Justin Rose’s good swing has already propelled him to the PGA Tour victory this season at the Farmers Insurance Open. While his success is built on meticulous preparation and top-notch athleticism, his consistency leads to well-structured technical guidance under his coach, GOLF 100 Head Instructor Mark Blackburn.
While fans rarely get a glimpse into the inner workings of a coach-player relationship, a recent interview on The Smylie Show provided an interesting peek behind the curtain.
The main focus is on Rose’s turn
According to Blackburn, one of the most important aspects of Rose’s swing is his right leg – specifically his knee tracking during the throw.
“One of the things that Rosie likes to feel as a player is that she likes to do nothing,” Blackburn said. “So he’s used to sometimes his right knee and right leg working a little bit inside, towards the ball, which then leaves his body a little bit back and he has to extend his arms.”
Together, Blackburn and Rose focused on getting his trailing knee to track more toward his lead knee during the downswing. By keeping the right knee moving in its direction (instead of falling down) Blackburn says Rose can stay centered and turn the shot.
“He [Rose] he wants more swing in his golf game, that’s what he likes to hear,” Blackburn said. “His bad golf is played with a lot of slides and swings and outside swings.”
Blackburn continues, explaining that Rose’s best golf is played when she is deeper into her backswing while focusing.
“Then he lowers it, puts the club back in front of him, but the sweet spot is behind him, and he turns around,” he said.
Rose’s trusted training aid, explains
To reinforce this moderate, controlled swing, Blackburn had Rose tape a Smart Ball just above his knee. The simple device encourages the leg to move in the right direction towards the lead knee while giving Rose a clear lead that she can hear and see. If his trail leg slides down instead of what he’s aiming for, his hands can intercept the ball – giving him a quick response.
Even more impressive is that Rose and Blackburn added this workout a week before he won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
“We put this in this week,” Blackburn said, “He [Rose] you love it [the drill] because then it allows him to deflect or cover the golf ball and not do anything when he is hit.”
“And obviously that’s indicative of the way he played this week. A lot of lasers are straight, but that’s the way he likes to play. He likes to shoot the stock from right to left. Um and this allows him to do it,” he said.
For Rose, it’s clear that good swing comes down to the small details that start a chain reaction of better movements. By training his trail leg to move correctly, he stays centered, spins well, and hits with precision and power. It’s a reminder that sometimes all it takes is a little tuning, focused work and the right drill to turn those feelings into repeatable results.
