It only takes one standout to flip convention on its head. To transform an idea that was once unteachable into something acceptable. Encouraged, even.
In golf, the latest — and best — example goes by the name of Dustin Johnson.
Johnson is the reigning U.S. Open Champion and sits atop the World Rankings after his second win in two starts on Sunday, at the WGC-Mexico Championship. And as his bigger fans will know, he’s doing it all with a swing that’s defying convention.
Before Dustin Johnson, conventional wisdom always said that at the top of their backswings, golfers’ left wrists needed to either be flat, or slightly cupped. And then DJ came along. Look at his wrist compared to Rory’s. It’s so bowed that you could rest a glass of water on it.
The horror!
Ordinarily, that would be very bad news. A wrist that’s too cupped will promote a slice. Not great, but not as good as the other option: A bowed wrist, like DJ’s, doesn’t just promote a hook, it’s so physically strenuous that’ll it’ll leave most players injured.
So how can DJ get away with it? Simply put, because he’s a freak athlete. He isn’t just flexible enough to avoid injury, he’s so strong that he’s able to negate the hook move his bowed wrist promotes. He spins open his body so hard and so fast that what started as a closed club face is square by the time he gets to impact.
(AP Photo/Ryan Kang)
DJ’s one of the few players on the planet who can do this, and it offers him a unique advantage over the rest of the field. He takes a wild power move and makes it controllable by applying speed. It’s borderline illogical, but it’s why he’s such a freakishly long driver of the golf ball.
So far this season his 316.2 yard driving average his second-longest on tour, and his 122 mph average club head speed is safely within the top 10 on tour, too. This might present a problem for Dustin Johnson as he gets older and his athleticism begins to fade, but at 32-years-old, there’s no fear of that happening in the immediate future.
In the meantime, DJ will keep being able to do things with the golf ball that few others can match.
