A call to arms: A backswing change has Nicolai Hojgaard in hot pursuit of twin brother Rasmus
For most of his career, Nicolai Hojgaard has had the upper hand on his younger twin brother, Rasmus, in terms of ball speed and distance off the tee. When Rasmus edged past him in ball speed after this year’s Truist Championship (186.88 miles per hour versus 186.70), big brother probably took note: “Oh, Nicolai won’t like that,” says their swing coach, fellow Danish professional golfer Soren Hansen.
The two brothers are so competitive that “they would bet on which fly on the wall would leave first”, says Hansen, who was a two-time winner on the European Tour. “That’s why they’ve become so good. They train and do everything together. If you were a boxer and always fought your brother, you’re going to come out stronger.”
The twins might have very similar looks and stats, but their swings couldn’t be more different, Hansen says. They had separate coaches growing up, so Rasmus’ swing is “long and smooth” while Nicolai’s is “short and explosive”.
Although Nicolai’s is very effective at producing power – he averages 319.6 yards (292.2 metres) off the tee (fourth on the PGA Tour, as of the Tour Championship) with a clubhead speed of 124.3mph (sixth) – his short-and-explosive swing is still a work in progress.
“I’ve always had a tendency to swing very quick and across my chest with no arms, then slide into the ball and drop the club behind me,” Nicolai says. “If I can get my right arm up a little, I feel like I’m stronger. I can keep the club a bit higher and go straight down into the ball. That’s what I’ve been working on. I feel like we’re on to something.”
Nicolai, who was member of Europe’s victorious 2023 Ryder Cup team and is a winner of four international tournaments, says a higher hand position at the top [above, fourth image] helps keep him from getting the club trapped behind his body. When his backswing gets flatter from a lower hand position, that often forces him to spin out or slide and hit a miss to the right.
Hansen, who has worked with the brothers for a couple of years, says Nicolai is staying in the shot longer now because of the backswing adjustment, and that has eliminated the bad tendencies of spinning out or sliding.
“There’s a slight push into the front part of his left foot at the top of the backswing, and from there he can turn as hard as he wants,” Hansen says. “Nicolai’s arm extension through the ball [above, seventh image] is one of a kind. If you see a golfer in this position, something good has happened before it.”
While there isn’t much length to Nicolai’s backswing, he can generate a huge amount of shoulder turn – a byproduct of his athleticism and tall, lean frame (188cm, 88 kilograms). Provided he gets his arm structure correct, he can really turn on the speed. “If I get my right-arm position right,” he says, “I can hit the shot I want.”
Photograph: Matt Tannehill
