Luke Donald's swing by RLX Edited Version

RLX Golf and The Ralph Lauren Pro Series present top world-ranked player Luke Donald on the mechanics of golf swing.

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Sports

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• RLX
• RL
• Golf
• Ralph
• Lauren
• Pro
• Tips
• Series
• Luke
• Donald
• Bunker

[EagleEyeGolfer]

Awesome vids sir. Enjoyable to watch!

[sennathebest]

@EagleEyeGolfer

Thank you! I am grad you enjoyed it!

[MrLuigiFercotti]

No swing is perfect for every shot. Donald is a lot like Olazabal, great iron player, not the longest straightest driver around. Though, their swings are quite different.

Donald does not flip, he has a very pronounced roll release, where the uncocking of the left wrist (ulnar deviation) is followed by a very fast left wrist roll (supination). This release creates a lot of easy power, but spraying it around is a downside of so much face rotation.

[ssolomko]

" ... and from there you just let gravity really take over." - Luke Donald. That is the hardest thing to do, to trust it and just let go. It is not your job to "hit" the ball, that is gravity's job.

[Tourswing]

@themothmanreturns He has wins under his belt on tour, and some big ones, so he has it in him. Its not length holding him back, but I agree his driving accuracy stats/GIR are down on average-be interesting to see how he goes this season, although not a great start so far!

[Tourswing]

@themothmanreturns Trust me-he doesnt flip, he doesnt release the lag too early-you can see that in slo-mo clips. His average drive is 282yds, tigers and hunters is 290yds, so he's not short either. For such a controlled swing, its very efficient as can be seen in that stat. He could force out another 8 yards with an aggressive body turn, but chooses control. And yes he has an amazing short game too, which is why he's No 1.

[themothmanreturns]

@Tourswing He handles pressure well and works very hard at his game but in my opinion he could be one of the greatest ever players if he could fix his release. At the moment, I think he will struggle to win a major.

[Tourswing]

@themothmanreturns I think you misunderstand how a proper release works. the high/low flight is caused by a flip under. In Lukes releases his hands roll over, so the loft is almost constant through impact. Rory/Tiger/Mahans hips slow to an almost stop just before impact (Rorys actually rotate backwards!)-they get their extra power from forced body rotation (all have shoulders open at impact)

[themothmanreturns]

@Tourswing In summary, Luke is able to strike the ball so well due to his great rhythm and balance but struggles to control it due to his flippy release. He also struggles to hit the ball far because he releases the lag too early and because more speed would require more timing and he already struggles with the timing. He is number 1 in the world because his short game is the best. He scrambles better than anyone and because his putting is so good, he makes the most of his good shots.

[Tourswing]

@themothmanreturns Yep the left hand slows, but he isn't firing the right hand that much-only enough to initiate the release-certainly not a big push with the right hand. His grip/backswing/transition ensures his club is approaching impact square (relative to the body). He will pretty much be relaxing through impact, just allowing the club to release over. I agree he needs more length sometimes, but has chosen control over speed/power-I'd stick with that formula if I was number 1!

[themothmanreturns]

@Tourswing This results in poor distance control since he can release a fraction too early and hit it too high or a fraction too late and hit it too low. Again he is at the mercy of timing. Luke would be able to hit the ball with more power and accuracy if he continued to rotate his hips through impact sice he would able to maintain the lag for longer whilst keeping the face much squarer to the target and the loft of the club much more consistant through the ball.

[Tourswing]

@themothmanreturns The definition of a flip is the left hand bending backwards as the right hand pushes under at impact (which increases loft). Luke doesn't do this. He rotates the hands over (as you say),and then re-cocks quickly after impact giving the impression its a flip. Yes it does require more timing, but it is more efficient for speed. For a guy that puts so little effort into the swing and is as so controlled as Luke is-he hits his clubs pretty well (eg 8 iron @162 yards ave.)