What you can learn from Chun's elegant golf swing

Chun In-gee celebrates after winning the Evian Championship women’s golf tournament in Evian, eastern France, Sunday. / AP-Yonhap

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

Chun In-gee’s swing is so fluid it seems effortless. Her swing is silky smooth. Critically, Chun has good rhythm and tempo, plus balance. Chun never teeters in one direction at the finish.

Also, she is good at the short game with her chip shots and pitches around the green. Undeniably, she is a consistent putter.

With her elegant golf swing, Chun fired a record-breaking 21 under par at the Evian Championship. She set the lowest winning total in any major golf championship. She’s broken the 20-under-par major record held by Jason Day and Henrick Stenson. The previous record in the women’s event remained at 19 under par.

She sets up with her ball off her left instep when she hits with her driver. This helps her bang her driver with an upward blow.

She takes a closed stance with her right foot slightly back behind her left foot. That allows her to align her body a touch right of her target. Undoubtedly, she aims her clubface squarely at the target. Taking a slightly closed stance as she does, you’ll easily hit draws. You’ll remove your cut shots if you do the same.

Chun takes her club away from the ball properly inside the target line. The distance between her body and her hands created at address remains identical roughly hip-high. To hit your ball far and accurately, you need to do the same no matter what club you swing. You’ll coil your body properly and tightly without swaying to your right side. This encourages you to hit your ball powerfully without using brute strength.

Avoid striving for a long, wide backswing. That can cause your arms to separate from your chest. If you disconnect your arms from your body, your upper body and lower body cannot work in sync. You’ll have difficulty swinging your arms and hands in tandem with your legs and hips.

At the top of the backswing, she leaves her club shaft resting parallel with her target line, with the clubface remaining square. This allows her to start down on the correct plane and slot her club into the proper downswing path.

Chun starts her downswing by shifting her weight to her left side. To this end, you need to stand more on your left foot as you begin your downswing. Or, you need to bump your left hip left toward your target to start your downswing. Still, you need to avoid too much hip slide to your left side or turn your belly excessively toward your target. That can inflict pushes and push-slices on you. Critically, that can cause your back pain.

Through the shot, she preserves the forward tilt of her spine created at address. Granted, she keeps her head steady behind the ball. This helps her hit the ball solidly toward the target. Allowing your head to wobble forward toward the target, you’ll incur pulls or pull-slices.

She creates a reverse C with her right side, from the face-on view. This shows that she hits her ball powerfully against her firm left side.

Also, her right shoulder stays lower than her left armpit at impact. That means her right shoulder does not jut out. She does not try to hit the ball hard from the top with her right hand.

She makes a textbook finish. She stays in balance, keeping her knees together. This means she’s shifted her weight properly to her left side on the downswing. She does not leave her weight on her right foot. She finishes her swing, with her right foot on the tip of her toe and with no weight on it. Leaving your weight on your right side through your shot, you’ll suffer horribly weak, high shots that travel short distances.

Also, she finishes into a slight tinge of a reverse C position, with her hands high above her head. That says she’s delivered her club from inside the target line and hit straight shots or soft, high draws. That also means she did not lunge forward toward the target.

Her right shoulder rests closer to her target than other parts of her body, with her clubhead slightly lower than the grip. Her left arm and her club create an open rectangle. Or, her right arm matches her club shaft. Make sure your right arm is in line with your club shaft at your finish. This ensures consistently striking the ball.

Critically, she holds her finish for several seconds. She does the same when she putts.

As for her putting, she does not set her hands inside her shoulders. Her hands rest slightly outside her shoulder line. This lets her swing her putter in an arc. She allows her putter face to open on the backstroke and close on the forward stroke, all naturally. To release your putter properly through your stroke, you need to let your putter face close naturally during the follow-through. Don’t try to keep your putter face square unless you swing your putter straight back and straight through.