After his standout 2015 campaign; 5 PGA Tour wins (1 Major) and his recent wins at the ’16 Arnold Palmer Invitational and WGC-Dell Match Play, Jason Day has most certainly solidified his place among the golfing elite. Day’s has epitomised the phrase “if it first you don’t succeed, try and try again”, as he has continuously put himself in position to win major championships over the last two years. Down the stretch at whistling straits there was no stopping him as he flushed one after another down the middle of the fairway in a display that 2 time major winner Jordan Spieth described as “a stripe show” and “a clinic”. Day is one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour but his consistency tee to green is even more impressive.
SET UP
One of the most noticeable things throughout Jason’s swing are how sound his fundamentals are. Looking at Jason’s address position on the left you will see he has a wide stance to help create a very stable base to strike the ball from. As we look at the down the line view on the right hand side you will see he almost sits into his posture a little which when combined with his wide stance will help him create an exceptionally stable lower body throughout his golf swing. Day’s arms hang nicely below his shoulders in a very relaxed looking position and he has a very neutral spine as he addresses the golf ball.
THE TAKEAWAY
Day begins to take the club back you will notice he does all the simple things right. He starts the club away by turning his shoulders and maintaining a very wide stretch with his arms. Looking at the face on image on the left you will see Jason has maintained fantastic stability in his lower body as he begins to coil into his right hip and set the club. This stability in his lower body definitely plays a huge part in the consistency that Day displays every time he competes. As we look to the image on the right you will see just how much width he has actually created as he takes the club back, he has also managed to keep the club just above the plane line and the face perfectly square to his spine angle.
HALF WAY BACK
As the club begins to approach the top of the golf swing Jason creates a huge arc with his hands and arms, while maintaining a very stable lower body. By doing this he has strated to create a lot of separation between the lower and upper body. This is commonly known as “x factor stretch” and is very common among some of the longest hitters on tour. You will see on the right hand side he really coils into his right hip, almost using it as resistance to “spring from” when he wants to apply the power in the downs wing. You will also see he has managed to keep his hands in front of his chest which will help reduce the chances of dropping the club underneath the plane line and missing left too often.
TOP OF THE BACKSWING
This to me is one of the strongest attributes of Day’s golf swing. We see so many players that as they approach the top of the backswing their shoulders cannot turn any further so they allow the club to lift or ‘carry on” with the arms. This move can often affect how the club transitions into the downswing and in turn can really affect consistency and direction. In Jason’s swing we can see he keeps the club in a nice short position, and never allows the arms to lift or run away from the body, by doing this he can unload all of the energy he has stored up to this point at the golf ball with no fear of a big miss. His lower body is in a fantastic position in both images, and as you will notice little or no lateral shift of his hips.
HALFWAY DOWN
As Jason delivers the golf club to the ball you will notice his sequencing is fantastic. From the top of the backswing his first movement towards the ball starts with the lower body bumping towards the golf ball and “closing the gap” with the line we have drawn opposite his lead foot. You will also notice he manages to maintain a lot of similarities to the backswing on the right hand side, where he has managed to keep the club above the plane line and both the clubface and left wrist appear to be in a very neutral position.>
IMPACT
Jason’s Impact position is fantastic, he has transferred his weight into his lead foot and maintained a very flat left wrist as he approaches impact. His hips have cleared nicely out of the way without becoming over active and as a result he has posted nicely on his lead foot. You will notice with Jason his footwork throughout the swing is minimal, he keeps everything nice and quiet in the backswing as he loads up his right hip and on the way down manages to maintain his posture through the golf ball.
THE RELEASE
Jason’s release is typical a powerful hitter. You will see he almost chases the golf ball with his arms as he extends them post impact. One of the keys to Jason’s ball striking is his ability to maintain his spine angle through the shot. You will see most powerful hitters will have a tendency to “stand up” or “early extend” through the golf ball. This would be one of the most frequent issues you will see as amateurs attempt to generate a significant amount of speed in their golf swing.
THE FINISH
Jason’s finish merely gives us a further example of the balance and poise he had shown up to that. The power and athleticism that he shows throughout will definitely make him a tough one to beat in the future.
