- Well hello, Adam Bazalgette here,
founder of Scratch Golf Academy.
Today we're gonna have a look
at the great swing
of Brooks Koepka, three time major champion.
(uplifting techno music) (club clicking ball)
So Brooks Koepka, let's have a look at his swing.
Now the purpose in my video, when I do swing analysis,
isn't so much to go into exhaustive detail
but to give you some things to work on.
So as we go through the video
I'll show you a couple of things
probably I would try to copy
that he does and maybe something
I wouldn't recommend so much.
And we'll give you some drills for each.
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So there he is, Brooks Koepka.
Looks like he's hitting a long iron
in each instance here.
And obviously the first thing you notice
is how strong and athletic he looks.
Looks like he's a professional
team sports player of some description.
Claude Harmon, Butch Harmon's son, is his coach.
Obviously doing a phenomenal job there
with his track record.
First thing I notice is his posture.
Very dynamic and athletic.
His hips are about on the inside of his ankle joints.
A lot of people sit with their tail back
behind their heels really.
Toe line hits him right behind the tricep.
And a pretty straight back.
Not everybody can get that straight a look
through their body line there.
But it's a very, very athletic look.
And again big, wide stance there from the front view.
Just strong and athletic.
And here's the first thing in his swing
that I would notice and the first thing
that I would copy if I was most people
without watching you swing.
And you may say, well that club face
looks a little closed to me.
I really don't think it particularly is
because again, as long has he hasn't
altered the angle in the back of that hand
just because the club face is looking down
doesn't really mean it's truly closed.
But the great majority of people
get this club back here
and they get their hands active
in the take-away.
No such movement here.
Just strong body movement off the ball.
Everything, not rigid, but everything
really together.
And I think it's just a fantastic start
to that pivot.
So let's look at something you can
work on for that.
Then we'll get right back to Brooks
and see the rest of his back swing.
Okay, this element of the swing
I'm telling you, it is hard to overdo.
And it'll do you a power of good.
Believe me, if the club stays in front of you,
stays on this side of your hands,
it is so much more likely
to get on plane and drop in.
Golfers who get it here,
unless they have the talent of
they'll have to have the talent of John Daly but
this club is predisposed to come over the top.
There's a lot of problems here.
Here's the key, there's two real keys.
Number one. Literally, you cannot exaggerate this.
I'm telling you
you would be
hard-pressed
to feel that concave angle enough,
feel the club looking at the ball enough.
Unless you're changing the angle of your hand.
You're not shutting the face, believe me.
And number two.
Whatever you do, don't try to place it there
with these hand muscles.
That's when people get into trouble.
I feel like the relationship
from my left arm to my body is
staying exactly the same.
I feel relaxed.
I'm not aiming the club with my hands.
I just have a very exaggerated sense
of that concave feel.
And, of course, just play around with it
on a small scale.
Relax your mind.
I've got a tee under this eight iron here.
I'm gonna really exaggerate that.
Small scale.
(club clicking ball)
Just chip one out there like that.
Small scale.
(club clicking ball)
Again, that was probably a little exaggerated.
I don't care. I'm getting the feel.
Let's have a look at the rest of Brook's swing.
So as we look at him complete his backswing here.
Very strong look from there.
But you'll see from this angle
his arms really ride up a lot.
That left arm really rises.
It's up in front of his face.
The left wrist starts to really bow.
Now, most golfers could not drop it in on plane
from as upright as that arm position is.
And they probably couldn't, you know, avoid.
They probably couldn't get the face square enough
through impact if they bowed their left wrist that much.
Now here's why I think that happens.
It's a little bit unusual.
At least in my humble opinion.
If you look at Brooks's knees, let's say,
at the beginning of his backswing.
Let's look at a line on his rear end.
Late in the backswing, that right knee
literally doesn't go back at all.
Nor does his right hip go back.
So his hip turn, I won't say it freezes,
but it really dries up.
And when his right leg just locks in place
his arms just go up there.
Now, listen, most people if they did that,
they would lose the tilt of their body here.
They'd start to stand up.
He's so strong and flexible
that doesn't happen to him.
But I think that's a difficult way
for most people to play so I would
certainly recommend his results.
Hey, he's athletic enough to do that
but I wouldn't recommend that move.
I would vote for something a little bit more
let's say in the Sam Snead category.
Now watch his right leg and hip.
Do you see how they push back a little bit?
And they push really
in this direction somewhat.
Now he looks wound.
He doesn't look loose up there.
But it's a lot more free
and his left arm's able
to get across his shoulders a lot more.
Let's have a look at that for you.
So best drill to get the feel for it.
Get a driver if you're not that flexible
and you need a wider object.
Just get a broom handle or something.
Put it behind your back.
The old posture drill.
But here's the key.
When you bend forward there
get your good posture.
This right side here has to go
both up and behind me.
It's in a big diagonal line that way.
Once you start to experience that
you're gonna start to feel
what you should feel in this ribcage.
And you'll see my right hip get a little taller.
My right thy go back a little bit.
This is the engine that's gonna take
those arms back in that plane
and not cause you to stall and lift it up.
You just have to customize it a little bit
for yourself.
Hey listen, I want to create some resistance
and some torque in my body for sure.
Some resistance there so I feel some
stretch up here.
But I still want to feel like I can move
and complete my backswing.
What I may have to feel like, will likely
be a little different for you.
Play around with that with a stick
til you get the right amount of resistance.
But this is going to put you
in a great spot up there.
With that great Sam Snead look
as you get to the top.
So as you look at his downswing
here's something I would highly recommend.
If I bracket his hips in
just watch the drive he gets
towards the target of those hips.
And if you watch the leaves on the trees
behind his left ear, say.
His head's pretty stable as he does it.
So as he drives those hips forward
what he creates is some side bend in the body.
His spine bends back a bit.
And that is what drops those arms back in there.
Now he can really rotate those hips a lot as well.
I think for the average person.
If they got their hips that rotated that early
in the downswing they might start
to swing too much to the left.
So, hey, if you can do that, that's fine.
But certainly that drive and those passive arms
really set him up.
Not only to get the club back on plane
but to hit the ball
in a heck of a long way.
Fantastic line of compression there
as he hits it between left arm and club.
And right through to the finish.
And in my golf teaching, I don't see
too many everyday golfers that get enough
drive of the hips towards the target.
Let's have a look at that.
Now, many golfers quite honestly don't even think
don't even realize, let's say,
there is a pretty good size
lateral hip bump in most top players.
So that's a disadvantage right there.
You can see in Brooks that that's happening, though.
So the next thing is they find it very difficult to do.
And enemy number one, I promise you,
is prematurely thrusting the club and arms down
to get that thing sped up too much.
What's going to happen,
it's going to push weight
into that foot.
These great golfers as you saw Brooks do,
they are fantastic at just momentarily
leaving the club and arms in space.
And that makes it so much easier to do.
Again you'll find without a golf club
it's pretty darn easy to shift your weight.
So problem number one.
Here's a little drill I think you'll like.
I've got this as an eight iron.
I'm going to hit a short distance off a tee.
Make it easier.
I'm going to set up to the ball.
I'm going to bring this left foot over to my right.
And I'm going to do a little step-through drill
so that when I step in I'm stepping in to
hopefully the correct position.
And what I'm going to feel is a
very exaggerated sense of
relaxation,
patience.
I'm going to make a nice, big step.
I may move my head a little bit forward.
Which I don't want to do but it's okay for this drill.
So let's try it here.
(club clicking ball)
Like that.
Really start to get the feel.
I can put pressure on that foot
before I feel any
move of the golf club.
You can do this thing.
You've just got to slow it down.
You know, people get this information.
They get out to the golf ball.
They swing at full speed.
They're judging their contact.
That's not an environment you're going
to shift this in.
So get in there now.
I've done that drill.
I've got that feel.
Get my feel here.
And again, very exaggerated sense of
putting pressure down there.
(club clicking ball)
And then swinging through a little bit like that.
Alright finally.
If you've watched some of my videos before
you've probably heard me say this.
On the downswing, don't swing at the golf ball.
That's not what we're trying to do.
This hip business we've just been talking about
is supposed to get the club coming
down as I shift forward.
Not at the ball.
Down.
Underneath me and
most importantly
headed in that direction.
That's what we're trying to accomplish here.
So remember, the club swings down
and out to the target.
Mentally not at the ball so much.
Let's see how I do here.
Small scale.
Feel the hip movement.
(club clicking ball)
Felt like I could swing underneath me
and out that way pretty well that time.
Hope this is helpful.
Well, I hope that gave you some insights into Brooks Koepka.
Super talented player.
Physically just a specimen, so.
Big fan of his.
And hopefully some things you can work on.
If you like the video,
please subscribe to the YouTube channel.
Lots of content.
ScratchGolfAcademy.com's my home website.
Hope you'll consider that.
Thanks.