Viktor Hovland broke out his double-pump swing final week on the Sentry.
PGA Tour
It’s been virtually every week since Viktor Hovland pulled out his double-pump transfer through the last spherical of the Sentry at Kapalua final weekend, and I nonetheless can’t wrap my mind round it. In case you missed it, on Sunday, Hovland was seen hitting a drive the place he appeared to bounce his palms twice on the prime of his backswing.
We’ve seen the transfer from Hovland up to now, however the mechanics of the most recent look have been residing rent-free in my head. Why is Hovland capable of seemingly generate extra energy and management, two issues that aren’t often related to one another, utilizing a easy bounce of his palms?
I requested Rick Silva, a GOLF Trainer to Watch and golf biomechanics knowledgeable, to higher perceive the science behind Hovland’s double pump.
As Hovland explains, he makes use of the double pump to supply a right-to-left ball flight and extra distance. Silva says this transfer works for Hovland as a result of it improves his sequencing, as his fade is probably going a results of his arms initiating the downswing too early.
Why does sequencing matter?
Give it some thought like this, in case you had been a determine skater attempting to spin as quick as attainable, you’d pull your arms in, or over your head, and in case you had been attempting to decelerate or reduce rotation, you’d broaden as a lot as attainable. Now, apply this idea to the golf swing.
Partaking the arms from the very best hand place, or early within the sequence, will increase rotation and pace. This opens the physique, causes the membership to tug, forces gamers to throw the membership away from their physique (in any other case often known as coming excessive) and ends in an out-to-in swing path.
The double pump helps Hovland set off his arms a couple of seconds later, slowing them down and proscribing his rotation. This transfer additionally creates extra distance between his torso and the golf membership, which Siva explains is essential to transferring extra power into the membership and producing extra distance off the tee.
“The most important mass we’ve got as a human being is our rib cage or torso,” Silva says, “And the way we’re balancing that relative to the mass of the membership is essential.”
In Hovland’s case, he builds up pressure by sustaining the utmost distance between his torso and the golf membership. Then, he releases his arms, slinging them off his torso mass in a movement that’s much like snapping a towel.
“When the golf membership is as distant from the torso as attainable, it’s really proscribing rotation and transferring extra power to the membership,” Silva says.
The takeaway
Whereas the double pump works for Hovland, it’s not one thing Silva says the typical golfer ought to attempt to repeat — however we are able to nonetheless take one thing away from this lesson. Sequencing is integral to your swing. Have a look at Hovland. A easy tweak allowed him to extend management and choose up virtually 20 yards together with his drive. As a substitute of specializing in small particulars in your swing, maybe your time would be higher spent perfecting your swing sequence.
