Swing Sequence: Adam Scott

By Adam Scott | Analysis By Butch Harmon Photos by Stephen Szurlej

July 13, 2008

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Age: 23Height: 6-feetWeight: 170Driver: Titleist 983K, 8.5 degrees loftClubhead speed: 121 mphBall speed: 170 mphLaunch angle: 12 degrees2003 Driving distance: 299.2 yardsBefore I started working with Butch Harmon during my freshman year at UNLV in 1999, my father had been my only coach. He set me up with great fundamentals. When I was playing junior golf in Australia, everybody was trying to swing like Tiger Woods, and I was no different. When I got to Las Vegas, Butch knew just where to start with me.I've been working on the same elements in my swing since I was a college player. My goal is to keep my swing as short and as wide as possible. My rhythm is much better when I can do that consistently. My big problem is that I hang back a little bit at impact. Butch is helping me get fully onto my left side so I can stay on top of the ball. When I do it right, I'm much more accurate with the driver.Whatever I'm working on, I like to keep one swing thought in my head when I'm on the course. Keeping it simple helped me at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston last year. Thinking only about getting to my left side, I shot 62 Friday and won my first PGA Tour event.Age: 23Height: 6-feetWeight: 170Driver: Titleist 983K, 8.5 degrees loftClubhead speed: 121 mphBall speed: 170 mphLaunch angle: 12 degrees2003 Driving distance: 299.2 yardsBefore I started working with Butch Harmon during my freshman year at UNLV in 1999, my father had been my only coach. He set me up with great fundamentals. When I was playing junior golf in Australia, everybody was trying to swing like Tiger Woods, and I was no different. When I got to Las Vegas, Butch knew just where to start with me.I've been working on the same elements in my swing since I was a college player. My goal is to keep my swing as short and as wide as possible. My rhythm is much better when I can do that consistently. My big problem is that I hang back a little bit at impact. Butch is helping me get fully onto my left side so I can stay on top of the ball. When I do it right, I'm much more accurate with the driver.Whatever I'm working on, I like to keep one swing thought in my head when I'm on the course. Keeping it simple helped me at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston last year. Thinking only about getting to my left side, I shot 62 Friday and won my first PGA Tour event.

Cutting EdgePeople have always talked about how similar Adam Scott and Tiger Woods look when they swing, and they think I somehow tried to re-create Tiger's swing with Adam. That's just not true. When Adam came to UNLV from Australia in 1999, he was already swinging this way. They have similar builds, and they can do the same kinds of things athletically. I saw Adam and said to myself, "Wow, this looks familiar ..."Physically, Adam is not quite as strong as Tiger, but it's close. He's a good 6-feet and has broad shoulders. I wanted him to be able to utilize those physical capabilities. If he has a fault, it's that he sometimes lets his left arm get too far away from his body during the backswing. When he gets that separation, he's wasting power. And if he gets too aggressive with it, he has the same problem Tiger does -- his lower body gets too active and his hands get trapped behind his body. Otherwise, his swing is so good that it's hard to even say anything about it. He looks great in these pictures.Adam has a very modern swing. He's very flexible, and he makes a huge shoulder turn with a small hip turn -- which generates a ton of torque. He changed his body to be able to handle this swing. He's much more muscular than he was as a college player.We haven't really seen how good Scotty can be. We've seen some flashes of brilliance, but I believe he's on the verge of breaking out. It's exciting to watch.The two setups are very similar. Adam tends to play the ball a bit more forward than Tiger does. It's remarkable how similar their builds are. They're two of the most athletic players on tour.Harmon runs the Butch Harmon School of Golf at Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nev. He works with Darren Clarke, Justin Leonard and Fred Couples, among other tour players.Cutting EdgePeople have always talked about how similar Adam Scott and Tiger Woods look when they swing, and they think I somehow tried to re-create Tiger's swing with Adam. That's just not true. When Adam came to UNLV from Australia in 1999, he was already swinging this way. They have similar builds, and they can do the same kinds of things athletically. I saw Adam and said to myself, "Wow, this looks familiar ..."Physically, Adam is not quite as strong as Tiger, but it's close. He's a good 6-feet and has broad shoulders. I wanted him to be able to utilize those physical capabilities. If he has a fault, it's that he sometimes lets his left arm get too far away from his body during the backswing. When he gets that separation, he's wasting power. And if he gets too aggressive with it, he has the same problem Tiger does -- his lower body gets too active and his hands get trapped behind his body. Otherwise, his swing is so good that it's hard to even say anything about it. He looks great in these pictures.Adam has a very modern swing. He's very flexible, and he makes a huge shoulder turn with a small hip turn -- which generates a ton of torque. He changed his body to be able to handle this swing. He's much more muscular than he was as a college player.We haven't really seen how good Scotty can be. We've seen some flashes of brilliance, but I believe he's on the verge of breaking out. It's exciting to watch.The two setups are very similar. Adam tends to play the ball a bit more forward than Tiger does. It's remarkable how similar their builds are. They're two of the most athletic players on tour.Harmon runs the Butch Harmon School of Golf at Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nev. He works with Darren Clarke, Justin Leonard and Fred Couples, among other tour players.

He's already creating tremendous width in his swing. He'll keep it all the way through.He's already creating tremendous width in his swing. He'll keep it all the way through.

From here, his arm swing matches up beautifully with his body rotation.From here, his arm swing matches up beautifully with his body rotation.

He doesn't get his right arm trapped behind his body.He doesn't get his right arm trapped behind his body.

Textbook impact position.Textbook impact position.

Adam's unbelievably wound up in the finish.Adam's unbelievably wound up in the finish.

RBC Heritage

COMPETE IN THE GOLF DIGEST OPEN

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COMPETE IN THE GOLF DIGEST OPEN

TWO-PERSON BEST BALL

Swing Sequence: Adam Scott

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