I have always said that there are only a few things that great players never do, and move the head well in front of its starting position anywhere in the forward swing would be one of those. Once again we see that there will always be someone who can do stuff like that and still be great. Jordan Spieth does some great things in his swing and he has always been a top notch player, but there is some questionable technique there that I believe he will eventually clean up and take care of. He is exceptionally talented; he has great rhythm, he’s nicely on plane in the backswing and forward swing, and he produces a world class impact with his irons. He uses a similar impact with his driver, and usually this doesn’t turn out so well, although he is certainly an exception to that rule. It is an athletic swing with a lot of triggering movement, but there is virtually zero movement to the right in the backswing, while in the forward swing there is a significant amount of forward head movement. Just about every teacher in the world would call that “getting ahead of it”, and I would always encourage my students to keep the head in the box in the downswing. Many good players back up behind the box at impact, especially with the driver, but Spieth just backs his up right back into the box by the time he hits it. Spieth’s grip is fairly neutral to weak, and he flattens it after he forward presses in the takeaway and keeps it that way throughout the swing, accentuating the bow as the shaft reaches parallel to the ground in the forward swing. His right hand index finger tends to stick out during the swing, which looks funny but has no real bearing on how the grip functions. It will certainly be fascinating to watch whether or not he can continue his stellar play with this overall technique, and it will also be fun to see if he changes any of it going forward. One thing is for sure, he’s not going to change it in the short term.
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Jordan also won the Australian Open by six, the week before, shooting a 63 in the last round in tricky conditions. Based on the basic stats, he did it with some awesome putting and fairly average ball-striking. GIR% were 56, 44, 72, 61. Putts were 24, 24, 29, 21.
Wayne
Your Charles Howell analysis 2 years ago showed him moving his head forward in transition. He appears to have reduced this as well as the lifting at the top of the swing .His 2014 stats show higher launch angle , less backspin plus greater distance which indicate a shallower approach. Might a big year be in prospect ?
Also would love to see short analyses of former tour stars like Strange, Mediate, Lyle , Woosnam etc . Was perplexed for years how Sandy Lyle hit the ball so far with such a short flat backswing. Your ideas of pivot compression and use of the ground have now provided an explanation. See his swing on the 72nd tee of the ’85 British Open. From standing tall at address he lowers going back and again in transition creating tremendous torque.
It’s very noticeable in the last two swings just how well Spieth keeps the club in front of him in the downswing. In the down the line view, he has the look of the clubhead and shaft already tracking left, even before he has reached impact. In a way, it reminds me a little of Hale Irwin and other classic faders, in this regard. Because of the way Spieth holds on through the ball, not letting that left wrist break down, it seems to me that the ball would rarely miss left. And no fear of the left miss for a right-handed player creates a lot of physical and mental freedom. Toss in his great putting, and it’s no wonder he’s playing consistently better than anyone in the world right now.
I don’t see Jordan get lower by squatting like other good players as he seems to turn the hip s forward then left. You show the club does flatten at the top when he starts down. How does he do this this way?