Breaking down the ‘unbelievable’ tip Butch Harmon gave Tommy Fleetwood

During the TGL matches earlier this week, ESPN featured a golden mic’d up moment for swing nerds.

During a conversation between Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose, Fleetwood shared an “unbelievable” swing tip he recently received from coaching legend Butch Harmon.

“Butch gave me an unbelievable one the other day,” Fleetwood said. “So he wants me to stay high, hip back. Close the door with my left hip. Turn and then go on to it.”

You can watch the entire exchange below.

It’s a great tidbit for swing nerds, and one that can be useful to improve the ball-striking of players even at the recreational level. For a deeper dive on what the tip means, and how it can be helpful, we enlisted the help of GOLF Top 100 Teacher Joe Plecker, which you can read below.

Breaking down Butch’s ‘unbelievable’ tip

I loved the way Butch Harmon shared his viral “shut the door” swing tip with Tommy Fleetwood. With feel and imagery, it’s easy for a player of any caliber to understand.

Butch has long been regarded as one of the best instructors in the world because of his ability to communicate a complex, lightning-fast motion like the golf swing through one or two simple ideas. It certainly helps when you’re working with a hyper-talented athlete like Fleetwood, but the real takeaway is this: the information flowing from teacher to player must be simple, memorable and achievable.

This tip did just that.

So, what does the tip actually mean? First, he wants Tommy to raise his posture with the thought, “stay tall.” On the surface, that sounds static. In reality, it influences the entire motion. Staying tall elevates the backswing path and encourages a more level shoulder turn during the takeaway.

From there, Butch pairs that backswing feel with a downswing thought of “shutting the door,” which promotes proper lower-body rotation. When the lower body clears efficiently, the club naturally shallows in transition, setting up a more powerful and connected strike.

Finally, “go into it” frees up the release. Instead of steering the ball or holding angles too long, Fleetwood can move dynamically through impact. The swing becomes reactive and fluid rather than forced.