Two weeks ago I spent a few days at the CASTELLO MASTERS Tour event here in Valencia. I had the opportunity to get onto the practice ground and film some of the players swings in slow motion.
I just wanted to share some of my thoughts with you.
If you pause the video of Gonzalo Fernandez Castano at impact you will notice that his left arm is slightly bent at impact. This is very uncommon in elite players. Lee Westwood, Retief Goosen are other players that have the same impact position. One thing that is very important though is that the club shaft and left forearm are aligned. The bend is at the elbow not in the back of the wrist.
In the swing of Rhys Davies you will see that he has a glove tucked under his left armpit. This is a common drill that helps the player feel the connection between the upper left arm and the chest in the swing. He may be trying to make sure his left arm does lift any further than he wants through out the swing with this drill.
David Horsey has a very fundamentally sound swing. One thing to notice is the length of his arm swing. If you imagined a large clock face super imposed over his torso,his left arm would only swing to approximately 10.30. This length of swing allows him to be very consistent. He produces power from a good retention of the angle between his left arm and club shaft,during his downswing.
Jamie Donaldson has had his best year on tour in 2010. Notice how he retains the position of his hips during the back swing. He is able to rotate his shoulders over 90 degrees while maintaining limited hip turn. This is a great way of creating energy. This position highlights great mobility in his thoracic spine and hips.
Richard Bland was featured in a Q & A blog a few months ago has enjoyed his most successful year on tour to date. Richard has some classic two plane fundamentals. But I want to highlight his impact position. If you pause the swing at .30 seconds you will see how Richards left arm and shaft are aligned. There is a distinct angle between the shaft and back of right forearm. Post impact you will see a full release of the club, the toe is nicely pointing skyward. Once again classic 2 plane swing motion.
If you have any ideas on the swings you have seen or on my thoughts please post up in the comments section.
Andy
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