Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.
Xander Schauffele had a year for the ages in 2024 as he became the first golfer since Brooks Koepka to win multiple majors in a season. It was a breakthrough campaign for Schauffele, and one that many had been expecting of him since his early days as a professional.
Watching the 30-year-old play golf, it’s difficult to find any weaknesses in his game. The stats illustrate as much, too. In all of the five main strokes-gained categories, Schauffele ranked inside the top 25 for the 2024 season. In fact, in four of the five, he ranked inside the top 10, with his SG: Around the Greens rank (22nd) being the lone outlier.
For much of Schauffele’s life, he’s relied on a single swing coach to guide him: his father, Stefan. And while Schauffele has opened up his circle and begun working with other coaches of late, the DNA of his swing still has Stefan’s fingerprints all over it.
Xander’s key for solid contact
Properly shifting your weight during the swing is key for efficiently generating power and producing consistently solid contact. Schauffele often uses the popular “step-drill” to ingrain the correct technique in his swing — but growing up, Stefan encouraged him to use another unconventional method as well.
“When I was growing up, he wanted me to grunt,” Schauffele told GOLF Top 100 Teacher Chris Como.
Just like tennis players, Stefan wanted his son to make an audible noise when making impact with the ball. Why the strange suggestion? Because it helps with timing up your impact.
By making an audible noise at impact, Schauffele is simply adding even more emphasis on the moment of impact. In doing this, it can help teach his mind and body to zero in on the exact moment the club hits the ball.
“He always told me, if you have solid impact, you can get away with a lot of problems,” Schauffele said. “If you have a lot of good coordination and good impact to close the door, you can get away with a lot.”
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