It probably goes without saying that if you are a regular reader of Golf Tips Magazinemore than likely you are a devoted swing junkie constantly on the lookout for the next great thing. You admire movements that are both aesthetically pleasing and that also produce extraordinary results on a consistent basis.
If you don’t watch the LPGA tour as much as I do, perhaps you are not familiar with the swing of Minjee Lee which is elegant in its simplicity while directing the golf ball where she wants it to go on an amazingly consistent basis. Since joining the LPGA in 2015, she has won 11 times including three major championships, most recently the KPMG LPGA title.
If you are looking for textbook posture, this is it. Her lower back is flat with no arch. Her arms are hanging straight down and are totally relaxed and soft. Her armpits are over her kneecaps and balls of feet. The end of the club is roughly a hand width from her body. All of these elements put her in the proper position to be able to rotate thoroughly through impact which is a key to her impressive power.
When the shaft is parallel to the ground halfway back the clubhead is toe up and slightly outside her hands. Nowadays most instructors (me included) prefer to see the clubhead tipped forward so that it matches her spine angle. For multiple centuries golfers were told that toe up was square. In reality, it’s open. When the club is tipped forward it is perpendicular to the path. That is the definition of square. Minjee corrects this issue at the top when she bows her left wrist which immediately puts the clubface parallel to her left forearm. It doesn’t really matter when or where you square the face as long as it happens prior to impact. Interestingly, Graeme McDowell does the same late bowing and both he and Minjee are US Open winners.
Great swings are a product of great set ups and Minjee’s could not be more fundamentally sound. She has a very neutral grip with two knuckles on her left hand showing when she looks down. She positions her right thumb a bit more on top of the handle than most great players. Generally, I’m not a fan of this because when most amateur golfers do this they tend to press down hard with that thumb which is not an ideal thing to do. Her thumb is very soft and relaxed with no downward force directed toward the handle.
Her feet are spaced approximately shoulder width apart, and there is a little bit of flare with both which helps her turn in both directions. With irons, the grip end of the club is pointed at the inside of her left thigh which presets her to have the appropriate amount of shaft lean at impact to compress the golf ball.
At the top of her back swing from this facing angle, Minjee has roughly 40°of hip turn and maybe 95° of turn with the shoulders. So that is roughly 55° of separation. When both arms are fully extended just after impact the shoulders have caught up to the hips and they are essentially aligned with each other. To reach that point, obviously the shoulders have to move faster than the hips. And since the arms are attached to the shoulders and the club is attached to the arms, that speeds up the clubhead. At the conclusion of the swing, her shoulders have raced by the hips, and the right shoulder is almost facing the target. That is a thorough release creating tons of speed.
Article by: John Marshall, Golf Instructor, Two-time ALDA long drive champion & Golf Tips Top 25 Instructor
John’s Website: jmlongdrive.com
