Fitness

These experts say there are only two kinds of golfers. Which one are you?

GOLF Top 100 Teachers and Titleist Performance Institute experts Dave Phillips and Jon Tattersall spend their days studying not only the golf swing but also how the body works. Earlier this year, we sat down with the pair for a series of interviews. They revealed a bunch of interesting snippets. Among them: There are only two different kinds of players — “body mass” golfers and “rotary” golfers. Here’s how to find out which one you are.

Check out the full video below:

Golfer Type #1: Body Mass

Body mass golfers, like Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, and Lee Westwood, are usually bigger in stature, carry more weight and are stronger in terms of raw strength. Body mass golfers’ swings may look slower than their counterparts, but they still generate lots of speed because they have more mass than others. For that reason, they don’t need to worry as much about moving their mass as quickly as others, but instead learn to move the mass they do have effectively.

“This is why you get players that say, ‘Oh, I’m going to get on a gym program, I’m going to lose some weight,’ And all of a sudden they lose all their speed,” Phillips says. “They lose all their mass, and they’re not as fast.”

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Golfer Type #2: Rotary

Rotary golfers typically have lower body mass, Phillips and Tattersall say, and generate swing speed by learning to fire their muscles really quickly, often using the ground for maximum leverage. Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy — two of the longest pound-for-pound golfers in history — are two good examples of rotatory players. Their swings features lots of explosive movement, and a lot of vertical force as they push off the ground and fire their muscles as quickly as possible.

“They have to push and use the ground,” Tattersall says. “They have to use everything they’ve got.”

Justin Thomas is a launcher.
Angus Murray

The good news? No matter which kind of golfer you are, we’ve got lots of great instruction tips for you.

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