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Golf Tips: Two Keys to Copy From Nelly Korda's Swing
By Brendon Elliott, PGA
Published on
PSA, golfers: Nelly Korda is back in contention.
Back-to-back rounds of 67-65 at the Ford Championship in Arizona have her tied for second at the halfway mark. And I don't know about you, but I can't help but marvel at her swing. There's something almost hypnotic about that butter-smooth tempo and how she just knows where that clubface is at impact.
Here's the thing, though: you don't need Nelly's natural talent to copy two of her best swing traits. That silky tempo and face control? They're learnable skills. I don't care if you're shooting 75 or 105; you can build these into your game with a couple drills on the range.
Let's dive in.
Drill 1: Metronome Magic for Your Swing
Ever notice how Nelly never seems rushed? There's a flow to her swing that's not jerky or forced; just this repeatable motion that delivers time after time. When I work with my students, I tell them Nelly's tempo is like good jazz: it's got rhythm you can feel in your bones.
Golf instructors talk about this "3:1 ratio" — your downswing should be roughly three times quicker than your backswing. Nelly makes that idea look so natural, getting to the top, there's this tiny pause where she gathers herself and then . . . whoosh. Power with control. That's the holy grail right there.
Here's one way I get my students grooving like Nelly:
- Grab a metronome app on your phone (grab a free one; no need for a fancy paid one).
- Dial it to 60 beats per minute to start. Nothing fancy.
- Set up to the ball, then start your backswing on beat one, reaching the top by beat two.
- Start down immediately and CRACK . . . hit that ball on beat three.
- Once you're comfortable, bump it up to 70-80 beats for a more game-ready tempo.
Spend just 10 minutes with this before you start banging balls at the range. You'll be shocked how quickly this feeling becomes part of your DNA.
The sounds of a superstar! ⭐️
— PGA of America (@PGA) April 22, 2024
Congratulations to 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Champion Nelly Korda on five straight victories and her second major title! pic.twitter.com/hLalkh3aHD
Coach tip: Remember this, though, when doing this drill: we're all built differently. If you're naturally quick-moving in everyday life, your ideal tempo might be faster than your buddy's. The magic isn't in how fast or slow you go - it's in keeping that 3:1 ratio consistent. That's where the repeatability lives.
Drill 2: The Impact Bag Truth-Teller
While everyone's obsessing over swing paths and launch monitors, Nelly's over here with this ridiculous awareness of her clubface. Most weekend warriors have no clue where their clubface is during the swing, but it's actually MORE important than path for where your ball starts. Watch this weekend: Nelly will make these tiny adjustments that keep her shots boring holes through the wind in Arizona.
Try this drill. It changed my own game before I ever taught it:
- Get yourself an impact bag (or stuff some old towels in a gym bag).
- Take a Sharpie and draw a line on that bag, pointing at your target.
- Set up with a 7-iron, with the bag where your ball would be.
- Make a three-quarter backswing, really feeling where that clubface is.
- Thump that bag while focusing on squaring the face to your line.
- Freeze at impact and check - is your clubface looking right at that line?
- Do this 20 times, building up to full swings while keeping that awareness.
Coach's tip: That physical feedback - you can't fake it. Your hands and arms start to develop this sixth sense of where square really is. It's the same awareness Nelly has in spades.
Crisp swings from @NellyKorda 😮💨 #SloMo pic.twitter.com/u989Iwsnye
— LPGA (@LPGA) March 28, 2025
Great golf isn't about having 37 swing thoughts or some complicated system. It's about nailing these fundamentals until they're second nature. Work on these two pieces of Nelly's game, and I promise you'll see more fairways, more greens and lower scores. The beauty of what she does is that it's simple enough for any of us to copy.
PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his three weekly columns on RG.org, and to learn more about Brendon, visit OneMoreRollGolf.com.
