A Strange move to alter Martin Kaymer’s swing

Martin Kaymer’s game has moved up a notch since switching back to his natural swing.

Martin Kaymer arrived at Hoylake wearing the mantle of US Open Champion.

Proof, if it is required, of the old adage: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. The German got to No. 1 in the world when winning the US PGA Championship in 2010.

Yet he then decided to alter his classic left-to-right fade into a right-to-left draw with an eye to adding to his Major haul with a Green Jacket the following April.

What followed was a long fight against the odds to make the new swing work.

But now he is back in the game’s top echelon, and former two time winner of the US Open, Curtis Strange, believes the sky is the limit.

“He was trying to get better and better, and compete with Tiger at the time,” said Strange.

“However, he went away from his natural way to swing a golf club, and I question why did he do that.”

Kaymer himself now admits he filled his head with too much theory, and it was only after he cleared his head that he returned to the swing that first made him.

Strange (below) continued: “I marvel at his golf swing. I think it is unbelievable.

“He swings the club in an aggressive fashion but under control, and he hits down and through the ball as well as anybody out there in the game today,

“And I also marvel at his ability to generate the speed that he displayed at Pinehurst.

“That course was not nearly as easy as he made it look the first two days on his way to winning the US Open.”

But, probably mindful of Kaymer’s fall from grace after his US PGA win, Strange ponders what’s next for the US Open Champion.

“Can he hold it together? Can he stay focused? Can he stay driven? We’ll wait and see,” said the ESPN analyst.

“But I think he’s fantastic. You know what, if I was a young kid now, I’d want to emulate Martin Kaymer’s swing.

“He’s swinging well and his long game is confident, because when you’re swinging well and you know you’re going to hit the ball pretty solidly and straight day to day, then your mind does clear.

“That comes from thinking: ‘I’m not scoring real well but I know I’m swinging well. I know my ball is in the middle of the club face, and I know it’s starting out on the trajectory I want it to.’

“‘I’ve been doing it for a month, and it’s going to come around when I start making a few putts’.

“That’s the way I see Martin looking at it. Sports psychologists say you’ve got to go out there with a positive attitude every day, and I agree with that.

“But that positive attitude is tough to stick to when you start shanking it on the second tee, and you think to yourself: ‘I’m doing it again!’

“Right now, however, Kaymer’s mind looks clear, and he seems to feel pretty damn good about his golf game.”