If you’ve ever flushed a 7-iron only to chunk the next one straight into a pond, you know how elusive consistency can be. That’s what makes Collin Morikawa’s approach game feel like wizardry.
Week after week, he ranks among the best in the world in Strokes Gained: Approach—not by overpowering the course, but by doing something far more useful: hitting the same quality shot, again and again.
It’s not sexy. It’s not loud. But it works.
And it’s exactly the kind of blueprint us mere mortals should be studying.
A Swing Built on Rotation, Not Lift
Morikawa’s swing isn’t about big movements or chasing extra yards. It’s built on rotation. At address, his arms don’t hang straight down—they extend slightly outward. It’s a small detail that sets up a circular, rotary motion around his body instead of an up-and-down lift.
Pete Cowen, one of the game’s sharpest instructors, has noted that this creates a more stable, repeatable motion. When Morikawa takes the club back, his right hip doesn’t slide—it rotates. That’s big. Lateral movement introduces chaos. Rotation breeds control.
This isn’t just Tour-level geekery. Even if you can’t mimic his mechanics perfectly, you can take one key idea from this: a quieter, more rotational takeaway = fewer moving parts = more consistency.
The Takeaway That Doesn’t Try to Impress
Morikawa’s swing starts slow. Deliberately slow. Like “your buddy asking if he can go first because he needs to reset his brain” slow.
He developed this tempo years ago to get more rotation to the top, rather than lifting the club. His backswing isn’t a race—it’s a setup. The right arm moves away cleanly, the left arm stretches back, and the wrists set later than most pros. By the time he’s at the 9 o’clock position, everything is in sync and ready to fire.
If your takeaway tends to look like someone yanking a lawnmower cord, there’s your fix. Slow it down. Let everything build together.
Shallow on Purpose: The Secret Transition
Here’s where the swing nerds get excited—and where the rest of us should take notes.
During transition, Morikawa does something subtle but powerful: his right and left elbows move closer together. This motion causes the shaft to “lay down” into a shallower delivery position, a move that sets him up for deadly consistency.
Brandel Chamblee broke it down best—his ribcage, core, and lower body almost compress together in the transition. That tension? It’s not wasted energy. It’s stored and redirected efficiently, using the ground to generate torque without needing to swing out of his shoes.
You don’t need six-pack abs or yoga flexibility to learn from this. Think: stay connected, don’t lunge, and let the body lead.
A Fade You Can Trust
Forget the quest for a perfectly straight ball flight. Morikawa’s signature shot is a soft fade. Starts a little left, curves a little right, and—most importantly—shows up when he needs it.
This wasn’t a fluke or “just what happened.” It was a conscious shift from the draw he used as a junior to something he could control under pressure.
His fade works because he minimizes clubface rotation through impact. Combined with a bowed lead wrist (despite a weak left-hand grip—yeah, really), the face stays stable, leading to shots that don’t wander offline. His coach, Rick Sessinghaus, calls this “finding a matchup you can sustain.”
In other words: find what you can do over and over again, not just once on the range.
Efficiency Over Power (But Still Plenty Long)
Here’s a stat that should make you sit up: despite a ball speed of 167 mph (lower than some of his peers), Morikawa still carries it 298 yards. How? Launch angle. Spin rate. Clean contact. All tuned for efficiency.
While Max Homa might register 176 mph and barely outdrive him, Morikawa’s optimized swing gives him elite distance without needing to add extra effort. For the rest of us, that’s the dream. Dial in your delivery and you won’t need to swing harder—you’ll just swing smarter.
5 Things You Can Steal from Morikawa’s Swing
1. Find Your Repeatable Matchup
Morikawa pairs a weak grip with a bowed wrist—something most coaches wouldn’t teach. But it works for him. Find the combo that fits you, even if it’s unconventional.
2. Train Face Awareness in the Short Game
Morikawa spent hours hitting chips and punch shots from 40 yards, focusing on passive hands and an active body.
The result? He knows exactly where the face is pointing.
That’s feel, and it’s earned.
3. Play to Your Natural Shot Shape
He doesn’t fight his fade—he owns it.
Stop chasing a mythical straight ball and build your game around what you naturally do well.
4. Slow Down Your Takeaway
Especially with the driver. A smoother start gives you a chance to sync everything up. Less jerky, more repeatable.
5. Practice Under Pressure
Morikawa’s sessions always ended with pressure—his coach made sure of it. Simulate stress, even in practice. Go through your full routine. Make it count.
There’s something refreshing about watching Morikawa dismantle courses without going full Hulk mode. His swing isn’t built on brute force—it’s built on intelligence, structure, and a kind of quiet confidence that most of us could use more of.
You don’t need to copy his exact move. But if you take one thing from him, let it be this: success in golf isn’t about having the most explosive swing. It’s about building one you can count on when it really matters.