When thinking of the smoothest swings in the modern generation, a few names immediately come to mind. Ernie Els, Fred Couples, Adam Scott and Justin Rose are all solid nominees, but the list would not be complete without one more: Louis Oosthuizen.
Like the other names on the modern smooth-swinging Mount Rushmore, Oosthuizen is a major champion; he hoisted the Claret Jug at St Andrews in 2010 and routed the field by seven shots. He came close a few other times, too, famously notching a trio of top-three finishes in the 2021 major season.
Since then, the South African has taken his talents to the LIV Golf circuit, and although he’s yet to hoist a trophy on the upstart tour, his swing is still as sweet as ever.
Recently, Oosthuizen joined GOLF‘s own Dylan Dethier on an episode of Warming Up (which you can watch in full below). During their talk, he shared the origins of his smooth swing.
2 fundamentals for a smooth swing
Fundamentals aren’t the most fun things to work on, but they’re the foundation for any good swing. Need some proof? Look no further than Mr. Oosthuizen — and the consistent numbers he stacked up on our Full Swing simulator.
“From Day 1 when I started as a junior I went to a coach and and he was great with setup and posture,” Oosthuizen said. “Those were always the things we worked on and everything was always close to square.”
Solid fundamentals can make up for lots of physical shortcomings. Even if you aren’t the tallest, biggest or strongest player, when you’ve got solid fundamentals, you can generate plenty of power. Moving your body efficiently can go a long way.
“Timing and good technique,” Oosthuizen said when asked about where he gets his power. “At a young age, because I was tiny, I didn’t have any power so I was very loopy, I had a long over-swing, and through the years when I got a little stronger, I could control that. But it’s always been aiming pretty square, just left of target, maybe, and working from an open position. It was never really something I had to do in my swing to try and generate anything. It was always pretty decent timing.”
If you’re struggling to generate power or create solid contact, break it down to the fundamentals. There’s a good chance that by fixing the little things, you’ll put yourself in a much better position to swing it like the pros.
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