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At 6’5” and 190 pounds and 25 years of age Pieters is one of the new generation of big, rangy guys who hit the ball a mile but has the rest of the game to go with their length. Pieters finished a solid 4th in this year’s Masters (where these swings are taken from) and has a 5th in a WGC event and a 2nd at Riviera to add up to a stellar start to the season. He has 3 wins in Europe and was arguably the star of the European Ryder Cup team, and when you watch his swing, both at regular speed and slowed down, you see excellent mechanics that portend a consistent rise to the top of the game. With his size, you wouldn’t think that he has any real need to create extra lag in his swing, but while the overall movement looks smooth and unhurried there is a real “catch” in transition as he starts his lower body forward before the backswing is finished. If you were going to make a general statement about his swing it would be that he “keeps it in front of him”, with his upper right arm and shoulder staying somewhat externally rotated for the entire backswing (i.e. the upper right arm points back at the camera from down the line). He does this to such a degree that his shaft does not flatten at all in transition. This use of the right arm is like that of Adam Scott and Sergio (and Tiger for that matter) and requires full use of the upper trunk (and a lot of trunk mobility) to complete the turn and start down without the right shoulder pulling backwards. It appears to be a swing that would lend itself to a natural fade, another advantage of being able to produce lots of clubhead speed. All in all, it is a clean, simple looking action that should produce consistently good ball striking results.
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