2019 PGA Championship: How this ‘cack-handed’ drill improved Brooks Koepka’s ball-striking

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Brooks Koepka’s performance in majors is approaching a level we haven’t seen since Tiger’s prime. Fresh off a T-2 at the Masters, the back-to-back U.S. Open champ Koepka is halfway to replicating the same feat at the PGA Championship.

Brooks’ ball-striking has been the key to his immense performance so far this week: He ranks fourth in SG: Driving and first in SG: Approach. Koepka plays his best when he hits a little fade, and as he said earlier this week, his form tends to suffer when his club gets too far behind his body.

“It’s just a bad tendency that I have,” Brooks said.

One drill Koepka uses often to help put his swing in the positions he wants it is to make full swings with a cross-handed, or left-hand low grip. It’s a drill that started with his short-game that he’s since adapted for his full swing.

One of Brooks Kopeka's favorite drills: Full swings left-hand low. Helps the body rotate through the shot more. pic.twitter.com/FkuEbgAEIT

— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) May 18, 2019

It looks a little quirky and will definitely feel strange at first, but it’s got some obvious benefits. As explained by Koepka’s short-game coach Pete Cowen, who’s working with Koepka this week at Bethpage.

“Cack-handed swings,” Cowen calls the drill. “It teaches a full release of the club by forcing the body to rotate through the shot.”

And that’s the key to this drill. With a left-hand low, or “cack-handed” swing, you’ll hook the ball if you release the club too early and shank it if you release the club too late. Your goal is to hit the ball straight, which you can only accomplish if you rotate through the shot.

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