Chris Kirk adjusted his swing to find the winner’s circle again
Many tour players learn how to sling draws from an early age because it’s a shortcut to more distance. However, executing a big power hook depends a lot on precision timing, so many pros eventually curtail this shot shape for something easier to repeat. Just ask Chris Kirk.
“I’ve always moved the ball from right to left,” says Kirk, 39, who started his 14th season on the PGA Tour in January 2024 with his sixth victory – arguably his biggest – at The Sentry at Kapalua in Hawaii. “When I was younger, in college, it was drawing a lot more. You could call it a ‘sling hook’. But as I’ve gotten older and my swing has gotten a little better, I don’t sling it as much [for control].”
Kirk’s long-time swing coach, Golf Digest 50 Best Teacher Scott Hamilton, says that while they’ve softened the sling, Kirk didn’t have to sacrifice distance as a result.
“He was a 113 to 114 miles-per-hour guy. Now he can hit 118,” Hamilton says. “He probably plays at 113 to 115, but when he wants to hit one hard, he’s got that extra gear.”
Hamilton says Kirk’s old tendency was to let his arms fold, making the swing get narrow at the top. But a lot of work on the range – and in the gym – helped Kirk get much wider. That width generates more power and, even better, helps him swing with better timing. He’s able to consistently bring the club down on a shallower plane.
The other thing the two worked on was getting Kirk’s pelvis to move better, Hamilton says. Kirk’s old habit was to push his hips out in front of the ball on the backswing, which caused him “to throw the brakes on and then try to square up the clubface” in the downswing, Hamilton says. It was an unreliable move. Now, the more Kirk can load into his right hip and maintain pressure there on the backswing [fourth image, above], the easier it is for him to sync his arm swing with his body rotation and attack the ball from inside the target line.
“I want to feel like I make a big turn, but I stay centred as I turn,” Kirk says.
Getting his pelvis stabilised also makes it easier for Kirk to unload and push off the ground through impact [sixth image, above] – a big reason for his jump in clubhead speed. Kirk finished 2024 ranked 100th in driving distance at 299.1 yards, a near 16-yard increase from five years prior when he struggled to post one top-25 finish in 17 starts. Kirk had three top 10s last year including the win in the season opener.
“He’s really added a vertical component to his swing,” Hamilton says. “He’ll load up, squat a little bit, and then push out. He’s using a lot more ground force, and that boosts power.”
Photos: Dom Furore
