If you’re looking for current players with a combination of elite ball striking with a claret jug in the closet, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better fit than Collin Morikawa.
The 2021 Open Champion won the Open in his first attempt, and comes into this year’s contest as one of the most in-form players in golf, after an uptick in his iron play. That’s going to be important next week at Royal Troon, with pot bunkers lurking around every corner.
The issue Morikawa identifies is a common one: Most amateurs don’t tend to get far enough into their lead leg. They slide their hips too much away on the backswing, then never make it back in time.
“I see so many amateurs stay back and flip their hands,” Morikawa says.
Hanging out too long on their trail leg and flipping (or scooping) results in all sorts of bad things:
Which brings us to Collin Morikawa’s key feel to help with this…
Pros, through a process called “re-centering,” get their weight hard into their left side early in their swing. Morikawa accomplishes this move with a feel:
Feeling your chest over your lead leg, and turning, helps bring the low point of your swing forward. That means more weight forward, and crispy ball-first contact with your irons, Morikawa says.
Give his feel a try, and check out more tips in our Golf Digest Swing Thought Finder right here.