Golf Smart Academy Forum — Brooks Koepka + Dustin Johnson vs. Bubba Watson

Reply

Brooks Koepka + Dustin Johnson vs. Bubba Watson ¶

By: Ed C on Nov. 5, 2019, 9:54 p.m.

The longest hitters on the PGA Tour are fascinating to me. But this season, both Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson had offseason surgery to repair partially torn ligaments or tendons in their left knee.

Contrast that to Bubba Watson, who to my knowledge has never had a disclosed injury in his lead knee, despite being a big hitter for almost 2 decades now. I can't help but wonder:

- Does it help that Bubba's lead leg lifts off the ground right at impact, thus not forcing his knee to absorb so much force?
- For players whose lead leg lifts off the ground right at impact, what are they doing differently (or more of) to make that happen?
- Is it any more or less accurate than keeping your front leg connected to the ground, but allowing for some rotation/rolling of the foot?

- Does anyone else find it interesting that Kevin Na is also quietly doing this leg move off the tee? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBLJu-Qy1Vo&t=417s

Last edited by: Ed C on Nov. 5, 2019, 10:35 p.m., edited 2 times in total.

Reply

Re: Brooks Koepka + Dustin Johnson vs. Bubba Watson ¶

By: Tyler F on Nov. 10, 2019, 9:58 a.m.

+Ed C
I dont' know the full extent of the injuries and surgeries, so I can't comment on that. But I do think that Bubba's tendency to have the lead foot off the ground puts less at impact. And his foot turn out and hip behind the ankle probably create less stress as well.

In virtually all golfers, the pressure on the lead foot is decreasing through impact from the expression of all the vertical force. You might not see the foot come completely off the ground, but the pressure is decreasing.

When the lead foot comes off the ground the golfer is putting a lot of pressure into the trail foot and usually has the upper body further behind the ball. This can help with launch for the driver but causes low point issues for the shorter irons.

Really, the only real disadvantage is that it can make the path go more out-to-in. If you have a pretty neutral path.

As for Kevin Na, he doesn't appear to do it with every driver swing, so perhaps that particular swing he was trying to launch it differently or add a little extra distance.
Here's a swing where his foot lifts, but doesn't have as much travel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GydHqYtHUng

Reply

Re: Brooks Koepka + Dustin Johnson vs. Bubba Watson ¶

By: Ed C on Nov. 10, 2019, 4:56 p.m.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Btw - I think that Korean YouTube channel is great! If you plan to post more swing analysis videos, would love to hear your take on lpga players with amazing swings like Ariya, sung hyun park, Anne van dam, Brooke Henderson.

Reply

Re: Brooks Koepka + Dustin Johnson vs. Bubba Watson ¶

By: Tyler F on Nov. 17, 2019, 2:26 p.m.

You're welcome. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll get back on doing swing analysis in the winter. Working on a content project right now that is taking a lot of focus ;)