Tony Finau on social media slams a drive in a green Power Rangers outfit…
Tony Finau casually topping 200 mph ball speed in a green ranger costume.
Hall of Fame Has-More-In-The-Tank guy. Backswing is like a foot longer, and notice how he loads his right leg so much that his left foot gets airborne on his takeaway.
Also, that sound 🚀🙌 pic.twitter.com/dQPx3wGhSy
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) November 1, 2023
Finau got his ball speed up to 200mph in the video, which is almost 30mph faster than the PGA Tour’s ball speed average. And if you look closely, you can learn a lot about the specific ways Finau dials up this extra power. Specifically, his ability to perfect one very specific move that the rest of us can learn a lot from.
It’s a concept called recentring, and it’s a really important term that golfers should know and focus on in their own swing.
What is ‘recentring’?
Take a close look at Power Ranger Tony Finau’s golf swing above, and you’ll notice something that I think is rather interesting.
Finau shuffles his feet around quite a lot before he makes his swing. But as he takes the club away, you’ll notice that his left foot is entirely off the ground. Because he’s standing on one leg during these milliseconds, it means he has, quite literally, shifted all his body weight back onto his right leg.
But then if you look at his left foot again at the top of his backswing, you’ll notice it’s back on the ground. His weight (or pressure, if you want to use the technical term) has shifted back to his trail (right) leg. Not entirely, but enough so his weight is more evenly distributed.
This is what golf coaches and players know as recentring: the process of moving your weight back to your trail foot, and then back to the middle of your stance. Pros do this well. Amateurs, generally, don’t. And it’s important.
Why you should care
Most amateur golfers know the need to shift their weight on the backswing, but when they do, they usually shift it too slowly. It causes them to slide their hips, rather than turn. It costs them power and causes them to hit fat shots and all kinds of other problems.
Pros, by contrast, get their weight to their right side early, and then recentre it back towards the left leg by the top of the backswing, which does some good things:
- That back and forth motion creates power
- It helps them make crisp, ball-first contact
- It allows them to complete the shifting portion of their swing early, so they can start rotating.
If you’re looking for a swing thought that will help you do this, it’s: get over to your right side early on your takeaway, then back towards your left foot by the top of the backswing. Do that, you’ll almost certainly hit better shots.
