Full swing: Mike Weir
With a tightened swing, this lefty is poised to become one of the tour's most consistent drivers From left: A balanced, athletic setup. Ball position and left-hand placement are great. Middle: Mike turns his chin slightly to let his shoulders pass.  How Mike Weir subtracted some of his slap shot A lot of things play into the history of a golfer -- like Mike Weir's hockey background -- so as Mike's coach, I had to be careful not to change things just on theory. Mike generates an awesome amount of power with hip speed, a direct carryover from his hockey days. He isn't a big guy -- he won't be hitting 300-yard drives just by increasing his swing arc. We wanted to keep the elements that help him hit the ball with so much authority, but tighten up some of the things that made him hit it crooked. The major change we've made is with Mike's posture. As you can see from the photo at right (top photo), taken in early 2001, he used to have a more dramatic spine tilt through his swing. Now he stands much taller and is in much more classic positions. He's really winding up and staying behind the ball, which helps him hit higher tee shots that carry a lot farther. I give Mike a lot of credit for being willing to make swing changes in the middle of last season. He knew he would struggle a bit before everything clicked, but he is so determined to get better. He's a great natural athlete, and his training regimen would leave an Olympic athlete short of breath. After a lot of hard work, his swing came together at the Michelob Championship at Kingsmill in October 2001. He hit it great there and at the Disney, then was so solid at the Tour Championship, which he won in November of last year. One question I'm asked a lot is if I as a right-hander have trouble analyzing Mike's lefty swing. When we first started working together in 1996, I did have to use a computer to flip video of his swing over to righty so I could get a better eye. But I don't see it as lefty anymore. Just as a golf swing.  This photo from early '01 shows how Mike's spine angle was more bent over.  More upright at address than he used to be. More arm extension. |
