Ian Poulter Swing Analysis

Golf Monthly Top 25 Coach Paul Foston offers his Ian Poulter swing analysis, taking a closer look at the swing of the Englishman to see what you can learn

Ian Poulter is renowned for his incredible touch around the greens but a close look the mechanics of his golf swing shows there is a lot to admire here too. This is a great swing to watch, and copy, if you are someone who struggles with an over-the-top move at the start of the downswing. If your regular shape is a weak fade that verges on a slice – take note!

Before we reach impact, let’s start by looking at the foundations. Ian has a beautifully balanced address position. He stands relatively tall to the ball in comparison to some other top players with minimal knee flex but his posture is perfect. His hands hang naturally down beneath his chest and he looks both relaxed and athletic. This is exactly what you should be aiming for.

As he starts the swing the club is kept outside the line of his hands. It’s a technically sound, ‘passive’ takeaway in which the club moves on the right path naturally and there is no unnecessary lower body moves. It is both simple and effective. One of Ian’s trademark positions is at the top of his backswing. Notice how high his hands are – this offers him the room to drop his hands into a great delivery position. As he starts down his lower body moves first. By shifting his hips towards the target at the very start of the downswing he again creates room for his arms to drop down into position. For anyone who is prone to coming over the top – sending the club outside the right line on the way down – this is position you should be trying to copy. Again, half way through the downswing you should notice from the ‘down the line’ angle, how the shaft of the club dissects his right forearm. This is a great checkpoint to see if the club is working on a good path.

There are two other key points to notice about how Ian moves through impact. Firstly, at the moment of impact notice how Ian’s hips have already cleared and are almost pointing at the target. This illustrates perfectly how the lower body leads the upper body through the downswing. Secondly, Ian stays down over the shot nicely. Even as the club releases into the follow through he maintains the same spine angle he set at address. This is an essential ingredient to good ball striking.

In July 2023, Neil became just the 9th editor in Golf Monthly's 112-year history. Originally working with the best coaches in the UK to produce instruction content, he went on to become a feature writer interviewing many of the biggest names in the game including Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros, Rory McIlroy and Arnold Palmer.

A 5-handicap golfer, Neil is a club member who takes a keen interest in the health of the game at grassroots level. You’ll often now find him writing about club-related issues such as WHS, membership retention and how best to bridge the gap between the range and the course.