Couples’ swing keys

When Couples makes his backswing, he’s only thinking about one thing: completing a full shoulder turn to the top.

“I think every good player or every good amateur wants to do that,” he says. “And once I get the shoulder turn back, I don’t think about the change in direction, it just happens.”

On the downswing, Couples feels his hips open up past impact — but he doesn’t allow the clubhead to follow. Instead, he wants the clubhead to release down the target line after he makes contact with the ball.

If he were to let the clubhead start following his hips after impact, he’d be swinging severely from out to in, which can make it difficult to generate power. So instead, he wants to focus on releasing the clubhead down the target line.

“I release the club going down the line,” Couples says. “So learn to clear your hips and let the club go down the line and release it.”

When Couples does that, it makes it easy for him to generate effortless power.

Zephyr Melton

Golf.com Editor

Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Prior to joining the team at GOLF, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with the Texas Golf Association, Team USA, the Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists on all things instruction and covers amateur and women’s golf. He can be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.