Retief has wonderful fundamentals: grip, posture, ball position and alignment. All good swings must start from good fundamentals, and these are as good as they get. --Butch Harmon
No wasted motion
Goosen's move defines effortless power
I have never had the pleasure of working with Retief Goosen, but I have always admired his swing--and him as a person. Retief is a very strong man at 6 feet and 175 pounds, and you can see that strength in his golf swing. He starts from an athletic setup, and he generates a tremendous amount of power with very little effort. It must be something in the water in South Africa, because Ernie Els has the same smooth speed in his swing.
As you can see in these pictures, Retief has wonderful fundamentals: grip, posture, ball position and alignment. All good swings must start from good fundamentals, and these are as good as they get.
Retief makes a big shoulder turn over a much smaller hip turn, creating tremendous torque. He stops short of parallel at the top, and maintains a wide arc--his hands stay far away from his head at this point. From this position, he can really turn on the speed coming into the ball.
As in all good swings, his downswing starts from the ground up. Retief transfers his weight to his left side, and then his arms and hands drop into perfect hitting position. Notice how his spine continues to move forward and doesn't back up through impact.
Retief's wonderful extension continues through impact and turns into a perfect, balanced finished. He's totally rotated and facing his target with no energy wasted. Wow, what an elegant, powerful golf swing.
Swing sequence: Down-the-line
