Post by Richie3Jack on Jun 25, 2015 9:07:40 GMT -5
Brooks Koepka could very well be the next superstar in the game of golf, putting him right on the level of a Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. Many wonder who will be the next golfer to solidify that 3rd spot amongst Spieth and McIlroy and I think Koepka has a better shot than Rickie Fowler (and I like Fowler).
Here's a look at Koepka's metrics from this year:
Club Speed: 122.13 (5th)
Ball Speed: 179.13 (8th)
Driving Distance (all drives): 6th
Driving Effectiveness: 37th
Green Zone (75-125 yards): 151st
Yellow Zone (125-175 yards): 118th
Red Zone (175-225 yards): 34th
Putts Gained: 8th
Short Game Play: 192nd
The way it usually works on Tour is that the longer hitters typically have shorter length birdie putts. Much of this comes from the par-5's. That's why they can putt worse and still be successful. If you have 2 players that hit 65% GIR, but the one golfer has an average birdie putt length of 20 feet and the other has an average length of 25 feet, the shorter putter can putt worse and still be effective.
The issue for bombers is that when they miss a green, they tend to have longer par saves. They are more likely to hit one offline and have to hit rescue shots. That's why I tell bombers to work on their Short Game (if needed). If they have a really good Short game and are not a miserable putter, they can recover when they hit a tee shot well offline and when they do hit an accurate tee shot, they are likely to end up with a closer birdie putt than the field average (over time).
So here we have Koepka who is 5th in club speed and 6th in driving distance on all drives. That's important to note because it means he's not laying up a ton so that he is not as long as he appears. Meanwhile, he's been a phenomenal putter this year. His iron play from inside 175 yards could use some work, but he's good from the Red Zone. It just comes down to working out the kinks in his short game (while not losing too much of his putting effectiveness).
Out of the top-20 in Driving Distance on all drives, only Jimmy Walker is better than Koepka (Walker is #1). After that, the closest competitor is Jason Day who currently ranks 43rd in Putts Gained.
Anyway, here are a couple of videos of Koepka's swing:
The first thing I notice is that his feet are square at address instead of being flared out.
Typically, if you're looking to get more hip joint rotation to help assist in rotating the pelvis, you want the feet flared. However, hip rotation is not likely a problem for Koepka. I know Koepka is from Florida and at one time Jim McLean did teach that and I wouldn't be surprised if he squared the feet from either Jim McLean or one McLean's teachers. If you watch some of Kelvin Miyahira's golfers, they have their feet square as well. However, that is usually younger golfers and you can over-do the abduction of the hips and legs in the downswing and keeping the feet square at address can help prevent that.
The look of his lower body is mostly due to his square feet. He has got some dual IR of the hips, but not a lot as say a Bubba Watson or Sam Snead due tot he square feet. This also shows the relative lack of pelvic rotation at p4. But, his hips are just about level and his left knee is 'kicked in' towards the ball. He also has not lowered his upper body here. All of that will allow him to get Anterior and Left Pelvic Tilt to get pelvic rotation in the downswing.
At p5 his pelvic is already open to the target line. He has produced quite a bit of Anterior Pelvic Tilt and a little Left Pelvic Tilt, so he's not going to slide. This has moved the hips from dual IR at p4 to dual ER. The thighs have abducted (aka Snead squat). He also has an excellent right elbow move as the right elbow is driving towards the ball and is under the left arm. This means the right shoulder is going into ER and the left shoulder into IR and is flattens the shaft angle. So even though his left arm is jutted out a bit from the DTL view, he is in great position to hit this ball well.
His feet also remain square, but he's getting the dual hip ER and the dual thigh abduction. So the square feet is having no negative effect on his swing.
I see a hair of an under-flip.
From P5 to P7, he is doing more jumping and he's doing it more off the toes. He already had a lot of pelvis rotation from P4 to P5. And with his foot square, it's a bit difficult to continue to get rotation, so the golfer is more likely to do more jumping than rotating. You need both in order to hit the ball far and stabilize the club head. I think Koepka overdoes the jump a little bit and that creates that small under-flip.
So the result?
You're likely to add dynamic loft at impact. You're more likely to hit below the CoG of the club which cause more spin, a lower smash factor and some really high windows (for your given club speed), spinny shots on occasion.
Koepka ranks 174th in Smash Factor and he generates 2,982 rpm's of Spin (12th highest on Tour).
The good news is I see little reason to change it since it's working for him. Perhaps it is playing a role in his problems from the Yellow Zone. And if he does want to repair it, I think the fix is fairly simply...flair out the left foot 5-10 degrees and get the pressure more in the left heel in the downswing (tougher to jump off your heels than it is off your toes).
3JACK
Here's a look at Koepka's metrics from this year:
Club Speed: 122.13 (5th)
Ball Speed: 179.13 (8th)
Driving Distance (all drives): 6th
Driving Effectiveness: 37th
Green Zone (75-125 yards): 151st
Yellow Zone (125-175 yards): 118th
Red Zone (175-225 yards): 34th
Putts Gained: 8th
Short Game Play: 192nd
The way it usually works on Tour is that the longer hitters typically have shorter length birdie putts. Much of this comes from the par-5's. That's why they can putt worse and still be successful. If you have 2 players that hit 65% GIR, but the one golfer has an average birdie putt length of 20 feet and the other has an average length of 25 feet, the shorter putter can putt worse and still be effective.
The issue for bombers is that when they miss a green, they tend to have longer par saves. They are more likely to hit one offline and have to hit rescue shots. That's why I tell bombers to work on their Short Game (if needed). If they have a really good Short game and are not a miserable putter, they can recover when they hit a tee shot well offline and when they do hit an accurate tee shot, they are likely to end up with a closer birdie putt than the field average (over time).
So here we have Koepka who is 5th in club speed and 6th in driving distance on all drives. That's important to note because it means he's not laying up a ton so that he is not as long as he appears. Meanwhile, he's been a phenomenal putter this year. His iron play from inside 175 yards could use some work, but he's good from the Red Zone. It just comes down to working out the kinks in his short game (while not losing too much of his putting effectiveness).
Out of the top-20 in Driving Distance on all drives, only Jimmy Walker is better than Koepka (Walker is #1). After that, the closest competitor is Jason Day who currently ranks 43rd in Putts Gained.
Anyway, here are a couple of videos of Koepka's swing:
The first thing I notice is that his feet are square at address instead of being flared out.
Typically, if you're looking to get more hip joint rotation to help assist in rotating the pelvis, you want the feet flared. However, hip rotation is not likely a problem for Koepka. I know Koepka is from Florida and at one time Jim McLean did teach that and I wouldn't be surprised if he squared the feet from either Jim McLean or one McLean's teachers. If you watch some of Kelvin Miyahira's golfers, they have their feet square as well. However, that is usually younger golfers and you can over-do the abduction of the hips and legs in the downswing and keeping the feet square at address can help prevent that.
The look of his lower body is mostly due to his square feet. He has got some dual IR of the hips, but not a lot as say a Bubba Watson or Sam Snead due tot he square feet. This also shows the relative lack of pelvic rotation at p4. But, his hips are just about level and his left knee is 'kicked in' towards the ball. He also has not lowered his upper body here. All of that will allow him to get Anterior and Left Pelvic Tilt to get pelvic rotation in the downswing.
At p5 his pelvic is already open to the target line. He has produced quite a bit of Anterior Pelvic Tilt and a little Left Pelvic Tilt, so he's not going to slide. This has moved the hips from dual IR at p4 to dual ER. The thighs have abducted (aka Snead squat). He also has an excellent right elbow move as the right elbow is driving towards the ball and is under the left arm. This means the right shoulder is going into ER and the left shoulder into IR and is flattens the shaft angle. So even though his left arm is jutted out a bit from the DTL view, he is in great position to hit this ball well.
His feet also remain square, but he's getting the dual hip ER and the dual thigh abduction. So the square feet is having no negative effect on his swing.
I see a hair of an under-flip.
From P5 to P7, he is doing more jumping and he's doing it more off the toes. He already had a lot of pelvis rotation from P4 to P5. And with his foot square, it's a bit difficult to continue to get rotation, so the golfer is more likely to do more jumping than rotating. You need both in order to hit the ball far and stabilize the club head. I think Koepka overdoes the jump a little bit and that creates that small under-flip.
So the result?
You're likely to add dynamic loft at impact. You're more likely to hit below the CoG of the club which cause more spin, a lower smash factor and some really high windows (for your given club speed), spinny shots on occasion.
Koepka ranks 174th in Smash Factor and he generates 2,982 rpm's of Spin (12th highest on Tour).
The good news is I see little reason to change it since it's working for him. Perhaps it is playing a role in his problems from the Yellow Zone. And if he does want to repair it, I think the fix is fairly simply...flair out the left foot 5-10 degrees and get the pressure more in the left heel in the downswing (tougher to jump off your heels than it is off your toes).
3JACK