That’s what all good golf swings have in common, says Tiger Woods’ ex-coach

Sean Foley has long been recognized as one of the finest teachers in the business and his clients have included Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Lydia Ko. So when Foley talks about the intricacies of swing and guidance at the highest level of the game, it’s hard not to sit and listen.

On this week’s episode of Subpar, Foley appeared alongside David Woods (with whom Foley developed the ProSENDR training aid) and one of the many golf swing topics that Foley and Woods shared with Subpar presenters Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz discussed, the similarities were All good golf swings share.

Spoiler alert: It starts with the right wrist and trailing arm.

“In pretty much every sport where we release an object or let go of the racquet, the right wrist is extended, then the right shoulder is raised, and then external rotation,” Foley said. “As humans, who — we’ve thrown javelins and stones in evolution — it’s very natural for us, it’s a very natural feeling for us.

“I think that’s why I coined the term that right wrist and hind arm a long time ago — in conversation with some of the great biomechanics experts I spoke to — that the hands and arms are the GPS for the golf swing, and that.” “The fingers are the computer’s keyboard,” he continued. “So what these things do is very, very important. Just those changes that you see in me here make the difference between compressing a ball and hitting a lob shot.”

“There are many basic rules that every good golf swing must have,” Woods added. “There can be different swing styles. PGA Tour Players: The last time the shaft is parallel to the ground before impact, they all look pretty similar from that point to the ball, regardless of how they look on top.”

Woods explained that there are many differences on the Tour when it comes to the look of a swing and it’s important to “train the good out of them.” But for recreational players in particular, understanding the role of the hands in the swing is crucial.

“I spend a lot of time teaching my people how to lean the ball forward a little and how to bounce and throw the ball. If someone can be a really great player from 9th to 5th position, I think it’s much easier to become a better player from there. If you’ve got someone who can’t make it, my boy, he’s going to have trouble being a good ball forward.”

For more from Foley and Woods, including how Rory McIlroy first started using the ProSENDR, watch the full episode below.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year-old member of Columbia’s premier class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can birdie anyone on the masthead. She can also outperform in the office, where she is primarily responsible for producing print and online features and overseeing large special projects, such as the first style issue of GOLF, which came out in February 2018. Her original interview series, A ‘Round With’, was released in November 2015 and appeared in both magazine and video form on GOLF.com.