Brooke Henderson’s fairway swing is a clear example of two things: Takeaway Width and Inside Attack. I teach both these features to my students to help them create distance.
Here is some great slow motion down the line video of Canadian LPGA Tour star, Brooke Henderson courtesy of GolfSwingHD. Pause the video at the point on the video indicated by (mm:ss) to match my comments.
Brooke’s Takeaway – 00:06
Width starts to happen on the takeaway. We measure width when the shaft is parallel with the ground on the way back. See how Brooke’s clubhead is outside of, or to the right of her hands. This is width and she is on her way to making a nice big swing circle, which is one of the major factors in distance.
Note that you could also have the club face “blocking” the hands at the point, which I call “straight back with width”. The shaft is parallel with your toes when you take it straight back.
Brooke’s Inside Attack – 00:15
Inside Attack is measured by me when the club is parallel with the ground on the downswing. At this point, especially with the longer clubs, the club face is now to the left of, or “inside” the hands. This is a slight inside, or inside attack with the club face swinging from 7:00 to 1:00 path toward impact.
Note how her right elbow is “brushing” her hip at this point! Players can more easily draw the ball from this position and tend to benefit from the extra roll the draw over spin provides!
Golf becomes more fun for many of us when the downswing “fits under” the backswing. Brooke has this down, along with many other great swing characteristics and will undoubtedly win more big tournaments, including majors! I’m looking forward to watching!
Pete
