Tiger Woods' ex-coach reacts to Viktor Hovland's singular swing movement

Viktor Hovland's swing at The Sentry this week sparked a heap of conversation in the golf world. The PGA Tour superstar's newly adapted technique has helped him gain distance off the tee and helped him drive the green on the 14th hole of the Kapalua Plantation Course.

Hank Haney, the former coach of Tiger Woods, weighed in on the matter in an X (formerly known as Twitter) post that has garnered significant attention. He wrote:

"I’m not sure the double-pump swing is a good thing long term."

Here's a look into the world-renowned golf instructor's reply to a video of Hovland's drive on the par 4 14th hole (via X @HankHaney):

Hovland's swing includes a distinct pause and re-cock of the club in his backswing. The unconventional swing trait isn't a textbook golf technique. However, several of the world's best professional golfers have used the drill to help them shorten their backswing while maintaining the swing plane.

It also helps to keep the clubface square through impact. Hovland executes the drill perfectly by sticking to one swing feel and timing the pump right. Haney is no stranger to analyzing swings. His reservations about the double-pump technique stem from decades of experience.

Woods' former coach feels that while Hovland's technique is providing him with benefits now, it could lead to inconsistency in the future. As a player repeats the double pump with thousands of swings, it could alter the timing of the swing and create muscle strain.

While Hovland's main reason for incorporating the technique was to keep his swing plane consistent, in the long run, it could do the complete opposite and disrupt the plane to create more slices.

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Viktor Hovland's performance at The Sentry

Viktor Hovland finished tied for 36th place with three other players with a total score of 15 under par. The Norwegian golfer was 20 strokes behind the winner, Hideki Matsuyama.

Hovland carded in rounds of 70, 69, 68, and 70. His final round score of 70 on Sunday brought him down five spots on the leaderboard.

Here's a look into his stats for The Sentry at the Kapalua Plantation Course, along with his rankings among the field in each stat mentioned in the parentheses (via PGA Tour):

• Strokes Gained - Off the Tee: 0.905 (27)
• Strokes Gained - Approach to Green: -1.022 (T34)
• Strokes Gained - Putting: -1.251 (48)
• Strokes Gained - Total: -2.022 (T36)
• Driving Accuracy: 63.33% [38/60] (T38)
• Average Driving Distance: 287.90 yards (12)
• Longest Drive: 410 yards (T18)
• Greens in Regulation: 77.78% [56/72] (T45)
• Scrambling: 56.25% [9/16] (37)
• Putts per GIR: 1.71 (30)
• Feet of Putts Made: 64 (50)
• Eagles: 2 (T2)
• Birdies: 19 (T40)
• Pars: 44 (T19)
• Bogeys: 6 (T27)
• Double Bogeys: 1 (T34)