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At first glance it might seem that Jason Day creates tremendous speed by just using his arms, as his body seems to move far less than most Tour pros, at least in the backswing. That, however, is only partially true. What is true is that unlike most of his counterparts Day does not lower at all in the backswing or in transition. His swing progression is most decidedly upward and in front of him, and his 16 degree rise from shaft plane to the top of the swing is one of the largest on Tour. In transition he manages to make a huge lateral move without noticeable pushing off the ground, although I would argue that he is still using the ground to effect the “45 degree slide” that I often talk about in describing the optimum lower body movement to initiate the forward swing. His arms stay in front of him coming down, and he approaches and delivers the club from a position far above his original starting hand position. In another interesting dichotomy, he moves his hands nicely outward toward the ball while letting the upper right arm momentarily fall backwards. If that seems like it would cause problems it doesn’t in his case for the simple reason that he is incredibly strong and talented. He maintains perfect control of his body and his right arm still ends up unstuck and in front of his rib cage on the approach. While this is not a technique I would want a lesser talent to copy, it certainly works for him, although I believe it could be a bit better. But, as we have seen with any number of great players, talent is more important than technique, and certainly helps overcome any difficulties that are encountered. The great question, as always, is whether or not changing would lead to improvement or detract from what is a natural “feel”.
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