Notes on the Players Championship
With all the rain the last 11 days, it gave me a chance to watch a lot of the tournament. I was impressed how Henrik Stenson responded to his poor finish in Saturday's round. He bogeyed #16 from the middle of the fairway, and then 3 putted from 7 feet on #17. However, on Sunday he was by far the best player.
A few words about his caddy, Fannie. He has now won the Match Play and the Players with her on the bag. Being able to converse in your native tongue has to be comforting. Plus, she has won majors with Nick Faldo.
Tiger is definitely struggling. His knee does not allow him to make his old swing. If you watch Tiger from the 97 Masters, he played with a shut face with the club going across the line at the top. To be successful from here, you must be more open at impact in your lower body. Trevino and Duval were both shut faced players. To keep the club face from closing at impact they would move their left hip very open. Tiger gets to the open lower body position by snapping his left leg straight. This really stresses the knee. To maintain this swing requires a lot of work and great timing.
Did you notice how well he swung the club left handed? His follow through looked far more natural than his right handed swing. His right handed swing looks forced. He must munipulate the club to keep on plane and square.
The solution? Tiger must set up with more sideways tilt in his spine. His shoulders will be more tilted. This will allow his right shoulder and hip to rotate around his body. Then he can simply rotate his body through impact without having to snap his leg straight or use his hands to square up the face.
This was the first opportunity to see Ian Poulter play. I was suprised how laid off the club is at the top of his swing. He swings a lot like Jerry Kelly. Ernie Els has a similar look at the top of his swing. In Ernie's case, his grip is too weak. Poulter and Kelly have something in their grip, set-up, or alignment which does not fit them.
I know this sounds like a broken record but, your grip, set-up and alignment must be right for you.
Thanks,
Mike Hurley
With all the rain the last 11 days, it gave me a chance to watch a lot of the tournament. I was impressed how Henrik Stenson responded to his poor finish in Saturday's round. He bogeyed #16 from the middle of the fairway, and then 3 putted from 7 feet on #17. However, on Sunday he was by far the best player.
A few words about his caddy, Fannie. He has now won the Match Play and the Players with her on the bag. Being able to converse in your native tongue has to be comforting. Plus, she has won majors with Nick Faldo.
Tiger is definitely struggling. His knee does not allow him to make his old swing. If you watch Tiger from the 97 Masters, he played with a shut face with the club going across the line at the top. To be successful from here, you must be more open at impact in your lower body. Trevino and Duval were both shut faced players. To keep the club face from closing at impact they would move their left hip very open. Tiger gets to the open lower body position by snapping his left leg straight. This really stresses the knee. To maintain this swing requires a lot of work and great timing.
Did you notice how well he swung the club left handed? His follow through looked far more natural than his right handed swing. His right handed swing looks forced. He must munipulate the club to keep on plane and square.
The solution? Tiger must set up with more sideways tilt in his spine. His shoulders will be more tilted. This will allow his right shoulder and hip to rotate around his body. Then he can simply rotate his body through impact without having to snap his leg straight or use his hands to square up the face.
This was the first opportunity to see Ian Poulter play. I was suprised how laid off the club is at the top of his swing. He swings a lot like Jerry Kelly. Ernie Els has a similar look at the top of his swing. In Ernie's case, his grip is too weak. Poulter and Kelly have something in their grip, set-up, or alignment which does not fit them.
I know this sounds like a broken record but, your grip, set-up and alignment must be right for you.
Thanks,
Mike Hurley
posted by PGA Professional at 7:31 AM
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