How TPI helps Jon Rahm get the most from his swing

You don’t need us to tell you that Jon Rahm is a mightily impressive golfer.  

The Spaniard’s four-shot Masters win epitomised a player whose game is about as complete as possible.  

However, the team at TPI, which is the leading body in understanding how the body works in relation to the golf swing, who have worked with Rahm since his days as a junior, believe if it wasn’t for his work to improve and maintain his mobility, he might not have a Green Jacket in his wardrobe.

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The team at TPI say that when he first came to see them, Rahm lacked some mobility in key areas of his body, specifically his thoracic spine, cervical spine, hip and ankles.

Those limitations, they say, are why Rahm felt more comfortable making a shorter swing, something which clearly hasn’t held him back in his game. 

As Dave Phillips, Jon Rahm’s coach at TPI explains, Rahm used what he had to the very best of his ability. 

“When we tested Jon, he wasn’t the most flexible guy in the world,” Phillips explains.

“What he does, is he uses what he has extremely well. Jon has a fairly short golf swing. As he takes the club back, you’re going to notice when he turns back, he sets the club very well.  

“For a guy who isn’t so flexible, if he tried to take the club back a long way like Dustin Johnson, he would probably come out of his posture. 

“He’s got a simple swing, and I don’t see any flaws in his golf game.”

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However, not everyone took the approach of Phillips, which Rahm explains in a video on TPI’s Instagram page. 

“I remember going to this academy, the first day, and they didn’t care how you were playing or how you were hitting it. They took a video of your 6-iron down the line and down the front, and a video of your driver down the line and down the front. 

“Then they tell you this is what you need to do to have a perfect plane to a parallel shot, perfect numbers to a perfect theoretical swing. For two years I fought the coach saying, I am not doing that. Thank God I stayed that stubborn.  

“As a coach, you need to adjust to what your player can do, you cannot have one method and expect it to work for everybody.” 

The lesson there? Swing your swing. 

Lewis Fraser As bunkered’s Performance Editor, Lewis oversees the content that’s designed to make you a better player. From the latest gear to tuition, nutrition, strategy and more, he’s the man. A graduate of the University of Stirling, Lewis joined bunkered in 2021. Formerly a caddie at Castle Stuart Golf Links, he is a member of Bathgate Golf Club where he plays off four.

Performance Editor