How to ensure consistency like Xander Schauffele.
American Xander Schauffele is one of the most consistent ball-strikers on the PGA Tour. Last season, he ranked 10th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and sixth in Approach the Green en route to a strong 2024 campaign where he won two major championships. Here, we examine his golf swing in this tutorial and break down the fundamentals that have made Schauffele one of the top players in the world.
1. Schauffele has a balanced setup with the back of his right arm, the front of his right knee and the middle of his right foot vertically aligned. He sets his left hand on the club first, then attaches his right hand to get the right arm below the left and sets his shoulders square.
2. His takeaway sees his hands, arms and club creating a wide and powerful arc.
3. Here, the club shaft is parallel to the target line. When the shaft is parallel to the ground, it indicates an on-plane takeaway. The clubface matches his spine angle, showing no manipulation with the hands during his takeaway.
4. The upper body continues to rotate while he keeps the arms in front of his chest, so the hands can have a straight delivery line to the inside of the ball on the downswing.
5. His elbows remain close together to provide a solid structure at the top of the swing.
6. Schauffele is fully loaded here, with a full upper body rotation against a stable lower body to produce full coil at the top of his backswing. The left wrist is slightly bowed to match the clubface to the left forearm (square clubface), which helps create a stable left wrist at impact.
7. His lower body starts the downswing to produce an inside-out delivery to the ball. Schauffele maintains the angle between the left arm and club shaft, which stores the power for a sequenced release.
8. The hips are more open than the upper body here, illustrating proper kinematic sequence (lower body, chest, arms, hands and club). The clubface is looking at the ball with the right elbow on the right hip, right arm inside and behind left to keep the clubface from over-rotating.
9. His right elbow drives forward to move his hands and clubhead through the ball and prevents the clubhead from passing the left arm too early. The right shoulder stays down and behind the strike, which creates a lot of compression between the clubhead and the ball.
10. You will notice his lower body is fully rotated with the right hip and knee rotated up to the ball. His left foot stays down and the right heel up, which illustrates the weight transfer from the right side to the left during the downswing. Schauffele maintains his spine angle and releases on-plane with the club and right arm bisecting his shoulder plane.
11. The momentum of the swing freely extends his arms and club up and around his body. He watches the ball after impact with his eyes in a vertical plane, staying in the shot well after impact.
12. Fully releases his lower body, upper body, arms, hands and club into a relaxed balanced finish. His spine angle has decreased as the force of the swing brings the upper body on top of the left leg. He’s now following the ball with his eyes in a horizonal position.
Spend some time studying the key positions Xander Schauffele has in his golf swing, and you could be hitting more fairways and greens in your next round.
Photographs by Getty Images
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. In this tutorial, Anderson breaks down Xander Schauffele’s golf swing, which helped him win the PGA Championship and the Open Championship in 2024.
