There’s no one in golf who hits the ball better than Scottie Scheffler — and that’s not hyperbole.
Scheffler leads the PGA Tour in SG: Off the Tee and SG: Approach for the 2025 season. Last year, he was in the top two in both categories as well. The season before that? Same thing.
Adding in the pros who defected to the LIV Golf league for comparison does little to make any convincing counterarguments. According to Data Golf, Scheffler’s last two seasons would rank as the two best ball-striking seasons ever in the non-Tiger Woods division.
Suffice to say, Scheffler is on a generational run striking the golf ball.
The funny thing is, if you watched just his swing, you might mistake him for a 15 handicap. With feet that move more than a ballroom dancer, Scheffler routinely finishes his swing off balance and close to falling over. It’s not a swing you’d necessarily teach as an instructor, but it’s one that Scheffler has damn near perfected.
Despite the funky look of Scheffler’s swing, it’s filled with elements that make it one of the most effective moves of all time — including his restless feet. Speaking with the media ahead of the third round at Oakmont, Johnny Miller — one of the greatest ball-strikers of all time — shared his insights into Scheffler’s unique swing.
“He’s got some unusual foot work, but a little bit like [Mark] Calcavecchia and Greg Norman with the right foot coming into the ball,” Miller said. “The right foot pulls this way, they pull it in and it sort of hits a high fade. When you make that move with the right foot, pulling it back in the hitting zone, it hits a high fade, which Jack [Nicklaus] loves that high fade.”
When Scheffler moves his feet during the downswing, it also helps him create space for his hands to move through the impact zone. While some players crowd the ball and eliminate space for their hands and arms to move freely through the swing, Scheffler’s foot action helps do the opposite.
“Scottie has an unusual way of coming into the ball and having his right foot slide behind him,” Miller said. “But that evidently allows him to get his right hip, not into the shot but out of the way, and allows his hands to stay close to his body and swing down a plane.”
How Scheffler keeps the clubface square
A very shallow swing path — one that works from in to out — might be en vogue in the current era of golf, but Scheffler’s swing defies that convention. Instead of getting overly shallow during the downswing, Scheffler comes in a bit steeper.
“Scottie has got sort of an old-fashioned swing,” Miller said. “Most guys are playing — the club is coming in [and then going [out]. He goes like Jack, and even the way I swung with especially my irons, right up the line and right down the line, and it keeps the face square longer, so I think that’s an advantage.”
In essence, Scheffler’s steeper swing path works as a superpower with his irons. As opposed to having to square up the club right at impact, the more neutral swing path allows him to keep the clubface square longer through the impact zone. The result is irons that come off the face with very little curve. More often than not, they’re tracking right toward his target.
