Published on 07/1/2010

Mr. 58 By Tom Rosati

I have had the opportunity to work with many top amateurs and professionals in the past 20 years. I would like to focus on one of my students in particular - Evan Beirne. Evan is one of the top players in the state and a star player for St. John’s University. What makes Evan so unique is a recent astounding score of 58 at his home course of New Haven Country Club. I’d like to analyze the golf swing that shot 58.

A few days before Evan shot 58, we made a set up change. His tendency was to get his shoulders over the ball and not bend his knees. We worked on achieving a position where his
shoulders stay stacked over his toes with some flex in his knees (Figure 1).

Next we modified the way he was taking the club back. His tendency was to tuck the hands inside so we did some drills to help him get his hands started on the correct path (Figure 2). The position at the top is a key element for Evan. We worked on getting the left wrist flat and clubface parallel to his left wrist and forearm (Figure 3). Evan drops the club perfect on a slightly steeper plane, never underneath the plane. This allows Evan to hit a controlled fade off the tee (Figure 4) – an essential quality that all great golfers have. His impact position is powerful and controlled. He is a strong kid who hits it with his body, which prevents any flipping of the club with his hands. The shaft of his club is at almost the same angle at impact as address (Figure 5). His low follow through with the shaft parallel to his shoulder line and the club face slightly open is the result of a good body rotation through the ball (Figure 6). This is a very repeatable move that takes any tendency to hook the ball out of his game.

In summary, any player who wants to be a better ball striker can learn a lot from this swing. When you hit 18 greens and make 13 birdies for 58, you must be doing something right.

Tom Rosati is Director of Instruction at Great River Golf Club in Milford, CT.
(203) 876-8051 ext 117