Matt Fitzpatrick reveals secret on becoming big hitter at BMW PGA Championship
Matt Fitzpatrick has taken on a full transformation from a consistent PGA Tour player into a major champion and a star of European golf in 2022.
Matt Fitzpatrick was one of the standout players on the PGA Tour in 2022. He evolved into one of the world's best players with his fearless and aggressive swing which has produced so many incredible drives and iron shots.
He produced one of the best shots in US Open history when he splashed his approach from a fairway bunker to the heart of the 18th green at Brookline, overcoming Will Zalatoris in a titanic battle.
Having won the US Amateur at the same venue, you could argue it was fate for Fitzpatrick and his caddie Billy Foster. It was his first major win too despite carrying for the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood in the past.
But with fate discounted for now, the Englishman is the most dedicated player on the Tour. He is known for his thorough note-taking and meticulous attention to detail and this is why he's reached the heights he is at now.
At the BMW PGA Championship, he revealed how he has improved his long game so much in 2022. With former Open champion Shane Lowry sat by him, the 28-year-old told all about a certain piece of equipment he uses at home.
.@MattFitz94 on the secret behind his added distance #BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/A9ybU1yr2i
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 8, 2022
"It's a club with weights on it. You can change them out. You basically go on, there's an app on the phone and it tells me what weights, how many swings, how many sets," Fitzpatrick said.
"I think, not only has it helped me become longer, but it has helped my swing as well. I think that's basically what I've done. I've been at it since the end of 2020.
"I think this year has been a bit of a click and it's all gone into place really. I even outdrove Rory on the first today down the hill."
This training is called the Stack System, a club that uses stacked weights. It was created by Sasho Mackenzie, a former Canadian championship volleyball player and triple jumper.
The aid is a shaft that is about the length of a hybrid and a series of weights is attached to the club head, so to speak. These weights can be alternated.
This is known as "overspeed" training. You combine swinging something slightly heavier or slightly lighter and moving it faster to find improvement.
In the 2018/2019 season, Fitzpatrick averaged 287.9 yards off the tee. In 2022, he averaged over 300 yards and this has been a crucial factor in the man from Sheffield finally becoming a winner in America.
