It’s OK to envy another golfer’s swing. It can be good for your own golf swing—but only if you do it the right way.

The problem: You may like another player’s golf swing—Adam Scott, let’s say—but you may not be able to swing exactly like them, for a variety of reasons:

  • The player with your ideal golf swing may be built differently from you. If you’re tall and lean, a shorter and stocky golfer’s swing might not suit you.
  • Even if you’re built similarly, your body’s proportions may be significantly different than theirs. Your wingspan may be shorter than your height, for instance, while the player you idolize may have a wingspan that’s longer than their height, which can make the two swings look different.
  • More crucially, you may have different physical strengths and weaknesses from the player you idolize. They may have flexible hips, which again, can change how their golf swing works.

The risk: At best, copying a golf swing with different underlying traits could cost you power and consistency. At worst, it could leave you injured.

How to have good swing envy

Yet golf swing envy is a trap even tour players fall into. It’s natural to try to emulate the golf swings you like the look of, but for an example of how to do it the right way, look to recent PGA Tour winner Patton Kizzire.

As Kizzire’s coach, Golf Digest Top 50 Teacher Justin Parsons explains: Kizzire is an athletic six-foot-five-inches with long legs. His wingspan is slightly shorter than his height, which means his golf swing is naturally going to be more upright.

As Parsons explains:

“He likes the look of Ben Hogan’s flatter, more horizontal golf swings. If Patton tried to swing on a flatter plane like Hogan, he’d struggle to reach the ball effectively due to his proportions. His swing plane is naturally going to be much, much more upright. That’s how he’s going to play his best golf.”

He continues:

“We’re past the idea of [the year] 2000, or 2004, where there is a one-size-fits-all philosophy. As instructors we’re all trying to make sure we’re fitting swings for people’s bodies.”

That last bit from Justin is the key takeaway, and the important part for the rest of us.

4 Takeaways:

1. Recognize that just because you like the *look* of a player’s swing, that doesn’t mean it’s the best swing for you to copy.

2. Before picking your golf swing idol, pay close attention to how they’re built.

3. Swinging your swing means matching your golf swing to your own unique body, to bring the best out of what you have.

4. You can dive deeper here, but things like wingspans can affect the shape of your golf swing. Kizzire has a shorter wingspan means adjusting his posture and setup to stand closer to the ball, and swing more up and down, Parsons says. A player with a longer wingspan of may need to stand further away, and swing more around.

Main Image: Jared C. Tilton