 starts. He is quite consistent year to year (he’s played in 4 President’s Cups) and has amassed earnings of over $20 million, but you must wonder why he hasn’t won more. His swing is one of the most aesthetically pleasing in all of golf. He has a wonderful, fluid, continuous motion pivot that looks effortless but still produces an average drive of just under 300 yards. The smooth nature of his action makes his swing at full speed look flawless and something everyone would want to emulate. But a closer look in slow motion reveals something you would never expect: a flip or throw release, which can work fine with a driver but is almost never seen from a Tour player with an iron. Louie’s right arm is flared and well bent at the top, and in the forward swing he makes no effort to adduct the upper arm forward, allowing it to come down passively away from and behind his right side. His wide approach gives him far less forward shaft lean that is common, and his ability to square the face consistently with the left wrist extending just after impact is quite unique. This is another swing that tells you that while there are general preferences golf instructors might have, there is always a great player who does nothing like what that preference is. In my case I have never felt like I hit the ball solid when my release looks like this, and thus I recommend to all my students to attempt to get shaft lined up with the left arm as the left wrist reaches the edge of the left leg after impact.
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