TOP 50 TEACHER Ian Clark
World of Golf, New Malden. Advanced Fellow of
the PGA. Master Professional at World of Golf.
Learn from world’s professional
Role model...
JUSTIN ROSE
T
he PGA Tour champion’s trophy - aka
The FedEx Cup - has been criticised
for the buck-heavy weighting of its
fi nal play-off series - four events to
determine the distribution of a $35m
bonus pool. How satisfying then that the
$10m bounty awarded to the winner should
have been scooped by one of golf’s most
consistent players. Justin Rose began
2018 ranked 6th in the world, but a year of
sustained excellence - including another
solid Ryder Cup performance, 11 top 10s in
just 19 events and an unbelievable sub-69
scoring average - brought him to the very
pinnacle of the game. Here we take a closer
look at what a $10m-dollar swing looks
like… and discover how you can drill some of
his fi nest moves into your own technique.
PRACTICE
MAKES PERFECT
LEVEL
SHOULDERS
This position is the result of
that drill. See how Justin’s left
shoulder is the same distance from
the ground as his right. If his left
shoulder were much higher at this point,
it would indicate he had tilted his upper
body to the right too much starting
down. That would cause the club
to get behind his body too
much, causing on overly
inside attack.
No doubt you will have seen
the slightly curious practice move
Justin makes from the top. Within
a squatting move, his lead shoulder
seems to drop down towards the ground.
Sensing your lead shoulder stays closer
to the ground than your trail shoulder
is a great drill for golfers prone to
hooks and pushes because it
helps guard against getting
the club stuck behind
you.
PERFECT PLANE
Extend a line down
through the shaft and you’ll see
it points at the ball. Whichever end
of the club is closest to the ground
should point at the target line, which of
course the ball sits on. Justin’s position
is the very defi nition of “on-plane”,
and goes a long way to explaining
his great consistency - with a
neutral path, he has no need
to manipulate the
clubface.
TRAIL
HEEL DOWN
Justin’s right foot is still
fl at to the fl oor. When this heel
lifts at this early stage of the
downswing, the hips tend to kick out
towards the target line, the upper body
tends to straighten and the club would
again get behind him too much. With
that heel down, Justin can retain
his posture and keep his hands
and the club’s handle more
in front of his chest.