SWING ANALYSIS
With Gary Woodland’s health greatly improved, he can focus on performance BY DAVE ALLEN Trusting It Again
and ninth in ball speed (184.7 mph), credits his swing coach, Randy Smith, for reinvigorating his driving game. Smith helped restore the athleticism in Woodland’s swing and, more impor- tantly, his confidence. The two reunited late in the 2024 season after being apart for 13 years. “His swing just wasn’t the same,” says Smith, one of Golf Digest’s Legends of Golf Instruction and swing coach to world No 1 Scottie Scheffler. “The speed wasn’t the same. The attitude about hitting the ball was very different. He seemed very defensive, especially with the driver.”
gary woodland’s ball speed hit 197 miles per hour during one range session this
year, something he hadn’t produced since joining the PGA Tour in 2009. Making that accomplishment more remarkable is that Woodland turned 41 in 2025 and is two years removed from having surgery to extract a lesion on his brain. “I’m living close to 190 miles per hour now,” says Woodland, the 2019 US Open champion. “I’m hitting it as far as I was when I was 25, which is awesome.” Woodland, who ranks third on the PGA Tour in clubhead speed (125.6 mph)
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MATT TANNEHILL
48 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025
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