Matt Jones Swing Analysis: Classic Positions with Quiet Lower Body

At age 40 Matt Jones will admit that he has had an up and down PGA Tour career marked by streaks of good play (2013 to 2015) and not so good play (2016-2018), but for the most part he is a solid grinder who has played in an average of 24 PGA Tour events a year since 2008, finishing in the top 125 in half those years and amassing over $15 million in earnings.  Coming off a missed cut and a T-55 in his last 2 events Jones was probably approaching the Honda Classic with a “see what happens” attitude, and what happened was he shot 61 in the 3^rd round and eventually won by 5 with a stellar ball striking performance, hitting 17 greens in regulation on Sunday on one of the toughest courses on Tour.  Jones was a breath of fresh air to the TV announcers with his lightning quick set up routine, especially after being put to sleep by Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth (just to name 2 especially fidgety players), and his one look and go technique seemingly left no time whatsoever for any conscious swing thoughts.  It certainly appeared that he didn’t need any as he was totally dialed in with all parts of his game.  His swing is a model of efficiency as he keeps the club on plane throughout the swing while making a full backswing turn with his feet and lower body quiet and his left heel on the ground, even with driver.  He consistently produced 176-179 mph of ball speed while almost exclusively shaping the ball from right to left both off the tee and from the fairway.  His mechanics are exemplary and worthy of copying, although you will have to be supple to get that full motion with the feet that quiet.  I like to see that quiet lower body in anyone’s swing, and I would rather see a shorter, more efficient swing than one that seeks more backswing length by making a bigger hip turn.

Join the forum discussion on this post