AUGUSTA, Ga.—I find it funny when golf fans get alarmed because a player working through something in his golf swing, especially during a major week. The truth is, most tour players are always working on the details of their golf swing, whether the rest of us realize it or not.
For evidence, look no further than Max Homa at the 2024 Masters.
Max Homa came into the third round at Augusta National the 36-hole co-leader, and leading the field in Greens in Regulation. His game looks like it’s on cruise control, in the best kind of way. But under the surface, you can see him working diligently on the details.
Homa’s pre-shot move
If you watch the broadcast closely, Homa makes this move before every full shot. You can see it very clearly on the tee shot on the second hole of his third round, which is where the two frames below are taken.
First, Homa takes what looks to many of us to be a textbook setup position.
He settles in for a moment, and then, he makes his move. A subtle drop off his chest down towards the ground. In doing so, it pulls his rear-end back, and the upper part of his chest (along with his chin) down towards the ground.
Homa’s coach, Golf Digest No. 1-ranked teacher Mark Blackburn said this move is intentional.
“It creates more hip hinge and puts his lumbar spine in a more neutral position,” Blackburn says.
Two small details, but important ones both for Max’s—and your—golf swing.
Why hip tilt helps
When golfers don’t tilt their upper body enough from their hips at setup, they’ll often struggle to load and make a powerful turn on the backswing, which will create issues later in their swing.
The Titleist Performance Institute explains that this poor setup position can often lead to severe early extension, which “massively effects the quality and consistency of strike of the golf ball,” and may even lead to lower back pain.
Love this angle of Homa at impact.
Can really see how he turns into his lead hip pic.twitter.com/LPRPGFiyuF
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) April 12, 2024
This small move helps put Homa’s golf swing into a better spot, and he’s found a way to fold it seamlessly into his pre-shot process this week.
“I like to maintain this outlook of: Good shot, bad shot, doesn’t really matter. Did I go through my process; did I commit to my shot?” Homa said after his second round. “Once it takes off, I might as well close my eyes.”
A small adjustment, yielding big results.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
