The secret to PGA golfer Dustin Johnson’s trademark driver swing? It’s all in the wrists. Hank Haney explains in this episode of Swing Like a Pro.
Transcript:
We’re lookin’ at Dustin Johnson’s swing.
He has one of the most unique swings in the game of golf.
Not only is he one of the most powerful players in the game,
but he has the most different wrist position
at the top of his swing of any other player
who plays the game.
There are three wrist positions
you can really have at the top,
a flat-left wrist position, a cupped wrist position,
and a bowed wrist position.
Dustin Johnson is very bowed
at the top of his swing, uniquely so.
When he swings the golf club back, what happens is,
is his right wrist bends back,
and that tends to start to bow his left wrist.
So as his right wrist bends back, his left wrist bows.
By the time Dustin gets to the top of his swing,
you can see how pronounced his left wrist is
in a bowed position.
This puts the clubface also in a very closed position,
which makes it difficult for an average golfer
to get the ball up in the air.
This is the most common mistake that ladies have
when they first start to play the game.
For one reason or another,
it seems like every lady who starts to play golf
gets their left wrist in exactly this position
at the top of the swing.
And the clubface has no loft.
That’s one of the reasons why they cannot
get the ball up in the air.
I watch people all the time when they’re givin’ tips
to their girlfriend, or their wife,
and they’re tellin’ ’em to turn their body,
and do this, and do that, and this is the wrist position
that they have at the top of the swing,
and they never will be able to get the ball up in the air.
How’s Dustin Johnson do it?
Well, at impact, by the time he gets to the impact position,
he’s corrected that.
Let me show you this.
So you can see here, he’s started to get his left wrist
in a much better position.
It’s almost flat right now.
Much different than it was at the top of the swing,
and by the time he gets to impact,
he’s gonna have that left wrist flat to the target.
For all intents and purposes,
your left wrist is your clubface.
You want the back of your left hand
to face the target at impact.
If it’s bowed, it’s gonna be delofted.
You want it to be pretty flat,
so that you’ve got the right amount of loft on the club.
This would be too much loft,
not enough loft here, flat would be neutral loft on the golf club. And that’s where he’s gonna be at impact. The position he’s in now allows him to just rip through the golf ball, and not have to worry about hittin’ the ball to the left.
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Dustin Johnson’s Golf Swing Secret is All in the Wrist | Hank Haney: Swing Like a Pro | Golf Digest
