Case Study: Camilo Villegas

[iacas]

Backing up my assertion that most golfers don't do a certain thing, we have a little case study here. Camilo Villegas won this week, yet hit his fair share of little pulls and deflected cuts. Why? The video tells the story:



Did you get the answer right before it was given to you in the video?

Am I picking on Camilo? No. Clearly the guy can repeat his move often enough to win. But I am using him as an example to learn, and on the weeks he's not winning, this "mini problem" may be a part of it.

[iacas]

Oh, and this:

Mark Godich, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: I would just say this: He wasn't that solid from tee to green. He won today with his putter, even with those short misses on the back nine. He made three huge par saves on the front, all from 10 feet or more. But he pulled off the shots when he needed them. Give him credit for that.

And this:

[JetFan1983]

Good stuff, iacas. I can't wait to practice the hip slide this season.

Camilo's putter was on fire at the Honda and definitely made up for his poor swings yesterday. It seemed like he had a lot of adrenaline going and was really going after every tee shot on Sunday. Too much so.

[jlh1508]

all this hip slide talk has changed my swing.

I am hitting the ball more solidly and consistently since incorporating the hip slide to start the down swing

[stebed]

Good post, I am being coached by a Titleist TPI coach this season and need to get more hip movement in my swing. That first video is a great illustration of the hips starting to slide forward while his back is still facing the target (which is exactly what I have to master) What I will say is plenty of people are going to look at this and analise their own swing and determine they need more lower body action in their swings but this movement doesn't come without strength in the core, glutes and flexibility in the hip flexor muscles. It is quite easy to slide your hips in your swing but the key is starting your down swing with the hips moving toward the target before the upper body starts to move.

[iacas]

What I will say is plenty of people are going to look at this and analise their own swing and determine they need more lower body action in their swings but this movement doesn't come without strength in the core, glutes and flexibility in the hip flexor muscles.

Sure it can. It sounds like you're believing a bit too much of what TPI wants to tell you... It doesn't take a ton of core strength to push your hips forward. But they're selling fitness and working out and everything, so...

[rafal]

Very helpful again. Thanks for the video.

[david_wedzik]

Here is a comparison b/w Camilo and Charlie Wi (slides forward, draws everything). Differences are substantial and quite telling.

[shortstop20]

I think there's a reason Camilo steps back most of the time on his shots, he's clearly hanging back(and off balance).

It's not like Jack's move where he naturally stepped back onto the right foot after impact. Camilo clearly hangs back THROUGH the shot.

[jamo]

Here is a comparison b/w Camilo and Charlie Wi (slides forward, draws everything). Differences are substantial and quite telling.

And which is going 300 yards? Camilo's swing is built solely for power, and for that he has only 3 wins. He gets hot with the putter every now and then, and then he comes back to earth.

PS, I'm agreeing with you, that post was a little vague.

[shortstop20]

And which is going 300 yards? Camilo's swing is built solely for power, and for that he has only 3 wins. He gets hot with the putter every now and then, and then he comes back to earth.

I think you could argue Camilo would hit the ball further if he had the action talked about in this thread.

[Shanks A Million]

It just goes to show that everyone is unique, and has their own problems. No one has a perfect game, Tiger can't drive, Jack can't chip, Tom can't make short ones, Greg has no luck. I guess we all have our little flaws, and certainly there is no perfect swing. He can correct the problem, and hopefully he will. I think that's the cool thing about golf, it's not like the high jump or pole vault, where everyone has a pretty similar motion, golf is unique from person to person in a big way, and there's not one accepted swing.

The difference between us and Camillo, is that he's a +6 handicap who makes millions of dollars playing on the PGA tour, and we aren't, and we don't.