2014 United States Golf Teachers Cup Champion Swing Analysis
Dave Belling is now a two-time champion of the United States Golf Teachers Cup, and a big reason is his very sound swing. Here is an analysis of his swing by USGTF national course director Mark Harman.
- Here, Dave is approaching the ball from behind after visualizing the shot he wants to hit. Approaching the ball from behind is standard operating procedure for good golfers prior to taking their setup.
- Dave has a fairly narrow stance for a driver, indicating his hips will be more centered throughout his swing, and at first glance his ball position appears to be farther forward than normal. But, with a narrower stance, his sternum is closer to his left foot, so his ball position is actually perfect since it is just inside his left shoulder.
- At the top of his backswing, Dave is textbook here. His spine is angled away from the target and his lower body has responded to the turning of his upper body. He gets a very good shoulder turn while not letting his hips turn too much – a recipe for power.
- Starting down, Dave maintains the angle from his left arm to the shaft, but this is in response to his lower body leading the downswing. And although he doesn’t have a big lateral shift, his hips have moved more laterally than rotationally at this point, which can cause the club to approach the ball from too far inside. However, because his narrow stance means his hips stay fairly centered, in the next picture we’ll see how Dave adjusts for that.
- Dave’s lower body has stopped moving laterally from the transition position and has rotated to this position, which prevents the club from approaching too much from the inside. As a result, his clubhead is moving down the target line at impact. His hips are not as open as some at this stage, but as long as the club is doing what he wants, that’s not a problem.
- Because Dave’s hips have not rotated a great deal through impact, here we see he has more of a hands release than a body release. Great champions throughout history have employed both releases to great success.
- It can’t get any better than this. Dave has fully released both the club and his body, indicating a great freedom of movement.… the finish of a champion!
