Erratic contact? No power? Your new swing model is Joaquin Niemann

One of the big differences between amateur swings and the ones you see on TV is the pros’ ability to “stay in their angles.” They swing back and down while keeping the flex in their knees, the tilts in their hips, the bends in their arms and wrists. When you maintain those angles, the swing is more repeatable.

On the flip side, when those angles change during the swing, the player is required to undo the changes or make compensations to get the club back to the ball with any predictability. For example, lifting up on the backswing would necessitate dropping down precisely the same amount in time for impact. Tough to do that with any consistency.

A player who I’ve always loved watching is Joaquin Niemann because he maintains those critical angles as well as anyone in the game. As a result, he’s a phenomenal ball-striker and, at just a shade over 150 pounds, absolutely destroys the ball.

To get a closer look, we dropped a video of Niemann’s swing into the Mustard Golf app. With AI-supported technology, Mustard produces a full analysis of the swing, measuring angles and rotations and swing path, then offers personalized instruction and tracks improvement.

Here’s what we saw and why Niemann’s swing is a perfect model:

—His lower body drives the downswing.
—His hips don’t thrust; they simply rotate toward the target.
—His spine stays in its forward tilt well past impact.

First, let’s talk about the downswing sequence. Niemann starts down by making a little shift to his front foot and then rotates his hips aggressively toward the target. And I love the way he does it: His hips don’t push toward the ball, like some players who are fast with the lower body. His hips stay back or “deep,” behind his heels, as he starts to turn forward.

Many amateurs’ first move from the top is a hitting action with their arms and shoulders, which throws the club onto an out-to-in path. Leading with the lower body keeps the club to the inside. This is important because it allows the arms and body to work together through the strike. The body leads and pulls the arms, like the engine pulling the caboose.

Niemann really shines on the last part of the downswing and through the ball. You’ve probably heard the term “staying in the shot,” and there’s no better example than this guy. His head actually gets lower as he swings into impact, like he’s crouching or squatting (below). His knee flex increases; his hip bend increases. It’s a gathering action, like a basketball player starting the shooting motion or a batter striding into a pitch.

This is the opposite of what many amateur golfers do; they straighten their legs or pull out of their forward tilt too soon. As I said, those changes make it very difficult to deliver the club with any precision. Golfers who lose those angles inevitably struggle to hit solid shots.

The last part here is how Niemann uses his trail arm. You can see in the downswing image (above, right) that his right elbow is tucked to his right side and still fully bent. This means he has a ton of stored power in that arm to release through the ball. Most amateurs straighten the arm too soon, losing power and changing the swing’s low point, which leads to poor contact.

Another advantage of keeping that trail arm bent longer is that it reduces how much the clubface rotates through impact. Picture a door swinging open and closed. Less face rotation through the hitting area means less variability in the curve of your shots.

So don’t get rid of your angles too soon. Remember, it’s keeping your hips deep, your upper body tilted toward the ball and your trail elbow with some bend in it until the club swings through. Work on these moves, and you’ll see more power and straighter shots.