The Loop

How She Hit That: Hyo Joo Kim's record-breaking swing

September 15, 2014

Before last Thursday, nobody had ever shot a round better than 62 in a major championship. South Korean teenager Hyo Joo Kim not only erased that record with her first-round 61 at the Evian Championship, she also birdied the 72nd hole Sunday afternoon to beat seven-time major champion Karrie Webb by a shot and win the title.

Kim's free-flowing swing produces effortless power and accuracy to match from a 5-foot-3 frame. In France, she averaged 250 yards per drive and missed only nine fairways over four days. "Her swing works for two main reasons," says Michael Jacobs, the 2013 Metropolitan PGA Teacher of the Year. "It's because of how her arms travel 'up' in the backswing and the way she uses her lower body to turn her hips on the downswing.

"On the backswing, her left arm and hand travel up above her right shoulder," says Jacobs, who runs the X Golf School at Rock Hill Country Club in Manorville, Long Island. "If your arm moves too low across your chest, you're going to lose freedom and speed. On the downswing, she pushes with her right foot before the club has even reached the top, which initiates a powerful hip turn. Then she uses great left leg action to get her left hip out of the way. The result is a club moving through impact in a very fast and repeatable way."

To produce more speed in your swing, Jacobs says, check your position at the top of the backswing and make sure your left arm is either matched to the line of your shoulders or above it. On some smaller, slower swings, practice initiating your hip turn toward the target before the club reaches the top and feel your left hip move around and behind, giving your arms room to swing through.