Robert is a natural player who demonstrates a free flowing unrestricted swing. He uses his body and arms to full effect and doesn’t hold anything back.
As golfers its easy to try and control your natural tendencies to a point where the swing becomes mechanical and lacks power. I enjoy how Robert lets his natural movement flow and feel this is something we can all benefit from.
The ability to separate deliberate practice sessions with a focus on a particular pattern to improve versus letting it flow whilst we play. It’s a balance which many players get wrong and an area where Robert clearly excels.
You can learn a great deal from Robert’s naturally flowing pattern and especially when using driver. Again when we analyse the best players in the world we continue to see patterns which go against the grain.
Delaying the flex in your trail arm, excessive side bend and separation of the upper and lower body through the ball and a full release with the trail arm to name but a few.
These natural patterns are part of Robert’s makeup and what make him so great. Its important to understand its about the consistency of the pattern rather than the pattern itself.
I’ll briefly outline some of his key setups and patterns and trust you can implement some of those into your own game.
1. Robert sets with a natural posture with limited tension through his upper back whilst his arms hang natural under his shoulders.
2. He maintains a beautifully wide first movement of the ball as he allows his left hip and chest to coil.
3. His left leg straightens further allowing his hips to coil as he keeps his left arm very extended which gives the look of a strong club face
4. He gradually allows the left arm to fold and the wrists to set as his right arm works past horizontal.
5. Full hip and chest coil as he gets to the top. This is shown by the extension in his left and flex in the right. His hands travel over his left heel showing the depth created by his chest coil. Nice fold in his left arm with naturally squares the face.
6. In transition his arms lower which shifts his weight laterally to the right which naturally shallows the club. You’ll notice his hips are still looking left during this movement which means he hasn’t rotated the hips early like most amateurs sometimes try.
7. Now you can see his hip rotation has been switched on as his left foot moves away from the ground relatively early. This could potentially be an issue for an amateur if they haven’t moved they’re weight across to the right like Robert does extremely well prior.
8. As he moves through delivery his hips continue to open considerably but he keeps his shoulders square with the natural tilt of his head to the left creating good left side bend and flexion in the left elbow. This allows the path to stay from the inside to relatively neutral and limits face rotation.
9. Impact: his lower body is fully open as he stays in left side bend with his head back. This creates an amazing sway gap between the upper and lower body as he fully extends his left arm and allows the club to release to maximize speed and square the face. An excellent matchup for a player with amazing hip rotation.
10. He continues to stay back as his arms fully extend. Very easy to draw the ball with this pattern.
11. His left side starts to move through as his right leg extends up and back alongside his chest and head as his arms beautifully fold as they slow down.
12. A full flowing body and arm release as his left side moves into an unrestricted finish wit
Written by Stephen Deane
Head International Development Coach for Dubai Golf
Stephen is an ambassador for Dubai Golf and coaches at they’re wonderful array of facilities whilst in Dubai. Stephen also spends a proportion of his time developing Professionals, Amateurs and VIPs Internationally.
