Swing Thoughts
In U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover, the game has another major champion whose swing is a throwback. After the Masters we documented Angel Cabrera's old-fashioned "paintbrush" takeaway. Glover also uses his hands in an artistic way. His signature move is a dramatic increase of his wrist cock at the start of the downswing.
The most prominent exponent of such an action was Byron Nelson, in his prime perhaps the most accurate player who ever lived. Like Nelson, Glover takes the club back in one piece, creating a wide arc with little wrist cock. Also like Nelson, the clubface is slightly "shut" as it reaches the top of the swing.
From there, Glover noticeably drops his arms down and to the inside, narrowing the arc and creating tremendous stored power in the form of "lag." Bobby Clampett, who has long believed the whiplash effect of lag is the key to great ball striking, refers to Glover as a "snap loader." Players with his action tend to be powerful low-ball hitters, because the extreme lag they produce tends to deloft the club at impact. Sergio Garcia is another snap loader.
Accordingly, Glover's swing is founded on timing more than actions in which the transition is quieter. Like other snap loaders, he has to be careful not to let his lower body slide too far ahead of his upper body, which causes the club to drop too far to the inside and makes accuracy and proper trajectory difficult to attain. With swing coach Mike Taylor, Glover has worked on flattening his backswing so that the club doesn't drop quite as much.
A key to Glover's improvement is an intensified physical regimen with trainer Randy Myers designed to strengthen his lower body. "Lucas is extremely athletic," says Myers. "His program is similar to those designed for pitchers and quarterbacks. He has as much shoulder flexibility as anyone we've ever measured, so he needs a solid base to make it all work together."
Glover is currently leading the PGA Tour's total driving statistic, and according to Taylor, loves hitting it quail-high in heavy wind. The champion at Bethpage might be a very good bet at Turnberry.
-- Jaime Diaz
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