Nick Watney Golf Swing Analyzed

In Nick Watney we see what I would call the “prototype” of the new Tour player, namely one that is tall, strong, talented, and technique oriented. Watney is as conventional as Bubba Watson is not, and it is evident that he is technique oriented as he has managed to improve his swing over the last 3 years by fixing a faulty takeaway and working into a much less crossed position for the shaft at the top of the swing. We see here another “right load” backswing, meaning that he moves somewhat off the ball laterally with both the upper and lower body in order to “load” the right side, then recovers beautifully with lateral drive and a tremendous amount of corresponding rotation in the forward swing. Watney again shows evidence of the compression golf swing by lowering somewhat in the backswing, then significantly in the forward swing. He also demonstrates the right arm movement that I have been noting in a large amount of great ball strikers, a technique that I am now including wholeheartedly in all my lessons. It might seem surprising to see that a player of Watney’s build would have such a rotary swing, but the more I study this combination of upper and lower body rotation, facilitated by the outward movement of the hands in transition, the less surprised I am.