Various versions of Tiger Woods’ golf swing have dominated the world of golf ever since he burst onto the scene with a record-breaking 12 shot victory in the 1997 Masters.
Injuries and the passage of time may have blunted Tiger’s competitiveness at the highest level. But the features of the elite golf swing mechanics with which he reigned supreme in the game remain key elements in the methods of those champions such as Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson who have followed in his footsteps.
Very few players, even in the professional ranks, can match the strength, flexibility, and sheer athleticism of these guys. But golfers of all abilities can benefit from a study of the technical and biomechanical aspects of the swing that Tiger mastered.
For a Detailed Video Analysis of the Tiger Woods Golf Swing Click Here Now
The Biomechanics of the Golf Swing
Whole books have been written on this subject, complete with extensive technical and physiological analysis of the role played by each and every muscle in the body. Today, tools like the AI swing analyzer make it possible to apply that same level of insight to your own game instantly.
But from the point of view of improving performance and increasing clubhead speed, all that it’s really necessary to know is that the proper golf swing consists of a rapid stretching and shortening of the body’s largest muscles – particularly those of the back and hips.
In practice, this means storing power in the backswing by turning the upper body against the resistance of the lower body. And then releasing this latent power by initiating the downswing with a powerful rotary movement of the lower body and hips.
Maximizing Power with the Tiger Swing
In the swings of really good players, this hip rotation in the downswing happens while the upper body and club are still turning away from the ball, thus intensifying the stretch of the back muscles and creating maximum clubhead speed.
And for this strong turn of the hips to happen, it is essential for the legs to brace strongly against the ground – the ground reaction force thereby generated becoming another major source of power.
This bracing of the legs is shown in a pronounced bend of the knees at the start of the downswing – a power indicator which has perhaps never been clearer than in slow-motion studies of Tiger’s swing. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOr3tm8Bx94]
Hands Releasing the Golf Club for Maximum Power
A direct consequence of this flex of the knees is that Tiger’s hands drop vertically towards his trail hip, flattening his swing plane and positioning him perfectly for a full and powerful release of the clubhead through the ball.
This flattening of the swing plane is seen in the swings of almost all good players, and contrasts starkly with the steepening of the plane and “casting” of the club that robs so many handicap players of distance and accuracy.
Now, we’re not saying that everyone can aspire to the standard of play of Tiger and the top tour pros - at least not without spending countless hours on the practice range.
But we do say that a few relatively simple technical changes can make an enormous difference in your performance and enjoyment of the game. The GOAT Drill system was built around exactly these principles — giving everyday golfers a structured path to elite-level movement patterns.
Now Click Here for More on How You Can Build a Swing Like Tiger Woods
FAQs
Does Tiger Woods have an upright swing?
Tiger Woods’s swing plane has varied over the years. Early in his career, he was more upright. During the middle of his career, his swing plane flattened. His recent rebuilt golf swing has returned to a more upright swing plane.
Who has the smoothest swing in golf?
Sam Snead is considered to have the smoothest swing in the history of golf. He claims he has never had a blister practicing or playing golf.
What is Tiger Woods' current swing speed?
Early in his career and through his prime, Tiger Woods could reach 129mph. Father time and injuries have him now around 120mph with his swing speed. Despite injuries and age, this is an amazing driver swing speed!
How do I swing like Tiger Woods?
A Rotary Swing using the core muscles and body to generate speed is an excellent way to swing more like Tiger Woods. Using an AI swing analyzer to measure your hip loading and body sequencing can dramatically accelerate the learning process.
Perhaps no golf swing analysis subject has ever been studied more than Tiger Woods' swing. I have personally invested at least 1,000+ hours in the pursuit of understanding more about how he swings the club and uses his body.
Without fail, the one thing that has always stuck out in my mind was the incredibly powerful unwinding of his lead hip and core during the transition and downswing. No one appears to use this part of their body to power the downswing more than Tiger, and perhaps no one else is as powerful as Tiger, pound for pound. If you want to study golf biomechanics, then Tiger Woods' old swing before Sean Foley is a study of near perfection.
Sure, there are some that can swing as fast or faster, but they may either be stronger, taller or simply not as consistent. Tiger's swing has mesmerized millions of people and had thousands of golfers attempt to imitate it, but none have succeeded in understanding the complexity of the motion - until now.
Having spent a great deal of time studying golf biomechanics and anatomy, a greater understanding of Tiger's unique motion came to me.
It was, in fact, an epiphany really. Having tinkered with learning Tiger's body movements over the years, there were things that I felt I just couldn't achieve because I wasn't strong enough, flexible enough or simply not coordinated enough. It turns out, none of the above are true.
The truth was that I wasn't using the core muscles correctly to swing the club. Being a golf instructor known for teaching the use of the core rotation in golf to power the swing, I found this interesting, but I worked to further my understanding of the proper feelings and sequence of the muscles that fire and the results were astounding.
Below, I have posted some screen captures to show you the similarities between a Rotary Swing Tour in progress after only one week and the current swing of Tiger Woods.
Halfway back, the takeaway movements of the body look very similar. The hips have turned a minimal amount, the turn is being completely controlled by the core and back muscles.
At the top of the swing, both of us are fully torqued up and ready to uncoil the body using the core muscles in the golf swing.
Undeniable evidence here of the transition and downswing movements being driven by the core and not the shoulders. Note how our backs are still facing the target but we've made a very clear move onto the lead foot while the arms are passive and allowed to fall.
A split second after impact, the two positions are very similar once again. The weight is fully on the lead heel, the head is back and core is continuing to pull the body around toward the target.
In less than a week, my swing now very closely resembles that of Tiger Woods. Obviously, the idea in golf instruction is not to replicate someone else's golf swing. I obviously believe in getting the golfer to achieve a functional swinging motion rather than a cosmetic one, however, this is purely built out of function.
In other words, in working through the biomechanics of the golf swing, I achieved positions that match Tiger's because Tiger uses his body biomechanically correctly in the golf swing! Trying to match Tiger's positions based on what you see on video as so many have tried before is completely futile because you are simply learning to match visible positions — it is not possible to match his positions without using and feeling the correct muscles as the motor of the swing.
You must use the correct core muscles in the correct sequence, and that's what the Rotary Swing Tour is all about. The GOAT Drill system applies these exact biomechanical sequencing principles in real time, giving you instant feedback on whether your body is moving the way Tiger's does. Now, for those of you following the Rotary Swing Tour discussions on the golf blog, you may start to piece some things together from my posts:
- Tiger Woods uses his body better than anyone on the PGA Tour, hands down.
- The body only has ONE WAY to biomechanically swing the golf club at maximum efficiency and power with minimal perceived effort for generating maximum power.
- The plane and path of the swinging motion of the club and arms is secondary in nature to the biomechanically correct movements of the body.
- The Rotary Swing Tour swinging motion is even more core centric golf swing than before.
- The core Rotary Swing fundamentals remain, but are now backed up by medical science.
- Things in the Rotary Swing that there was no definitive answer on, such as golf stance width, balance, what starts the backswing, etc. now have definitive answers that are absolutes based on the biomechanics of the body.
- The Rotary Swing Tour is a swing model that, because it is biomechanically correct, will dramatically lower your risk of injury and reduce or completely eliminate pain that you have in your golf swing currently. (Learn more about my hip and knee pain in the golf blog.)
- You are very likely to pick up clubhead speed as you have seen in the Golf Blog where I have added 10+ mph to my driver.
- If you've ever wanted to understand the movements of Tiger Woods, you will now finally understand them!
- Positions that you never thought achievable due to your flexibility or strength such as making a full shoulder turn ARE TOTALLY ACHIEVABLE when you use the correct muscles. In fact, most everyone can make a full shoulder turn when done correctly!
Of all those interesting points, perhaps the most fascinating of all is golf injury prevention. It's amazing how many people undergo surgery for golf related injuries each year, and most, if not all could be prevented by swinging the golf club the way the body was designed!
So, if you have golf related injuries, soreness, aches or pains, you will want to pay very close attention to the new content coming to the Member's Vault over the coming months! For now, stay tuned to the Golf Blog as it is often updated several times a day!
Watch part 2 now to see how you're moving your body in the opposite direction of the pros!
