Swing Sequence: Geoff Ogilvy

July 23, 2009

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SHELVING THE 2-IRONAGE: 32 | HEIGHT: 6-feet-2 | DRIVER: Cobra S9-1 Pro D, 9.5° | BALL: Titleist Pro V1 | AVG. DRIVING DISTANCE (RANK): 293.3 yards (36th) | BIRDIES PER ROUND (RANK): 4.40 (4th)The driver is becoming my favorite club. It used to be the 2-iron because I hit it 240 yards and I knew I could find the fairway with it. I couldn't always say that about my driver. Not that long ago, I was a poor driver of the ball. I hit it long enough, but it went all over the place. But now I drive the ball pretty well, even though I don't hit it as far as some. I don't have that crazy, wild drive anymore. The bad ones are just sneaking into the rough, which I can play from. Dale Lynch has been my coach since I was a teenager, and we've worked hard on getting rid of a high cut shot that spins too much and doesn't go anywhere. Now I play a draw off the tee. In the last two or three years, when I've been playing well, it's because of my driving.-- Geoff OgilvySHELVING THE 2-IRONAGE: 32 | HEIGHT: 6-feet-2 | DRIVER: Cobra S9-1 Pro D, 9.5° | BALL: Titleist Pro V1 | AVG. DRIVING DISTANCE (RANK): 293.3 yards (36th) | BIRDIES PER ROUND (RANK): 4.40 (4th)The driver is becoming my favorite club. It used to be the 2-iron because I hit it 240 yards and I knew I could find the fairway with it. I couldn't always say that about my driver. Not that long ago, I was a poor driver of the ball. I hit it long enough, but it went all over the place. But now I drive the ball pretty well, even though I don't hit it as far as some. I don't have that crazy, wild drive anymore. The bad ones are just sneaking into the rough, which I can play from. Dale Lynch has been my coach since I was a teenager, and we've worked hard on getting rid of a high cut shot that spins too much and doesn't go anywhere. Now I play a draw off the tee. In the last two or three years, when I've been playing well, it's because of my driving.-- Geoff Ogilvy

A THINKING-MAN'S SWINGHow Geoff Ogilvy uses brains and brawn to hit better drivesby Ron KaspriskeKnown on the PGA Tour as a deep thinker, Geoff Ogilvy apparently doesn't limit his thoughtfulness to current events and playing strategy. "He thinks a lot about the way he swings it," says Dale Lynch, his longtime instructor from Australia who now teaches at the International Institute of Golf near Greenville, S.C. "When Geoff swings the club, he combines his brain power with his athleticism. He's very clever that way."Teacher and student have focused on removing the "weak cut" from Ogilvy's game. Almost every golfer fights an Achilles' heel in his or her swing, Lynch says, and Ogilvy's is a lateral slide of the hips toward the target during the downswing. This steepens his angle of approach into the ball and the result is a shot that goes high and right."We're trying to shallow his approach and get him to square the clubface without having to roll his hands over to do it," Lynch says.To turn that weak cut into a powerful draw, Ogilvy tries to keep his arms out in front of his body, especially in the downswing. He then lets his right side power through the shot. One of the drills he uses to practice this move is to set up with the clubface open at address and then try to square it with his path into the ball."To do this he has to work the club out and around his body," Lynch says. "He really has to feel that the club stays out in front of him as he fires through with his right side."Lynch adds that this is a good player's problem, the opposite of what most amateurs should do, "so don't try it at home."Ogilvy's swing is still a work in progress, Lynch adds, but the photos here show impressive technique. "It's no wonder he won the Mercedes Championship by six shots in January [and the Match Play in March]," he says. "But we still haven't seen the best of Geoff Ogilvy."A THINKING-MAN'S SWINGHow Geoff Ogilvy uses brains and brawn to hit better drivesby Ron KaspriskeKnown on the PGA Tour as a deep thinker, Geoff Ogilvy apparently doesn't limit his thoughtfulness to current events and playing strategy. "He thinks a lot about the way he swings it," says Dale Lynch, his longtime instructor from Australia who now teaches at the International Institute of Golf near Greenville, S.C. "When Geoff swings the club, he combines his brain power with his athleticism. He's very clever that way."Teacher and student have focused on removing the "weak cut" from Ogilvy's game. Almost every golfer fights an Achilles' heel in his or her swing, Lynch says, and Ogilvy's is a lateral slide of the hips toward the target during the downswing. This steepens his angle of approach into the ball and the result is a shot that goes high and right."We're trying to shallow his approach and get him to square the clubface without having to roll his hands over to do it," Lynch says.To turn that weak cut into a powerful draw, Ogilvy tries to keep his arms out in front of his body, especially in the downswing. He then lets his right side power through the shot. One of the drills he uses to practice this move is to set up with the clubface open at address and then try to square it with his path into the ball."To do this he has to work the club out and around his body," Lynch says. "He really has to feel that the club stays out in front of him as he fires through with his right side."Lynch adds that this is a good player's problem, the opposite of what most amateurs should do, "so don't try it at home."Ogilvy's swing is still a work in progress, Lynch adds, but the photos here show impressive technique. "It's no wonder he won the Mercedes Championship by six shots in January [and the Match Play in March]," he says. "But we still haven't seen the best of Geoff Ogilvy."

The shaft leaning backward at address helps Geoff keep the club in front of him when he swings.The shaft leaning backward at address helps Geoff keep the club in front of him when he swings.

He used to have the club way inside the target line at this point.He used to have the club way inside the target line at this point.

The cupped left wrist is a product of his hands-back address position. So is the open club-face.The cupped left wrist is a product of his hands-back address position. So is the open club-face.

This is what we want: His left knee is outside his left hip, which means no lateral slide.This is what we want: His left knee is outside his left hip, which means no lateral slide.

Everything is perfectly aligned. His right side, not his hands, squared the clubface.Everything is perfectly aligned. His right side, not his hands, squared the clubface.

He's really posted on that left leg. In the past, he would be in a reverse-C position here.He's really posted on that left leg. In the past, he would be in a reverse-C position here.

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Swing Sequence: Geoff Ogilvy

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