It is obviously an excellent address position but the things of interest are how close his hands are to his thighs and how great the angle formed between left arm and shaft is. If club golfers got this tucked in they would have very hunched shoulders and a poor posture. Note how the left foot is slightly withdrawn, this compensates for the hands being a bit close in.

Almost halfway back and a classic position. From a one-piece takeaway, turning off his left shoulder he maintains his body angles perfectly with the clubhead out in front of his hands. It is worth observing how the leading edge is parallel to his spine – a good indication of no excess movement.

The two main points are that the shaft is pointing down just on the player side of the ball, a fraction steep but understandable when we return to picture one. And Francesco has not transferred very much weight onto his right foot, preferring to hold himself very steady to create the appropriate steep angle of descent.

At the top of the backswing the left arm and shoulders are parallel to each other and the right forearm is parallel to the spine. This arm position is a little lower than some other great players but is perfectly in keeping with the original set-up and the position that his coach, Denis Pugh, favours for his pupil.

What a great position. The head is steady, body angles maintained, left hip beginning to clear and weight still firmly on both feet. The club is perfectly positioned parallel to both ground and his target line and located above the end of his shoes, perfectly on plane to achieve correct path and angle of approach at impact.

He produces a perfect contact giving the correct launch and the desired backspin. He has released the angles in his wrists and elbows, while clearing his left hip and leg without allowing his weight to get too much onto his left side too early.

Here we see a good forearm rotation coupled with a fine width of arc; he is really driving the ball up to the pin. Still down in his posture, left side clear but right foot only just leaving the ground. As I often say, you can play golf from behind the ball, but not from in front of it.

A perfectly balanced finish – there is little more to write other than to encourage all of you readers to try to work on achieving a better balanced follow-through on all your shots in 2012.