Online Students: Stephen O’Neill

By Wayne | Videos: Online Students

Stephen has an excellent looking swing that could really use the compression movement in backswing to add power and to bring the hands to impact closer to the body, which would help make the squaring of the clubface less problematical than with his high approach. If you look at Stephen’s upper trunk turn in the backswing it becomes apparent that there is room for more coiling of the upper body as the swing heads to the top. In order to get this increased trunk rotation and not lose the brace in the right leg Stephen needs to push the right hip and leg back (while keep his right knee flexed) and make sure that he does not lift up in the backswing. In addition, he can move his hands a little deeper in the second half of the backswing so that his left arm goes a bit more across him and his right elbow gets more to his side at left arm parallel (as seen from the DTL view). From face on it would be nice to increase the space between the hands and the right leg when the shaft is parallel to the ground in the backswing. The combination of these items should help increase Stephen’s upper trunk coiling and make his swing a bit longer and more loaded which can’t help but make the ball go further. Also, creating space in front of the waist by pushing the hips deeper in the takeaway and in the rest of the backswing should make it easier to get the hands to approach impact from closer to the body, which should help to make the release of the club face less complicated.
 
I’m sure some will comment that Stephen’s body type may not allow for a full application of the principals I am discussing, but I believe that even if there are limitations physically that does not preclude the player from attempting to head in that direction. I see Stephen with a swing that is a bit longer and uses the ground more effectively, which I would hope would not only make him longer but more precise as well.