Subscribe now to watch the full video.
When polling tour pros, Sergio Garcia is frequently reported as one of the best ball strikers. A high praise from that group of peers. See how his unique blend of steeps and shallows during transition gives his idiosyncratic look. But in my opinion, it is what his legs do during the swing that makes his swing truly different from most tour pros.
Tags: Analysis, Intermediate
WEBVTT
00:00:00.060 --> 00:00:01.949
in this analysis video we're going to
00:00:01.949 --> 00:00:04.950
take a look at Sergio Garcia now Sergio
00:00:04.950 --> 00:00:07.799
Garcia is known as a great ball striker
00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:10.290
on tour and his swing is characterized
00:00:10.290 --> 00:00:13.650
by the incredible narrowing of the arms
00:00:13.650 --> 00:00:15.809
during transition of a club to the arms
00:00:15.809 --> 00:00:17.490
during transition we're going to take a
00:00:17.490 --> 00:00:19.170
look at a couple other key moves that I
00:00:19.170 --> 00:00:21.420
make think make his swing work as well
00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:22.859
as what makes it different from those
00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:26.990
he's often compared to such as Ben Hogan
00:00:26.990 --> 00:00:29.490
so the first move we want to look at is
00:00:29.490 --> 00:00:33.630
the narrowing or the hinging of the
00:00:33.630 --> 00:00:36.750
wrist in transition so every swing
00:00:36.750 --> 00:00:39.590
vision I've seen or was able to download
00:00:39.590 --> 00:00:43.590
highlights how narrow this angle gets
00:00:43.590 --> 00:00:45.559
right there and how it keeps decreasing
00:00:45.559 --> 00:00:47.610
I'm going to show you that some of that
00:00:47.610 --> 00:00:50.280
is some is a result of more what his
00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:53.070
upper body is doing and the shallowing
00:00:53.070 --> 00:00:54.989
moves that you use as opposed to an
00:00:54.989 --> 00:00:58.460
actual anatomical change when we look at
00:00:58.460 --> 00:01:01.620
hinging of a wrist as if you were using
00:01:01.620 --> 00:01:02.629
a hammer
00:01:02.629 --> 00:01:05.970
the the anatomical normal is about 25
00:01:05.970 --> 00:01:09.210
degrees so from this point of view if
00:01:09.210 --> 00:01:12.990
there's 90 degrees it's not quite but it
00:01:12.990 --> 00:01:14.460
looks like he's hinging his wrists about
00:01:14.460 --> 00:01:17.009
45 degrees which would be double what
00:01:17.009 --> 00:01:19.530
all the physical therapy books would say
00:01:19.530 --> 00:01:23.580
is anatomical normal so if we look from
00:01:23.580 --> 00:01:26.820
this obscure view or from the overhead
00:01:26.820 --> 00:01:31.049
from behind if we get him down to about
00:01:31.049 --> 00:01:36.119
the same position you can see that that
00:01:36.119 --> 00:01:38.549
left arm is kind of in that range and
00:01:38.549 --> 00:01:42.659
this is it's it's definitely less than
00:01:42.659 --> 00:01:45.420
90 degrees but nowhere near this 40
00:01:45.420 --> 00:01:47.009
degree angle that we're getting from the
00:01:47.009 --> 00:01:49.290
face on view so part of it is this
00:01:49.290 --> 00:01:51.240
optical illusion that he's really
00:01:51.240 --> 00:01:53.759
hinging his wrist where that optical
00:01:53.759 --> 00:01:57.079
illusion comes from is more of the
00:01:57.079 --> 00:01:59.490
flattening of the move or the rotation
00:01:59.490 --> 00:02:01.200
of the forums combined with the fact
00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:04.020
that his upper body or his thorax is
00:02:04.020 --> 00:02:06.560
still pointing well behind the golf ball
00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:09.599
so over on the right we have John Senden
00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:11.900
John Senden is another golfer who
00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:13.440
doesn't rotate
00:02:13.440 --> 00:02:16.140
his upper body in his transition and so
00:02:16.140 --> 00:02:18.120
as a result it will give the appearance
00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:21.330
of an extremely narrow extremely reached
00:02:21.330 --> 00:02:24.480
wrist movement in transition so for
00:02:24.480 --> 00:02:26.850
example here we have Jason de and you'll
00:02:26.850 --> 00:02:29.070
see that this whole unit is going to
00:02:29.070 --> 00:02:32.120
rotate as a result of the thorax
00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:35.190
rotating here in transition if we
00:02:35.190 --> 00:02:38.910
compare that or if we imagine how we
00:02:38.910 --> 00:02:41.580
could kind of switch bodies if we go up
00:02:41.580 --> 00:02:43.440
to the top of the swing here with with
00:02:43.440 --> 00:02:46.470
Sergio you'll see that his chest stays
00:02:46.470 --> 00:02:48.960
pointing over here and his arms pulled
00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:52.560
down while his wrists flatten that gives
00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:54.690
the appearance of a much greater angle
00:02:54.690 --> 00:02:58.290
than if everything was to rotate
00:02:58.290 --> 00:03:02.340
together um he's over here Jason de has
00:03:02.340 --> 00:03:04.470
his wrist hinge probably not quite as
00:03:04.470 --> 00:03:07.920
much as Sergio Sergio with his wrist
00:03:07.920 --> 00:03:09.330
movement would probably look similar
00:03:09.330 --> 00:03:13.890
over over like this on the same kind of
00:03:13.890 --> 00:03:15.750
comparison if we were to take Jason de
00:03:15.750 --> 00:03:19.200
with his upper body rotating a little
00:03:19.200 --> 00:03:22.950
bit more through transition and put his
00:03:22.950 --> 00:03:25.350
wrists over on Sergio they would
00:03:25.350 --> 00:03:27.270
probably look something more like that
00:03:27.270 --> 00:03:28.620
so if you want to give the appearance
00:03:28.620 --> 00:03:30.750
that you are really reaching your wrists
00:03:30.750 --> 00:03:32.670
in transition try to keep your chest
00:03:32.670 --> 00:03:35.280
facing away from the target longer that
00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:37.860
will help take away some of the slack
00:03:37.860 --> 00:03:39.270
through that lead arm which will
00:03:39.270 --> 00:03:41.400
maximize how much wrist hinge you can
00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:43.920
create it'll also give a little bit of
00:03:43.920 --> 00:03:45.690
an optical illusion that you're creating
00:03:45.690 --> 00:03:49.590
more than is humanly possible so now
00:03:49.590 --> 00:03:51.720
that we've discussed the hinging of the
00:03:51.720 --> 00:03:53.940
wrist let's take a look at what I think
00:03:53.940 --> 00:03:55.980
is more unique in Sergio swing which is
00:03:55.980 --> 00:03:58.050
looking at his body pivot as it relates
00:03:58.050 --> 00:04:00.840
to the this arm movement so you'll see
00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:02.790
during the backswing he's one of the few
00:04:02.790 --> 00:04:05.459
golfers who gets on to the outside of
00:04:05.459 --> 00:04:06.989
his foot because you can see the inside
00:04:06.989 --> 00:04:10.500
of his foot rolling there and you'll see
00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:11.940
that he gets towards the outside of his
00:04:11.940 --> 00:04:14.220
foot and there's a lot more knee action
00:04:14.220 --> 00:04:17.280
then as he starts down you'll see that
00:04:17.280 --> 00:04:20.700
there's a good amount of rotational
00:04:20.700 --> 00:04:22.890
movement but there's not very much side
00:04:22.890 --> 00:04:25.500
bend as in it's almost as if he's
00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:26.520
staying very
00:04:26.520 --> 00:04:29.190
vertical with this pelvis or underneath
00:04:29.190 --> 00:04:31.830
the thorax or kind of creating and
00:04:31.830 --> 00:04:33.419
access like this and he's spinning
00:04:33.419 --> 00:04:37.099
around it with his lower body and legs
00:04:37.099 --> 00:04:39.539
while he's doing that he's pulling down
00:04:39.539 --> 00:04:41.009
with his arms in order to create some
00:04:41.009 --> 00:04:44.819
power so if he was to use more of say a
00:04:44.819 --> 00:04:47.250
Jason de arm movement he would be very
00:04:47.250 --> 00:04:51.330
steep so that arm dropping and extreme
00:04:51.330 --> 00:04:53.909
forearm rotation is going to shallow the
00:04:53.909 --> 00:04:56.430
club which balances out that steeper
00:04:56.430 --> 00:04:58.199
body movement than what we would
00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:00.509
typically see you on tour the other
00:05:00.509 --> 00:05:03.210
thing is as a result of being in this
00:05:03.210 --> 00:05:05.039
steep position he will tend to have a
00:05:05.039 --> 00:05:09.330
very late shallowing move as in you'll
00:05:09.330 --> 00:05:12.330
see that from as he goes into the
00:05:12.330 --> 00:05:14.580
release compared to most he'll have an
00:05:14.580 --> 00:05:16.860
even more pronounced amount of side Bend
00:05:16.860 --> 00:05:19.560
through the release because he didn't
00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:22.319
have any of it happening during the end
00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:26.940
of transition so very few amateur
00:05:26.940 --> 00:05:29.310
golfers would be able to handle that
00:05:29.310 --> 00:05:34.740
much late side Bend and having they'd
00:05:34.740 --> 00:05:36.360
circle with having the arms in this
00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:39.090
steeper position so from the down the
00:05:39.090 --> 00:05:42.120
line what I mean is typically once an
00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:45.090
amateur golfer started that tumble move
00:05:45.090 --> 00:05:47.880
they would tend to reach the wrist and
00:05:47.880 --> 00:05:50.009
the club would continue working very
00:05:50.009 --> 00:05:52.110
much to the left but because Sergio
00:05:52.110 --> 00:05:55.050
imparts this late shallow body movement
00:05:55.050 --> 00:05:57.740
that gives him a very classic looking
00:05:57.740 --> 00:06:01.169
kind of finished position right out in
00:06:01.169 --> 00:06:04.139
there so very few amateurs would be able
00:06:04.139 --> 00:06:06.690
to make that transition it's very much a
00:06:06.690 --> 00:06:11.490
body controlled release style and he
00:06:11.490 --> 00:06:13.349
does a great job with it and has become
00:06:13.349 --> 00:06:15.509
one of the best ball strikers on tour
00:06:15.509 --> 00:06:18.360
he's frequently compared to Ben Hogan
00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:20.310
what we're gonna do now is let's look at
00:06:20.310 --> 00:06:22.860
Ben Hogan's movements and compare them
00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:24.960
to Sergio so that you can see that while
00:06:24.960 --> 00:06:27.300
there's a similarity in the narrowing
00:06:27.300 --> 00:06:29.009
movement of the arms that's pretty much
00:06:29.009 --> 00:06:30.539
where the similarities end when you're
00:06:30.539 --> 00:06:33.419
comparing those two swings okay so just
00:06:33.419 --> 00:06:35.849
so we can have fresh image in our mind
00:06:35.849 --> 00:06:38.199
of what we're comparing with Sergio
00:06:38.199 --> 00:06:40.970
there's that kind of narrowing movement
00:06:40.970 --> 00:06:45.310
of the arms if we were to take Ben Hogan
00:06:45.310 --> 00:06:48.530
you'll see he has that similar look of
00:06:48.530 --> 00:06:52.790
very narrow arms and that look is
00:06:52.790 --> 00:06:55.130
created mostly because of this forearm
00:06:55.130 --> 00:06:58.070
rotation where basically you can see
00:06:58.070 --> 00:07:00.710
Sergio is one of the more extreme in the
00:07:00.710 --> 00:07:02.270
fact that you can see his hands at this
00:07:02.270 --> 00:07:04.220
point already pointing up towards the
00:07:04.220 --> 00:07:05.960
sky Ben Hogan's kind of in that same
00:07:05.960 --> 00:07:08.240
category which gives the look of an
00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:11.449
increased hinge in that angle now if we
00:07:11.449 --> 00:07:15.889
were to run through or scrub through his
00:07:15.889 --> 00:07:18.199
transition you'll see Ben Hogan had a
00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:21.320
very pronounced lower body shift and
00:07:21.320 --> 00:07:23.750
rotation and you'll see that he controls
00:07:23.750 --> 00:07:26.570
a lot of his swing with his hips if we
00:07:26.570 --> 00:07:28.460
look at his right foot you'll see that
00:07:28.460 --> 00:07:30.320
he does not get to the outside of the
00:07:30.320 --> 00:07:32.780
foot he does a great job of pushing off
00:07:32.780 --> 00:07:35.720
the inside and then through the release
00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:39.169
you'll see that continued side Bend and
00:07:39.169 --> 00:07:43.240
rotation happening at the pelvis so
00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:46.039
because he has more of this side been
00:07:46.039 --> 00:07:48.590
accomplished through transition you'll
00:07:48.590 --> 00:07:51.680
see that Ben Hogan still braces in his
00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:54.349
upper body put goes back some but
00:07:54.349 --> 00:07:56.570
nowhere near the same amount that Sergio
00:07:56.570 --> 00:08:00.260
Garcia did during his release so Sergio
00:08:00.260 --> 00:08:03.320
is powering more with this rotational
00:08:03.320 --> 00:08:05.900
movement of the knees and feet not quite
00:08:05.900 --> 00:08:08.360
as much at the hips as a result his
00:08:08.360 --> 00:08:10.280
upper body is more on top of the lower
00:08:10.280 --> 00:08:12.620
body you'll see that he doesn't have
00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:15.199
nearly as much side Bend when the hands
00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:18.349
are about hip height and then as a
00:08:18.349 --> 00:08:22.520
result he has to side Bend late as his
00:08:22.520 --> 00:08:25.729
arms complete their release so the body
00:08:25.729 --> 00:08:28.250
pivots and the release styles and the
00:08:28.250 --> 00:08:30.830
transition powering are very different
00:08:30.830 --> 00:08:32.959
between these two golfers the only
00:08:32.959 --> 00:08:35.150
similarity is that form flattening
00:08:35.150 --> 00:08:38.570
movement but I think there could be some
00:08:38.570 --> 00:08:40.789
better comparisons between someone like
00:08:40.789 --> 00:08:42.650
Sergio Garcia and someone like John
00:08:42.650 --> 00:08:45.380
Senden then between Sergio Garcia and
00:08:45.380 --> 00:08:47.750
someone like Ben Hogan so if you like
00:08:47.750 --> 00:08:49.040
how we break down the swing and you want
00:08:49.040 --> 00:08:51.030
to have your swing broken down
00:08:51.030 --> 00:08:52.350
join our membership program at golf
00:08:52.350 --> 00:08:54.240
smart academy and submit your swing and
00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:55.920
we'll do an analysis video just like
00:08:55.920 --> 00:08:58.820
this for your swing