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Learn to Swing Like Major Champion Collin Morikawa

In this post, we will look at Collin Morikawa’s swing and what coaches and players can learn from it.

Collin Morikawa won the 2020 PGA Championship, impressing everyone with his superb tee-to-green performance.

His swing is a great example of modern, athletic motion and a great model to use for coaches.

Collin Morikawa wrist angles at the top of his backswing and approaching impact
Image source: Golf.com

One of the most noticeable aspects of his swing is his lead wrist flexion (also known as “bowing” of the wrist). Collin has a flexed wrist at the top, and it remains flexed during the downswing.

First of all, let’s review the terminology – what exactly is wrist flexion/extension?

Diagram of wrist extension and flexion showing one hand tilted upwards representing extension and one hand tilted down representing flexion.

There is more than one way to swing the club, and pros do it different ways. However, what we see among amateurs is that they manipulate the clubface much more before impact, which results in a weak flip.

With the lead wrist in a flexed position, the clubface is stabilized. All that is left to do is to rotate your body.

Of course, that is not easy for everyone to do, since many players do not have the athletic capability to rotate as much as Collin Morikawa.

But if you are able to rotate, follow this advice – the hands make the club face stable and the body generates the speed. This pattern is what golf great Lee Trevino used to do.

Collin Morikawa side-by-side comparison with Lee Trevino

Simply, whatever the lead wrist does, the club-face follows. So when elite players flex their lead wrist as they transition from backswing to downswing (and most do), the clubface rotates with it, closing slightly.

It’s proof that the lead wrist’s role is fairly significant. Flexing it early in the downswing requires less work on the player’s part to make sure the clubface is properly closed later in the swing.

Keep in mind an important analogy: Your lead wrist is your swing’s steering wheel, but your body remains the engine. The engine can never stall. By taking the correct grip and maintaining lead-wrist flexion deep into your downswing, all that’s left to do on your part is to rotate your body.

Use HackMotion Biofeedback to Train Flexion

But how do you train wrists to get more flexion during the swing like Collin Morikawa?

The answer is the “motorcycle move“.

In this video, coach Tyler Ferrell explains what the motorcycle move is, why it is helpful for squaring clubface, and how he uses HackMotion sensor’s biofeedback to teach it during his lessons.

Tour professionals, at impact, have around -25 degrees more flexion (more bowing) of the lead wrist than they had at address.

So if an average pro player has 25 degrees extended (cupped) wrist at address, he has approximately 0 degrees extended (flat) wrist at impact.

What is the “motorcycle move?”

At the top of the backswing, take your lead hand and pretend it is no longer gripping a golf club, but gripping a motorcycle. Feel the knuckles of your lead hand turn counter-clockwise as you start your downswing.

This will close the face earlier in your downswing. If you turn your knuckles but don’t keep rotating your body, you will hook the golf ball or start the ball well left of your target. If you turn your body but don’t knuckle down enough, you will leak it to the right.

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