Goldberg

The bend from the hips is genuinely good — roughly 30 degrees with the chest over the toes and the back long, and the arms hang cleanly under the shoulders with the handle low. The problem is width: at frame 4 the insteps sit clearly inside shoulder width for a driver, which robs you of the ground you need to push against. Knee flex is present but soft rather than athletic.

Feet, knees, and hips form one workable line and the shoulders sit reasonably with them. What is missing is driver-specific setup: at frame 4 the spine is essentially vertical with no visible tilt away from the target and the head is over the ball rather than behind it, which sets up a level, steep hit with a club designed to be swung up. The stillness before the takeaway is excellent — frames 0-6 show a settled, organized address with no fidgeting.

The grip itself is hidden behind the hands and shaft from this angle, so I will not guess at its strength. The forearms are soft and the elbows sit in front of the chest, and the hands hang about a fist and a half from the thighs — comfortable but a touch low and passive rather than set in a pressured, ready position.

Through frames 7-9 the club, hands, and chest do move away reasonably together and the lower body stays quiet with no sway off the ball. But the wrists barely set at all through the first half of the move and then hinge abruptly late — by frame 11 the shaft has jumped from low to steep in one frame. Set the wrists progressively as the arms rise instead of holding, then snatching.

This is the root of the swing's problems. From frames 9 to 12 the arms travel a long way while the chest turns comparatively little, and the trail hip never gains depth behind you — the belt line stays close to where it was at address. The head and spine do stay centered, which is a real positive, but the club is being lifted upward by the hands rather than swung around a turning body, and that is why the top is so vertical.

At frame 12 the shaft points almost straight up — near vertical rather than the rounded halfway plane you want — which is the signature of an arm lift. The hands are high but shallow, sitting above the head rather than over or behind the trail shoulder, so there is height without depth. The lead arm holds its structure, but the position is not loaded against anything: there is no coil for the ground to unwind, so the downswing has to start with the arms.

Between frames 12 and 13 the club drops steeply in front of the chest while the lower body stays largely where it was — the arms change direction before any visible pressure move into the lead foot. The shaft steepens rather than shallowing, which is what you would expect from that vertical top. Credit where it is due: posture and head height hold through the change of direction with no early stand-up.

The pelvis does not lead. Compare frame 13 to frame 14: the chest and arms cover most of the distance to the ball while the belt line barely rotates, and at frame 14 the trail heel is still flat on the mat with the ball already gone — rotation is not pulling it up. Wrist angle is held reasonably deep into the delivery and the body keeps moving through rather than stalling, so the ingredients are there; they are just arriving in the wrong order.

At frame 14 the hips are only marginally open to the target — nowhere near the 35-45 degrees a good driver strike shows — so the arms have to deliver everything. Weight has moved to the lead side and the lead leg is bracing, and spine tilt is broadly retained with no stand-up. Because there was no rearward tilt at address the head is not meaningfully behind the ball, and the hands look level with rather than clearly ahead of the clubhead.

This is where you look like a player. By frame 18 the chest and belt buckle face the target with the hips fully cleared, the weight is entirely on the lead leg, and the trail foot is up on a vertical toe. The position is then held dead still through frame 22 — no stumble, no step, no save. The only mark against it is that the effort in the arms exceeds what the body contributed to get there; the finish is better than the swing that produced it.