Cameron Young clearly thinks that he would not have made it to the PGA Tour if he decided to remove his trademark pause from the top of his golf swing.
There is an argument that Young is one of the best players in the world right now. He secured his first PGA Tour win towards the end of the regular 2025 season before going on to be the American side’s standout performer at the Ryder Cup.
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He did not have to wait too long for a second victory, with Young winning The Players Championship this past week after a sublime performance at TPC Sawgrass.
Cameron Young explains how he ended up with a pause in his golf swing
He made a stunning birdie on the 17th hole on Sunday to move level with Matthew Fitzpatrick. But perhaps the most memorable shot from the 28-year-old came on the following hole.
Young hit a 375-yard drive down the 18th hole to put himself in the driving seat. It was the longest drive on the final hole at Sawgrass in the ShotLink era.
What made it all the more baffling was that Young paused at the top of the swing. It may only be for a fraction of a second, but it is long enough to stand out to the average golf fan.
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Most of us could not begin to imagine how he is able to make such good contact after a notable pause. But Young explained on the Fore Play Podcast that he is nowhere near as good if he tries to eliminate the stalling in his swing.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
“I don’t know if it’s for everybody. It appeared somewhere in college and I don’t know exactly why. I think we were trying to change some sequencing. It started then. It’s staying because I’ve tried seriously I think twice to get rid of it. And I’m like a three handicap if I try to get rid of it,” he said.
“I’ve tried and it doesn’t work. For me, I don’t ever feel it. If I do start to feel it, I know that probably something’s wrong. There’s something moving around up there that probably shouldn’t be. So it’s staying for now.
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“Obviously, it’s way more pronounced once I get into long irons, three wood, driver. But some of it is fake. Some of it is as I get up there, I’m kind of going and this arm starts to bend a little bit, so there’s a little bit of it that is just a bit of an illusion. But yeah, I’m slower up there than pretty much everybody else. I don’t stop like Hideki does. He’s fully structured and stops up there, whereas I think I’ve still got some things moving around a little bit.”
Where Cameron Young ranks on the PGA Tour for club head speed
Young has the capability to be one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour. He is fourth for strokes gained off the tee, while he is 48th for driving distance.
Interestingly, he is actually 30th on the PGA Tour for club head speed. He currently averages 121.02 miles per hour, just over six miles per hour behind Gary Woodland who leads in that particular category.
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It does not seem as though that should be possible for Young to generate so much club head speed when he does essentially kill all of his momentum at the top of the backswing.
It is clearly something that works for him. It would be no surprise to see him win several more times in the near future.
Meanwhile, the rest of us who can only dream of becoming a three handicap will probably attempt to add a pause to our swing the next time we are at the range.
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