We Need to Talk About Yoshinobu Yamamoto's Golf Swing

As the Dodgers gear up for another deep October run, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is dealing. The Los Angeles ace looks every bit like one of baseball’s most dominant arms heading into the postseason. But before we get completely swept up in playoff baseball, Yamamoto recently gave us something else to obsess over: his golf swing.

Earlier this year I came across a video of Yamamoto taking a few cuts on the range, and it completely stopped me in my tracks. I have not been able to get it out of my head. It wasn't just “oh look, this baseball player has a nice swing.” More like, if this showed up on tour range coverage, nobody would blink. From setup to tempo, everything about it screams elite.

He teed it up with PGA Tour vet Shigeki Maruyama on a golf trip in Arizona and the swing videos did not disappoint.

If you’ve spent any time watching Chris Gotterup stripe it this season, you’ll see the similarities almost immediately. For me it was the posture and athleticism right off the jump. Then similarities emerge in the way the club gets set at the top. Even the steep-but-repeatable move through impact. It’s not identical, but it lives in the same neighborhood. The more I watched it back, the more the Gotterup comparison kept showing up. Gotterup did grow up playing baseball, so perhaps the similarities are more than coincidental.

When looking at other swings from athletes like Josh Allen and Sam Darnold, I’ve made note that quarterbacks often have good golf swings because the throwing motion mirrors certain elements of the golf swing. The same applies for baseball pitchers. And when you’re talking about a pitcher who is as mechanically elite as Yamamoto, maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Starting off in about as perfect a position as you can.

His weight is stacked evenly, he’s standing athletically without tension, and his arms hang naturally.

One thing I continue to notice is how many athletes I’ve looked at have the modern setup, where the right arm sits level with the left, as opposed to the more traditional look where the left arm sits visibly higher at address.

Arms and shoulders move back in unison. The clubhead is a bit inside of his hands—and by a bit, I mean barely. It could also be the angle the video was taken from.

Watching him swing, I wouldn’t dare tell him to change much of anything going back. The motion is synced, athletic, and repeatable.

Including two images here.

In the first image (right), you can see he gets the club slightly across the line at the top. As always, there are no rights or wrongs in the golf swing, but there are “ideal” positions. Being across the line can create a little extra work in transition.

But move forward just a couple of frames (image left) and he shallows the club beautifully with his hands to get it back into a strong position. It still sets up a touch steep, but more on that in a second.

You can also notice the slight difference in flex in his trail knee. Pitchers have to use the ground exceptionally well to create speed, and that movement carries over effortlessly into the golf swing.

Here’s where a teaching pro might raise an eyebrow.

His upper body begins to take over a little more here, and it puts the clubhead slightly out in front of his hands, creating a steeper delivery.

Now, I’d actually rather see a player be slightly steep than dramatically stuck behind them. Having the club too far behind the hands can bring in a nasty two-way miss.

Sure, shallowing the club and holding it off is all the rage right now—and it can be incredibly effective.

But even when you watch players molded by guys like George Gankas or Chase Duncan, you’ll still often see the clubhead slightly out in front in this position.

Take Chris Gotterup, for example. His swing is incredibly steep, and he’s one of the best drivers on Tour.

What people don’t always realize is that when you’re steep like this, it can help eliminate the left side of the golf course. With proper clubface control, it can create a very reliable fade pattern.

The hips clear beautifully.

Yes, the upper body is slightly forward and dominant—consistent with the steeper delivery—but nothing about it looks out of sequence.

It’s dynamic, powerful, and very repeatable.

Here you can really see the hands go to work to square the club.

The more I watch it, the more it reminds me of Gotterup’s release pattern. He waits until the perfect moment, then lets his hand-eye coordination take over.

Note the position of his left foot.

He uses the ground so aggressively that it pushes up and moves left—all signs of someone who creates serious speed and knows how to move a golf ball.

Theoretically, the more moving parts you have, the harder it is to time everything up.

But that’s also the modern golf swing.

You can’t optimize every single piece mechanically. At some point, you have to leave room for athleticism. And Yamamoto might be the poster child for that balance.

I genuinely couldn’t get to work fast enough to break this one down.

At full speed, the tempo is immaculate. Frame by frame, there’s hardly anything to nitpick. Sure, he gets a little steep in transition—but when Chris Gotterup is winning on Tour with a very similar move, who am I to tell him to change?

If the pitching thing ever slows down, he’s got options.

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