Mark it down, Viktor Hovland is going to be a star on the PGA Tour. I think he could win as many golf tournaments over his career as Dustin Johnson or Justin Thomas. He will forever be linked to Matthew Wolff (his Oklahoma State teammate) and Collin Morikawa because they entered the PGA Tour in the same year (2019). I think he will have a better career than those two because of that shoulder turn. He does a pump drill that can only be done with a huge shoulder turn. Here is how it works:
Don’t worry too much about the “pinching the elbows and bowing the wrists” that is talked about in the YouTube video. Simply look at this huge shoulder turn:
There are many beautiful angles in this backswing. Notice the right (trail) elbow tucked under and inside his right shoulder. Notice how the left arm looks straight but it is actually soft. This is the “pinching” the TV analysts are talking about these days. Tour Pros don’t think about “pinching” their elbows together. They turn so much with their core and upper thoracic that their arms naturally fall towards the middle of their chest at the top of their backswing.
The “pumping” is Victor finishing his shoulder turn with that last little drive under with the left lat. With such a great shoulder turn, this last “pump” is going to actually soften the arms and make it feel like his arms are coming together at the top of his swing. This is something no amateur will ever feel. It is a multi year process to get the flexibility and patience to achieve this spot at the top of the backswing.
What makes Victor so great is he completes the backswing and then holds the hinge and drives under and through the ball without using his legs to create the speed. His legs stabilize and he fires under with the upper body rotating around the lower body. Look at his legs just after impact here:
Notice the right (trail) leg staying on the target line well after impact. This is where Viktor has a huge advantage over Collin Morikawa. While Collin has a beautiful swing, he allows that right knee to get active in the downswing.
Matthew Wolff has a very powerful swing but will not be as consistent as Viktor Hovland. Hovland already has the PGA Tour record for most consecutive rounds in the 60s and he is only in his second year on tour. You will see his name atop leaderboards week in and week out.
Viktor Hovland Impact Position Drill
Isn’t this gorgeous? Want to get close to this? Here is a drill. Set up to the ball, put your feet very close together in your set up. Pick up your trail leg, put your trail leg big toe on the ground and let your trail leg knee fall in behind your lead leg. Make sure your lead leg is stacked and firm while you drive under with your right side; as hard and as far as you can. When you do this your hands and arms are going to want to push away from your body. Instead, tuck your trail elbow into your ribs and feel as if it is pointing towards the target. Then, allow your lead elbow to be extremely relaxed and feel like it is pointed down towards the trail knee.
Yes, this necessitates some flexibility, a lot of trust and tremendous skill. From there, use your left side to go back a short distance then use your right side to get through the ball. This is impact. The first 500 times you try this you will likely shank it and get extremely frustrated. Do not give up. Keep practicing the feel of the muscles in the arms and legs being in this position and allow your core to do the work. Easy enough. After doing 10,000 of these, let me know and then we will talk about the shoulder turn.
Unless Viktor completely loses his putter or gets injured, expect to see this guy win professional tournaments every single year. If you want a swing like Viktor Hovland contact Patrick Kelley Golf today.
