Swing Style 7 of 10
The Tower Swing Style
A Tower swing is built on a tall setup and a steep, upright swing plane, with power generated by pushing vertically into the ground through impact. The club works up and down more than around, producing a descending strike and high ball flight.
Leveraging vertical force. The Tower stands tall, works the club upward, and drives off the ground to compress the ball with authority.
Watch The Tower in action
Our YouTube series breaks down every The Tower swing in the NAILED pro library — the same playlist the app links to when it tags you with this style.
Watch the The Tower playlist on YouTubeWhat it means
Ground force is the least visible power source in golf and one of the most significant. Every golfer pushes into the ground; the Tower does it vertically and aggressively, to the point that many players in this style visibly leave the ground through impact.
The upright plane and the vertical push aren't separate features — they're the same thing. A steeper plane positions the body to load vertically, and a vertical push naturally lifts the swing plane. Trying to flatten the plane of a Tower player without addressing how they generate force usually costs them speed and gains them nothing.
The characteristic strength is turf interaction. A steeper descent into the ball means genuine compression, which means control from bad lies and the ability to stop the ball on firm greens. Tower players are typically the ones who can attack a back pin from the rough while everyone else is running it through the green.
The characteristic weakness is the driver. A steep plane and a descending strike are excellent for irons and problematic for a club that wants to be hit slightly upward off a tee. Many Tower players are excellent iron players with a persistent driver issue, and treat the two as unrelated problems when they're the same problem.
Your swing traits
- Tall, upright posture at address with less forward bend than average
- Steep swing plane, with the club working noticeably up rather than around
- Visible vertical push through impact, sometimes leaving the ground
- Descending strike with substantial divots on iron shots
- High ball flight with plenty of spin
Why it works
Ground reaction force works in three directions, and vertical force is the largest available component. By setting up tall and swinging on a steep plane, the Tower converts a downward push into upward extension that accelerates the club through impact. It's the same mechanism as a vertical jump, timed to coincide with the club reaching the ball.
The upside
- Outstanding turf interaction and control from difficult lies
- High, spinning ball flight that stops quickly on greens
- Compression and strike quality that's easy to feel and repeat
- Adds speed without requiring extra rotation, which suits less mobile players
The downside
- Driver is a persistent challenge — steep meets a club that wants shallow
- Higher spin costs distance, particularly into wind
- Demanding on the lead knee and hip from the vertical loading
- Tends toward out-to-in path when the steepness increases under pressure
What The Tower golfers most often work on
Golfers with this style most often gain from sharpening the supporting mechanics around it — never the trait that defines the style itself. These are common tendencies, not a diagnosis: the app only surfaces a work-on if your swing is actually losing points on it.
- 1
Weight transfer
The tall, vertical action needs a real move onto the lead side to strike down through the ball.
- 2
Lag retention
Keeping the wrist angle lets the steep drop become speed rather than an early cast.
- 3
Hip rotation
Freeing the hips stops the upright frame becoming an arms-only lift.
- 4
Swing path
Upright swings can slide out-to-in — a neutral path lets the height produce flight, not cuts.
What we look for
Spine angle at address, swing plane angle relative to your height, and the vertical component of movement through impact — specifically whether the head and hips rise before the club reaches the ball. Steepness alone doesn't make a Tower; steepness plus vertical extension does.
Seen on tour
Signature pro
Bryson DeChambeau
The modern reference for using the ground — a tall setup and a single-plane action that drives hard off the turf through impact.
Also seen in: Scottie Scheffler, Jim Furyk.
Player references describe publicly observable swing mechanics — ordinary sports commentary. NAILED is not affiliated with or endorsed by any professional golfer.
Pairs with
Most golfers blend a dominant style with a secondary one. These are the styles most often found alongside The Tower.
Think you might be a Tower?
"Flatten your plane" is the standard advice and it usually removes the power source without solving the driver problem. If NAILED identifies you as a Tower, we look at your driver and iron swings as one system, because for you they are.
Stop guessing. Generic golf advice is built for a swing that isn't yours, and following it usually costs you the thing you were already doing well. Film a swing with your phone and get your actual style — primary and secondary — in under a minute.
Free and anonymous. Takes less than a minute.