A study of Min Woo Lee’s action confirms he is far from a one-trick pony.
1: Lee displays square body lines, with his shoulders, hips, knees and feet parallel to the target line in his setup. His upper body is angled out in front of his toes, with a low hand position.
2: His low hand position at address encourages the clubhead to stay outside his hands and an early wrist set.
3: Lee’s right arm stays straight, with his left hand under his left shoulder, creating a wide hand arc. A 90-degree wrist hinge occurs early in the backswing when the hands are waist-high, creating a powerful lever system between his arms, hands and club.
4: The shaft is set nicely between his arms, with the shaft pointing slightly inside the ball. A square clubface with a flat left wrist, and the face parallel to his left forearm.
5: His lower body pushes down, increasing knee flex as the clubhead lowers behind his hands. He maintains that flat left wrist, which keeps the clubface square.
6: Lee stores energy as the clubhead continues to shallow, flattening the shaft angle as the lower body shifts forward and the right foot pushes up.
7: His hips rotate open as the right shoulder rotates out and up to the ball, releasing the right arm and the stored energy into the ball.
8: Lee’s head and right shoulder stay down and behind the strike, promoting a high launch angle for maximum carry distance. The club continues to freely accelerate past his chest.
9: His left arm folds, bending the left wrist and flattening the right wrist (which is the opposite of the backswing). His left forearm supports a vertical shaft position to promote a straight to left-to-right shot shape.
10: Lee maintains his spine angle as the folding of his left arm creates the letter ‘L’ formed by his left wrist, elbow and shoulder. The shaft is horizonal to the ground, illustrating an upper-body release.
11: His right knee touches his left, moving the right hip past the ball. His arms and club continue to fold into the follow through.
12: Both arms are relaxed, with the shaft released behind the upper body to a balanced finish.
Todd Anderson is the director of instruction at the PGA Tour Performance Center at TPC Sawgrass, home of the Players Championship. The 2010 PGA of America Teacher of the Year has seen his students amass more than 50 victories across the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour, including two FedEx Cup titles. He is currently rated by Golf Digest as one of the top 20 golf instructors in the United States.
Photographs by getty images/andy cheung, swing: getty images/Orlando Ramirez
