Jordan Spieth's Chicken Wing

I couldn't help but notice when they were looking at Jordan Spieth's swing during the Open coverage they spotted the unusual move through the ball where his left arm does a sort of chicken wing.

There was some speculation about why this was.  I think he does this because he's controlling the clubface using the back of his left hand.  By keeping the back of the left hand going down the line a bit longer through impact, it produces this sort of chicken wing affect where the left arm disconnects slightly from his rotating upper body.  It may cost him some distance, but it produces consistently accurate striking, as it did for Byron Nelson.

They also spoke about Spieth's relatively weak grip.  If you are controlling the club face using the back of your left hand, the grip, by necessity, must be, not necessarily weak, but definitely neutral.  As Bobby Jones taught, if we were to stand directly in front of Spieth as he strikes the ball, we would see the back of his left hand coming straight at us through impact, not turning or flipping.  In his book Bobby Jones on Golf, Bobby wrote:

"In a sound golf stroke, the back of the left hand is visible at the instant of impact to an observer standing in front of the player.  It is important that this hand should drive straight through the impact position in the effort to direct the head of the club precisely along the line of play.  The turning action, which begins to take place an appreciable space after contact, does so then because the player's muscles relax after the effort of hitting, and because the swing has then reached the limit of motion it can accommodate along the line of flight."

I suspect, Jordan Spieth, if we could measure it, keeps the back of his left hand, and consequently the club face, going down the target line as long or longer than any top player in the game right now.  It may result in a bit of a chicken wing affect that looks unusual, but it produces solid, consistent shots. 

Spieth's move may look unusual, but, given the results he's achieving, it's obvious there is method in his madness, and he knows exactly what he's doing and why.  You go, kid.