Max Homa feels and knows the golf gods aren’t smiling upon him. His stats tell him so, enough that he confessed in February, “I’ve been incredibly frustrated since April. But I also see — I find pride in waking up after a hard day and having the energy to go get better.” Is he getting better? No.

Recently, Golf Digest’s Luke Kerr-Dineen shared his observation of Max Homa’s swings in recent times. As per this post, in 2022, Homa’s hands were positioned lower, resulting in a more laid-off club at the top of his backswing. By 2024, he raised his hands higher, leading to a less laid-off club position. This adjustment allows him to shallow the club during the downswing, promoting a more horizontal swing path that enhances contact and distance.

On his X post, Dineen shared, “Kinda cool and crazy how different Max Homa’s backswing is nowadays. 2022 vs 2024 vs 2025 Hands higher now, club less laid off. New position is by design. Helps him shallow the club, and rotate more aggressively though. Said at the PGA it’s why his speed has been ticking up.” So, as per Dineen, the new position facilitates a more aggressive body rotation through the shot, contributing to increased swing speed. But is it helping Max Homa? 

The 34-year-old has missed seven cuts in 18 starts, with his sole top-10 finish coming from a T5th place at the 2025 John Deere Classic. This slump has persisted for 15 months, despite changes to his approach, including parting ways with long-time coach Mark Blackburn in 2024 and later teaming up with John Scott Rattan.

Homa has also switched equipment, but feels progress in his swing without seeing it translate to better results. Now ranked 106th in the FedExCup standings, he faces a daunting task to make the playoffs and potentially the Ryder Cup. His best chance to extend his season lies in a strong finish, with the 2025 Wyndham Championship serving as the final opportunity for players to qualify for the postseason. Anyhow, he needs a solid week to jump into the top 70 of the FedExCup Standings – something that fans believe only his old swing can fix.

Golf fans know what could help Max Homa return to his original form

One fan said, “Feel like maybe he should change back…🫣,” while another commented, “Except he’s gotten worse over the 3 years.” There’s no denying Max Homa’s decline in form, despite recent swing changes. A look at his top 10 finishes tells the story: in 2024, he managed just three, a significant drop from the 13 top 10s, including two wins, he achieved in the 2022-2023 seasons. This season, on the other hand, he has only managed one top 10, as mentioned earlier. 

So, even if Homa feels his swings have gotten better, it hasn’t helped. Not in the way that he or his fans hoped it would. One fan lamented, “Why do guys mess with their swings when they are playing well. Speed is great but at what cost,” and another shrugged off his speed stats, saying, “Another victim of chasing speed?” Let’s look at some of Max Homa’s stats comparison.

Max Homa’s 2025 stats reveal a notable decline compared to 2024, particularly in his approach game, where he ranked 170th with a score of -0.556, down from 86th with a score of 0.145 the previous year. His overall performance also suffered, with a Strokes Gained: Total ranking of 159th (-0.724). On the other hand, Homa’s SG: Approach to Green performance significantly worsened, placing him 170th with a score of -0.556, a stark contrast to his 2024 ranking of 86th.

Lastly, a fan said, “Wow undoing what Blackburn did.” As stated above, Max Homa and Mark Blakburn joined hands following Homa’s mixed cut at the 2020 U.S. Open and stayed together for four years. Eventually, they parted ways in 2024, a year when Max Homa’s performance started to decline further. At this point, however, it is hard to pinpoint what could exactly help this PGA Tour pro get better, with the stakes as high as ever.