Jason Day and the Draw That Broke His Back

Jason Day and the Draw That Broke His Back

When Jason Day was World #1, he was playing a 30-yard draw off the tee. It would come back 20 — that’s a big curve. Day was aligning his feet way right at setup.

The crazy part is, he didn’t really know exactly how he was doing it, or why it was producing so consistently. For those new to The League, even the world’s best players can’t always link cause and effect. I’ve always insisted you can only ever have a framework of relations — no linear or single equation. 

You’re always testing and proving the robustness of your framework.

Back to Jason Day and that booming draw: that kind of shot shape creates problems. You’ve got to work it around obstructions, and you can’t use it on every tee shot.

Day’s career eventually got sidelined by injuries — bulging and herniated discs in the lumbar spine — caused by his swing mechanics. You need some horizontal movement in the swing, but Day was very aggressive with it, combined with a lot of side bend.

I’ve demonstrated side bend before and how to initiate it from the lead side — that gives you the correct right lateral shift to take pressure off your spine. But when you push side bend directly from the trail side, you’re asking for trouble. It’ll wreck your body over time. I’ve shown before how to straighten out your ball flight and mitigate the hook while protecting your back.

When you play a draw, you have to worry about the hook. 

That said, man, was Day incredible with that draw. Towering, even with the irons.

Post-injury, he had to rebuild his mechanics. He’s more neutral now with his ball flight and plays a fade with the driver. He doesn’t use that side-bend, lateral-drive move anymore — his motion is more centered and has much less horizontal shift.

He still stays in the spotlight because he’s very marketable and a likeable person, but not many see him as a contender to win another Major. He has just one: the PGA Championship in 2015.

Jason Day has never won a green jacket.