The Loop
How He Hit That: Ryan Moore's inside-out approach shots
Ryan Moore's swing is one of the PGA Tour's most idiosyncratic, with its early wrist hinge and upright move. It doesn't look "textbook," but, ironically, it's probably the best one for amateur players to copy -- and not just because the 31-year-old from Tacoma, Wash., won his fourth PGA Tour event over the weekend, defending his title at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.
"Ninety percent of the slicers in the world start their takeaway by pulling the club way to the inside, and then they come way over the top on the downswing," says top Michigan teacher Jason Guss, who is the Director of Golf Performance at the Jason Guss Golf Academy at Hawk Hollow in Bath. "Ryan does the opposite. He hinges his wrists very early and gets the club in a vertical position, and his rhythm is so good at the top that he just lets his arms fall and the club comes naturally from the inside."
On the 14th and 17th holes Sunday, Moore hit approach shots inside a foot, making two of the eight birdies he recorded on his way to a three-shot win over Gary Woodland, Kevin Na and Sergio Garcia.
To get some of Moore's swing path in your swing, Guss suggests a simple visual cue. "Take a second ball and put it outside of your right foot, halfway between your toes and the target line," Guss says. "Hit some shots with a short iron and feel like you're bringing the club outside that ball on the way back and inside of it on the way down. Copy Ryan's rhythm as much as you can -- don't be in such a rush to make that transition at the top."