Instructors Reflect on Matthew Wolff's Swing

Golf Tips Magazine just posted thoughts on Matthew Wolff's swing from several of their instructors. I thought you might enjoy reading the article.



Not surprisingly, all of them are quite happy with it, even praising its unconventionality. I don't think that's unexpected. After all, Wolff had a proven college record and has now backed it up with a PGA Tour win. I doubt anybody would take them seriously if they didn't praise him!

The main thing you can take from this is how important all these instructors believe impact is, even more important than the other mechanics of the swing. You can only affect the ball's flight at the instant of impact, brief though it is, and you'll get good results if the impact is good.

But I'll simplify this a bit more: As long as you can control where the clubface is pointed at impact, you can play this game. Impact includes more than this, of course. Impact includes the club path and the angle of attack (whether the club is headed downward, parallel to the ground or upward at the actual moment you hit the ball) as well as where the clubface is pointed. To get maximum distance and accuracy, you need all three of those things to be reasonably good.

However, if you can just make sure that clubface is aimed where you want it aimed when you hit the ball, the ball will go where you want it to go.

• If the path is off from what you intended, the ball will still curve toward where you had the clubface aimed.
• If the angle of attack is off from what you intended, the ball may not travel as far nor on the trajectory that you intended. But the ball will still go toward where you had the clubface aimed.

Let me repeat that: As long as you can aim that clubface where you want the ball to go, it will go there.

That's what Matthew Wolff does. And as long as he continues to do that, he'll do well at this game, regardless of how unusual his swing looks.