What every golfer can learn from Rose Zhang’s swing secrets

On today’s Play Smart, we catch up with LPGA star Rose Zhang as she explains the secrets to her recent resurgence.
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Welcome to Play Smart, GOLF.com’s regular game improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
JERSEY CITY, NJ – Rose Zhang stands on the 15th tee box next to her black and white Callaway bag and stares down the narrow fairway. There are a number of fairway bunkers guarding the 240-yard landing area – and for this tricky dogleg left, you’d better be on the fairway off the tee.
After a quick aside with his card, Olly Brett, Zhang grabs the fairway wood. He goes up to the ball and goes through his pre-shooting routine, finishing the practice with his takeaway. After a while, he sends a strong pull up into the sky. His ball splits the fairway bunkers and rolls into a mound in the fairway, landing in the shortgrass on the other side.
Watching Zhang swing, it’s hard to imagine him always to miss the shot. No movement is wasted and all parts of his body work in unison. The result is greater efficiency and lighter power.
For most of 2024, however, Zhang’s great swinging power was absent. After an outstanding rookie season – including a win in his first game – this year has been tough. When the calendar turned to May, Zhang had as many top 10s as he missed the cut.
But last week, things started to fall back into place. He won the Founders Cup (and threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium), and is now in the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National in NJ, the site of his first win. He was even announced as an ambassador for Mizuho, the title sponsor of the tournament.
“Last week came unexpectedly,” said Zhang. “Going to this event I haven’t had the best season yet and I’m learning a lot about myself, I’ve learned a lot about my game and how I should prepare myself.”
What did Zhang learn about his swing that led to his success? You can check it out below – and learn how to use it in your game.
Stay dedicated
What Zhang said: “I also felt like I didn’t have the energy to understand my golf game like I used to. I’m usually pretty — back in the early days of golf I didn’t have a caddy and I didn’t have Olly by my side, so every decision I made was a total commitment and it was a total opinion about how you feel. a gun. Last week I tried a little harder to be able to dig a little deeper and figure out what kind of shot I needed to hit and make the final point on that.”
What does it mean: Pro golf is a completely different beast than beginner golf. Not only are the margins getting smaller, but the team around you is much bigger. This includes having a caddy next to you for every shot. This would be an advantage, but as Zhang explained, he was dependent again more in his caddy sometimes during the fall. You’ll always hear professional golfers talk about the importance of committing to each shot, and it sounds like Zhang ran away from that during his struggles.
What you can learn: Never enter the picture with doubts clouding your mind. If you’re going to hit the gun, you need to give it your all. Your posture is one of the few things you can control on the course, so it’s important to control it. This starts with committing to shooting.
Keep things simple
What Zhang said: “It’s been a while since I started looking at my golf swing, so it’s been a step back to what I was good at, keeping my swing simple. I was really going inside and that makes for a lot of not-so-good shots. So I think it was more than just getting on the plane and being able to get off at the right time. “
What does it mean: Zhang doesn’t go with a swing coach every week, and not having a pair of eyes on his swing consistently allows him to fall into bad habits. He pointed to the inside, which resulted in a turn that needed perfect timing to work properly. He recently worked with his swing coach, GOLF Top 100 instructor Todd Anderson, and helped him get back to basics and simplify his swing.
What you can learn: If things start to go wrong, don’t be afraid to see a coach. Self-testing your swing can be a recipe for disaster. Changing one thing in your turn can lead to multiple compensations, which rarely work. Go see a coach if you start to lose your swing. You’ll be surprised how little tweaks they make. But while the changes may be small, they are almost always effective.
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