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BODY / SWING ANALYSIS
BRACE AND FIRE
Want another 20 yards? Then copy this move in Viktor Hovland’s swing By Ron Kaspriske
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golfdigestme.com
july 2022
imagine that you have a wedge parked under the target side of your lead foot as you take your stance. Not a golf club, rather the kind of wedge you use for a doorstop or to split firewood. As you swing your driver into the ball, use that wedge to push down and away from the target with your lead leg. That move is something Viktor Hovland does, and it’s one reason he’s among the best drivers on the PGA Tour, says Golf Digest Teaching Professional Josh Zander. Hovland, second in total driving, the
tour’s stat that combines distance and accuracy, uses that push to “throw on the brakes” with his lower body, which allows his driver to zip past him and rocket the ball into orbit. “That move will put the mass of your body behind the ball, allowing you to launch it higher with less spin,” Zander says. “If you usually hit down on the ball and/or slide toward the target, which are common faults I see in many downswings, this move is a game-changer in terms of picking up distance. You can even practise this PHOTOGRAPHS BY DOM FURORE
