Danielle Kang
BIO: No. 6 Women’s World Golf Ranking; No. 16 LPGA Official Money List; No. 12 Race to CME Globe; No. 81 Average Driving Distance (255.5); 2020 Vare Trophy; 5 LPGA titles; 1 Major; U.S. Women’s Amateur (2010 and 2011)
4D SWING: Friday, Round 2. Hole measured 379 yards.
BACKGROUND: Kang birdied No. 5 to get to +1. She teed off No. 6 with a 3-wood and drove it 239 yards into the left rough. From 135, she knocked it to 12 feet and holed the putt. She proceeded to make birdie on No. 7 for three in a row.
TAKEAWAYS
00:00:00 – Danielle is hitting a fairway metal. Notice how low she tees up the ball. Most amateurs tee it too high, which leads to a higher-than-optimal trajectory and shots that don’t carry their full distance.
00:00:02 – Pressure is building into her trail leg. Most of the pressure build up should occur by this point in the golf swing.
00:00:03 to 00:00:04 – The left knee kicks in behind the ball, making it easier for the body to rotate and stretch the muscles. Too many amateurs try to keep their lower body quiet, which makes it challenging to build up coil.
00:00:05 – The brim of the hat has turned a bit. She isn’t trying to keep her head still. The slight rotation helps to set up her downswing path on an inside arc towards the ball.
00:00:06 to 00:00:09 – The right knee has straightened slightly, which makes it easier for the hips to turn on the backswing. She keeps some knee flex, though, and stays in an athletic position, ready to push against the ground for energy.
00:00:10 to 00:00:11 – The left knee travels towards the target quickly in a short amount of time. This helps to move pressure toward the front leg. Ideally, players should have close to 90-percent of their pressure into their front leg at impact.
00:00:15 to 00:00:16 – At impact, the right arm still has some bend in it to maintain shaft lean and to compress the ball. Many amateurs release their right arm fully by impact, which causes the low point of their swing to occur before the ball rather than after it.
00:00:17 to 00:00:20 – The pressure goes from the ball of the front foot toward the heel and she finishes lower with the hands. In Danielle’s case, the left arm is across her right shoulder in the backswing, and then she matches the plane in the finish. If you have an upright backswing, try to match it with an upright finish.
Next Up: Yuka Saso