Student Spotlight – Walker Larkin

By Graham Lewis, USGTF Professional

Walker Larkin is a junior at Glynn Academy High School in Brunswick, Georgia, and a straight-A student. When Walker was in the 6th grade, he wanted to play on the middle school golf team (the best team in the state). His dad asked me to help Walker improve his game so he could compete. It was clear from the beginning that he loved the game, but was very frustrated with not improving faster. His swing was very athletic and somewhat old school, with a lot of lower body movement and a reverse C with a high finish and more erect posture (ala Johnny Miller).

As we worked on stabilizing the lower body and attaining better posture, he improved enough to make the team. Throughout middle school while working on mechanics, we addressed his frustration and anxiety by setting more realistic goals. He wanted too much too quick. Improvement was slow but evident.

When Walker started high school, his goal was to make the varsity, which was and is one of the very top teams in the state. In an effort to gain more distance, he developed two flaws that we began to address. He was over-the-top in his transition and buried his chin on the downswing. We incorporated the Freddy Couples swing as part of his pre-shot routine and the over-the-top move was cured.

Last year, Walker’s driver swing speed was measured at 112 mph on the GC Quad launch monitor and was hitting down three to five degrees. Recently, he was measured with a slight speed increase but is now hitting up at three degrees, and his distance has improved by 30 yards, resulting in 295-yard drives. We attribute this success to the Couples routine and what I call the thumb-up drill, which has tremendously increased his lag to the point it rivals anyone on tour.

Walker has made the varsity this year and is now breaking 80 routinely from 7,200 yards. His scores don’t reflect the quality of his ball striking, so we are now devoting practice time to better course management. He remains in love with the game of golf, and his dealing with frustration and anxiety continues to improve. He would like to play college golf after he graduates from high school.