Louis Oosthuizen
1
Set-up. The balance and posture at address is beautiful. He could probably maintain this position for ages before any muscles started to ache. It’s all very peaceful. Louis is not a player who looks as though he’s about to burst out of the blocks for a 100-metre sprint.
2
Takeaway. His upper body works to move the club back on a natural arc, nicely on the inside. The clubface is neutral and still square with his chest, which is really good. He’s taking the clubface away so it is open, but only relative to the amount of shoulder turn he’s got.
3
Top of backswing. The position (four from the top left), I’d describe as a classic Ernie Els look – lots of width without speed in the backswing. It’s a gradual extension, so by the time he gets to the top it looks really neutral. Note how square the clubface is at the top.
4
Downswing. The swing plane is identical going down and going back. Because he masks speed so well, it almost looks like a very relaxed position. The best way to describe his transition is ‘graceful’ – I don’t think there’s anyone on the planet who wouldn’t want a technique like this.
5
Impact. Just prior to impact, he has a more dynamic position. The legs and hips are fully rotated, so there’s a fair amount of speed in the lower body helping to unwind that relaxed position. The clubhead position in the moments before impact is virtually the same as it was on the takeaway.
A simple turn completes this graceful action
6
Finish. The posture he creates at address with the spine angle over the ball is maintained through to the finish. He doesn’t come off the ball or change his shape in any way. I really like how he just turns towards the target. It looks lazy, but he’ll have created a lot of speed.