Tapped talent.
It’s hard to get time with Butch Harmon, especially after he announced his retirement from tour travel in 2017. So it says a lot about Danielle Kang’s potential that she joined his roster at the end of 2018. She won a month later, again in 2019, and has two more LPGA titles this year – the fourth and fifth victories of her career. But it might be Kang’s gains off the tee that demonstrate how good she’s getting. She averaged 227.4 metres off the tee in 2017. Last year, it was up to 239.3 metres.
“Danielle has a lot of power for her size [5-foot-6], and we’ve worked to get her in position to really deliver that power,”
Harmon says. “She used to be long in the backswing and moving off the ball too much. We tightened her up, got her turning better, so she can keep her arms wide coming down and swing the club head into the back of the ball.” Adds Kang, now third on the women’s world ranking: “I got rid of the fear of the right shot. I can control the draw and the low and high. I’m in that place where I can just tee it up and hit it right now.”
FREEING THE TURN
“Danielle has a really big rotation to the top,” says her instructor, Butch Harmon. “Her arm swing is shorter, and she’s much better at turning into that right leg. Notice her head swivelling back. That lets her shoulders turn freely. Most amateurs restrict
ANGLING FOR SPEED
“She used to be long going back and lose her wrist hinge coming down,” Harmon says. “Here, she’s very solid at the top, arms extended, and then she down-cocks the wrists more than 90 degrees halfway down, which is key to producing more swing speed.”
STAYING WIDE
“She keeps her arms wide going back, so she can be wide coming down – her hands never get close to her body,” Harmon says. “Also, she turned into the right instep going back then quickly gets into a great hitting position by shifting left coming down.”
DELIVERING SPEED
“She used to throw her hands into the shot,” Harmon says. “Now, after her weight shift, she just straightens her right arm into the ball. Also, she keeps her left foot down at impact. She’s not popping up. That helps deliver more speed into the back of the ball.”
DANIELLE KANG
AGE/RESIDENCE
28 • Las Vegas
DRIVER
TaylorMade M4 8.5 degrees
AVERAGE DRIVE 2020
235.6 metres
DRIVING ACCURACY 2020
73.1 percent
