On Wednesday morning, a short man with perfectly styled hair accompanied one of the international team’s training groups onto the back nine.
He wore a long beige raincoat buttoned to the neck and wore sunglasses despite the lack of light.
The man in question was Sean Foley, international reference and swing specialist. The 50-year-old Canadian is known to everyone in the golf world. It was revealed to the general public in the series Full Swingpresented by Netflix.
Between 2010 and 2014, Foley was Tiger Woods’ coach. During this period, the Tiger won eight tournaments and regained the number one ranking in the world. Foley has also worked with Justin Rose and Lee Westwood, among others. Today, he accompanies the South Korean Byeong Hun An.
Exuberant, colorful and eloquent, Foley stands out from the other artisans who gravitate in the golfing world. He did not hesitate to grant a 10-minute interview to The Press between the tee box and the green of 12e hole.
“I have worked with Byeong for three years and he has become like a little brother to me,” he says, swinging his umbrella that also serves as a walking stick.
In his opinion, the 35e world player “inherited a gift”. That’s why he managed to qualify for the Presidents Cup and why he was training that day alongside Adam Scott, Taylor Pendrith and Si Woo Kim.
This season, Hun An ranked third among the PGA’s most powerful hitters with an average tee shot distance of 317.1 yards. Before meeting Foley, he was outside the top 50with an average distance of 302.6 yards.
With talented and gifted players, there are two challenges: they never learn how to work well and when things get difficult, they don’t know what to do. So for these players, talent is an advantage and a flaw.
Sean Foley
Since their association, he forces Hun An to report to the practice range every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and each hour they work on a different aspect of his swing. “He is 33 years old and I think the best is yet to come. Next year, his goal will be to be in the top 10 global. »
The technique
Foley built his reputation by employing unorthodox methods and relying heavily on new technology and advanced statistics.
Listening to him dissect and analyze a golf swing is a fascinating exercise. He explains, for example, that with Hun An, only one detail allowed him to gain ground: the angle of his right wrist on the backswing. “The face of the stick had to be straighter in contact with the ball. It was one of his weaknesses to begin with. Then, on the amplitude of the arc in the movement and the whip when it comes to the ball. He’s an imposing player and he has magical hands. »
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Sean Foley and Si Woo Kim
Foley also discussed the complexity of modifying a natural movement. A move that players have repeated hundreds of thousands of times. A gear which, nevertheless, is damaged by a few stones. In his experience, the most difficult element to master, for amateurs and professionals alike, is getting the left and right sides to work in sync.
“It’s never easy, because the brain is a very complex thing. The left arm whips the ball and the right arm hits the ball. The left side and the right side have different responsibilities, but when you’re able to get them to work together, it’s fantastic. »
The evolution
If some purists regret that power has become the main concern of rising golfers, in favor of precision and technique, Foley refuses to remain a prisoner of the past.
Today, no one is going to win the Masters Tournament without hitting deep. Today, speed and power say everything. Advanced statistics show us that distance provides a considerable advantage in getting to the green.
Sean Foley
When he began his coaching career in the early 2000s, the average tee shot distance for PGA players was 279 yards. Last year, the average was 299 yards.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Sean Foley (center)
“It’s not that there has been a huge evolution. Basically, a golf swing is the same principle as throwing a stone so that it ricochets on the water. It’s natural. »
According to Foley, new technologies like the Trackman, a tool used by all professionals, have only provided a better idea of the effect of momentum on the trajectory and angle of the ball at exit of the head of the stick.
His advice for amateurs: avoid trying to imitate professionals like Rory McIlroy or Collin Morikawa who spend dozens of hours a week on the training ground. We need to stop emphasizing the beauty and fluidity of momentum. Instead, you just have to concentrate on the contact of the stick with the ball.
“No one will say that Jim Furyk had a great swing, but everyone will say that he was one of the best punchers of his generation. So for me, it’s all about knowing where the ball is going, not what the swing looks like. »
It was after this response that Foley had to leave us, because Byeong Hun An needed his advice for a situation around the green. Because even the best golfers still wonder what’s wrong with their swing.