Over the last number of years, Sweede Henrik Stenson has firmly cemented his place as one of the best players in the world. Although he has not won a major yet, he has consistently maintained a place in the worlds top ten players. In 2013 he reached his highest world ranking position of third, which included Henrik being the first person to win both the Fed Ex cup on the PGA tour, and also the European Tours Race to Dubai.
ADDRESS
As we look at Stenson’s set up, we can already see some clues to how he is going to hit the golf ball. As we look at the down the line view it looks relatively similar to most professionals on the tour these days. His posture is tall, strong and balanced, ready to strike the ball with as much power as he can create. On the right however one thing that stands out is Henrik’s spine angle. When we look at his set up from face on you can see Henrik has a relatively upright spine angle to begin the swing. This would imply a very centred look to his swing throughout, and and a relatively steep angle of attack compared to some other players.
THE TAKEAWAY
As we look at Stenson’s set up, we can already see some clues to how he is going to hit the golf ball. As we look at the down the line view it looks relatively similar to most professionals on the tour these days. His posture is tall, strong and balanced, ready to strike the ball with as much power as he can create. On the right however one thing that stands out is Henrik’s spine angle. When we look at his set up from face on you can see Henrik has a relatively upright spine angle to begin the swing. This would imply a very centred look to his swing throughout, and and a relatively steep angle of attack compared to some other players.
HALFWAY BACK
As Stenson begins to approach the top you will see his hands to begin to work inwards , and the club begins to get slightly upright. He maintains some cup in his left wrist, which helps him keep the clubface in an open position, similar to what we could see in the address position. From the face on view we can see the fantastic width that Henrik creates with his arms while also maintaining an exceptionally stable lower half, this is key to Henrik’s power and consistency.
TOP OF BACKSWING
As Henrik reaches the top we can see just how much energy and power he has stored up. His upper body looks tightly wound against his stable lower body, and the club is in a relatively short and controlled position, allowing him to give 100% through the golf ball.
THE DOWNSWING
As Stenson begins the downswing we see a dramatic shift forward with his body, and unlike a lot of the longer drivers of the golf ball you will actually see his head also moving towards the ball. This move means that Stenson will create a lot of lag in the downswing, however the disadvantage of this movement forward can sometimes mean a slightly steeper attack angle as the club approaches the golf ball. However one thing you may notice with Stenson is that he frequently hits a 2 wood (a strongly lofted 3 wood) from the tee to accommodate this. Having more loft from the tee will allow Henrik to hit down on the ball with power, and still hit the golf ball a long way.
As we look at the left hand side you will see the club head dipping fractionally under the original shaft plane and the club coming from behind his hands. This movement will allow Henrik create an in to out path and a slight draw shape to his ball flight.
IMPACT
As we can see from Henriks impact position on the left, he has really cleared his hips through the ball, unloading all of that energy he created in the backswing through the golf ball. You will notice his right forearm is in a slightly tucked position, again implying that slight in to out path and allowing him to create a draw shape to the ball flight.
THE RELEASE
As you can see from the above images Stenson really chases the ball as it leaves the club face. His arms really stretch through the shot and the club face stays nicely with his body and not getting too shut post impact. Unusually the club rises in quite an upright fashion post impact which also helps Stenson reduce the odds of missing the ball left.
THE FINISH
Stenson’s finish is generally a little different than most, he will normally finish in a relatively short follow through which often looks as if he has “punched” the golf ball, however as we see with almost every player he is exceptionally balanced and in control of his body at this point.
