Jordan Spieth Talks About His Swing (Video)

Nearly two months ago, Golf Digest posted a video with Jordan Spieth explaining his "chicken wing" move and why he thinks it works. Since he's leading The Open after the first round, I feel this is a good time to take a peek at it.



This video does a couple of things. It not only explains why Jordan makes the move -- it's how he keeps the face square longer, to improve his accuracy -- but it explains the science behind why you should pay more attention to face angle. You'll learn a lot.

But I want you to understand something that this video glosses over. It's implied that Jordan's success with this move is because it's a better way to be accurate. That's just wrong. If that were true, someone would have discovered that fact long ago because "chicken wings" aren't new. This move definitely works for Jordan, and would likely work for a large number of players.

That doesn't mean it's right for everybody, any more than Sergio's swing is right for everybody or Jim Furyk's swing is right for everybody.

If you take a look at past history, you'll see this fascination with the hottest players' swings at work over and over. For example:

• Instructors initially said Ben Hogan's swing was "too flat"... until he started beating everybody with it. Then they said it's the best swing ever.
• They said Jack Nicklaus's "flying elbow" in his backswing was wrong... until he started beating everybody. Then they called it a power move.
• It wasn't that long ago that you were supposed to keep both feet firmly on the ground during your swing... until guys like Bubba started knocking the cover off the ball. Now they call it "using the ground."

Let me also point out something that wasn't mentioned at all. Jordan prefers to play a fade. In the past, players were told not to "chicken wing" because it would cause a slice. But now we're told that the most desirable shot shape is a fade because "you want to eliminate the left (hook) side of the course."

If you want to play a fade, Jordan's "chicken wing" may be exactly what you need. But if you're after a draw, you might want to keep looking.

Don't let the popular fad of the moment determine how you swing a club. The way Jordan swings might be right for you, or it might not. But no matter whose swing is being praised, always choose your approach based on knowledge, not fads.