On Tuesday, I had a lesson with a wonderfully nice senior golfer named Jack at Boca Raton Resort & Club. He had previously been a really good golfer, but was frustrated with his game — especially his loss of distance. We had a great lesson and at the end he mentioned that one of the young ladies at his club was 14 years old and playing at the U.S. Women’s Open at Olympic this week.
My first thought was that it’s pretty amazing to see these girls qualifying for national tournaments at such young ages. And then I saw her swing … wow! Chloe Kovelesky is her name, and she drives the ball between 280 and 290 yards off the tee. Did I mention she’s only 14?! I am so jealous! But of course, also happy for her. Take a look at her swing in the video below. Here are some of the lessons you can learn from her athletic power:
Posture
Kovelesky’s posture is great, as she bends forward from her hips, allowing her arms to hang in a relaxed, athletic and balanced position.
Swing width
Kovelesky has quite a bit of width in the beginning of her backswing, as you see her literally stretch her arms, which helps to create tremendous power and coil. Kovelesky’s width is also evident on her forward swing by her wide arms just past impact.
Top of swing
Kovelesky’s club face is slightly closed at the top of her swing as a result of a great grip position. This club face position matches perfectly with her amazing use of her body on her downswing.
Downswing
Kovelesky’s downswing is the powerful result of all the great things she does in preparation, with an excellent setup and backswing. Her downswing path is perfect, as her lead underarm swings down her chest and you can see she stares down the impact of the club and the golf ball.
You can see that she is able to use her lower body extremely efficiently by not only turning through but using the ground to launch her body and create a huge amount of power. This is evident by watching her feet jump and almost spin. This uncoiling is creating such speed and power that this movement is necessary to absorb the energy.
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Kovelesky’s athletic swing, with all of its speed and power, also showcases incredible fundamentals, and I am really impressed with her ability to finish so perfectly in balance. Regardless of what she shoots in San Francisco this week, I think one thing’s for sure: We’ll be seeing a lot more of her in the years to come.
To add more pop to your swing, get a driver fitting from the experts at 8AM affiliate True Spec Golf.
For more golf tips from Kellie Stenzel, click here.
