By Eric Woods
Xander’s fundamentals at the top of his golf swing are outstanding and an excellent example to learn from. There are a few key positions from this image that are important fundamentals to know.
Foot Work: Both feet are grounded and balanced on top of the arches so he’s not leaning forward toward his toes or back on his heels. The modern tour player swings so explosively you see their feet flying all over the place, but it’s important to know that they start the downswing from a very balanced position.
Knees: Xander’s right knee stays inside of his right foot keeping the weight on top or on the inside of the back foot. This allows him to transfer weight behind the ball creating torque and power while maintaining balance. The common flaw for the average player is allowing the weight to get outside of the right foot and lose balance and power. His relaxed left knee slightly bends allowing the transfer of weight behind the ball and load into his back leg. Many higher handicaps leave too much weight on the left leg and never transfer weight behind the ball.
Hip Turn: This is challenging for most higher handicaps, but extremely important. Xander’s right hip turns at the start of his takeaway which allows his torso to get behind the ball and load weight into his back leg. Many amateurs sway their hips laterally causing them to lose balance on the outside of the back foot.
Chest Turn: Xanders torso rotates away from the target engaging his stomach muscles and lower body while keeping his head quiet and chin pointing to the ground. Many golfers turn their shoulders and leave their chest and stomach stagnant.
Hands: His ability to keep his shoulders and arms relaxed while swinging the club and hands away from the target produces incredible extension and creates space for him to drop the club into the correct attack position on the downswing. It’s a natural instinct for amateurs to swing the club and hands around their body instead of away from the target. This gets the club stuck behind your body and forces players to go over the top and play a slap cut.
Xander makes the golf swing look easy and the fundamentals I discussed are very basic but challenging to master. Golf’s a journey, enjoy the ride.
