How to crush it off the tee

What is immediately noticeable is the immense power that Daniel is delivering through impact. He is balanced and maintains his spine angle and there is no straightening up out of posture too early. His left hip has cleared but a large proportion of his weight is still behind the ball at the moment of striking, something common to all long hitters. Take note, the right heel is only just lifting yet the ball is on its journey. Also, he has released the angles in his wrists but his arms are not yet fully extended. At impact the right elbow should still be slightly flexed if you want to maximise your power.

His takeaway is wide with some forearm rotation which begins to open the clubface just beyond the position here. There is weight transfer to the right leg and the upper body turn is already creating a feeling of the explosive power building.

This shows an orthodox grip. However, at set-up, he sets the shaft of his club straight up from the ball. On occasions the shaft may even lean a fraction back. This causes his left wrist to buckle backwards very slightly and can lead to his right forearm sitting a little high, forcing the elbow to be straighter than I would like to see.

Daniel appears orthodox apart from the club shaft lying in a slightly flat plane. The inset demonstrates the finish of the backswing and here it is possible to see that the left elbow is somewhat bent. The left wrist is now in a cupped position, the clubface is open and the shaft is pointing across the line. The sum total of these positions are going to demand a very aggressive release through impact in order to square up the clubface, otherwise the ball will start too far right and curve further right in flight.

The Argentinian is a very powerful hitter who has to swing freely through impact to ensure the clubface squares. Clearing the left hip, while not allowing the upper body to get too far forwards, is vital to buy yourself enough time to square the clubface into the hitting area. After impact you can almost sense the rapid weight shift onto the left heel, which often results in his left foot moving its position. With good balance and timing his undoubted power gives him a great advantage.