Swing Sequences: The Molinari Brothers

May 26, 2011

BROTHER TO BROTHER

At this stage in their professional careers–both have won multiple times and broken into the top 25 in the World Golf Ranking (Francesco is currently 15th, and Edoardo 28th)—those differences aren't likely to change much. Their success formulas are proven. Edoardo, the 2005 U.S. Amateur champion, has won two events in Europe. Francesco also has won twice on the European Tour and finished third at the PGA Tour's WGC-Cadillac Championship in March. Both played for the 2010 European Ryder Cup team.One of the few similarities they have when it comes to the swing is seeing the same coach, Denis Pugh, who has worked with Colin Montgomerie. Also, both are trying to play the same ball flight.For years, Edoardo hit a draw, which sometimes turned into a hook, so his accuracy would suffer. Now he's going with a more reliable fade, like his brother. Edoardo says for him it's about maintaining the radius of the swing arc."Denis has been working with me on staying wide. I also feel like I'm delaying the release of the club a little longer with less hand action. Now I'm hitting many, many more fairways."Francesco, meanwhile, has relied on a controlled fade for years and is one of the most accurate drivers on the European Tour, hitting more than 70 percent of fairways for the past three seasons. The key to his accuracy, Francesco says, is visualizing a straight shot and then trying to keep everything moving together, especially on the downswing. If he's firm with his wrists at the top, he says, his downswing can be "as hard as I want."The best part about having a brother out on tour? "I try to take something from his swing, and he tries to take something from me," Edoardo says. "Each one of us knows what to do, but if sometimes I want to know how to play a particular shot, I'll just ask him."

Edoardo (red shirt) has very little bend in his elbows at address—a precursor to staying wide.Analysis by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional, The Wisley, Surrey, England.

Francesco (blue shirt) has a tendency to set his wrists early; we're trying to quiet his takeaway.Analysis by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional, The Wisley, Surrey, England.

Edoardo (red shirt) will sometimes start wide but get narrow at the top. Here he's staying nice and wide.Analysis by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional, The Wisley, Surrey, England.

To prevent overswinging, Francesco (blue) tries to keep his club short of parallel at the top.Analysis by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional, The Wisley, Surrey, England.

Edoardo (red shirt) has always had a lot of clubhead lag and a late release. We've never touched that, because he gets a lot of power.Analysis by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional, The Wisley, Surrey, England.

Francesco's head follows the rotation of his upper body perfectly (blue shirt) Everything is moving together.Analysis by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional, The Wisley, Surrey, England.

Analysis by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional, The Wisley, Surrey, England.

I like when Francesco goes at the ball really hard. Sometimes in the finish the club even recoils off his back.You can see here that Edoardo (red shirt) has maintained his swing width: His right arm is still fully extended.Analysis by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional, The Wisley, Surrey, England.

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Swing Sequences: The Molinari Brothers

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BROTHER TO BROTHER

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