Sergio Garcia's swing

[imperfectgolfer]

Here is an analysis of Sergio Garcia's swing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU7RXXJisAY

It provides insights that clear up certain misunderstandings.

Many people incorrectly label SG as a S&T golfer, and Bennett/Plummer state that SG has more left-leaning than a S&T golfer.

I think that they are wrong.

SG has a 140 degree upper torso rotation in the backswing and that torques his upper thoracic spine to the left. That makes it "appear" as if he is left-leaning, but he is not left-leaning his lower/mid spine.

Note that his pelvis rotates horizontally in the downswing (4:30 minutes - back view), and there is no "aggressive left-lateral sliding of the pelvis" as seen in a S&T golfer.

3jack - note that he uses horizontal hinging and that he has no problem "swinging left".

The instructor is making one mistake when trying to mimic SG's swing. He actively adducts the right upper arm to the right side of the torso in the early downswing (which is correct), but one also needs to do so without turning one's shoulders - so that the clubshaft can shallow from the TSP to the elbow plane before the upper torso rotates. That is the idiosyncratic feature that characterizes SG's swing.

Jeff.

[gmbtempe]

For the majority of golfers I absolute think any mimicking of his swing would yield a horrible result. It does work for him but there are a lot of things I don't like about his swing.

[vjsinger]

Feb 4, 2010 14:34:10 GMT -5 gmbtempe said:

For the majority of golfers I absolute think any mimicking of his swing would yield a horrible result. It does work for him but there are a lot of things I don't like about his swing.

I think trying to mimick any swing is dangerous and difficult. What don't you like about Sergio's swing and why?

[gmbtempe]

Feb 4, 2010 17:22:13 GMT -5 @vjsinger said:

Feb 4, 2010 14:34:10 GMT -5 gmbtempe said:

For the majority of golfers I absolute think any mimicking of his swing would yield a horrible result. It does work for him but there are a lot of things I don't like about his swing.

I think trying to mimick any swing is dangerous and difficult. What don't you like about Sergio's swing and why?

Well even if one was able to have that massive flattening in the downswing I think it would be very hard for an average player to have their hands catch up and its likely going to cause some real sequencing issues. I also don't like the amount of forward lean he has and the amount he de-lofts the club.

[Richie3Jack]

Sergio's spine tilts about 5* to the left according to Motion Golf's 6* 3-D analysis.

I have no idea what Motion Golf would actually show for a S&T golfer, but Plummer and Bennett insist that they want the spine at 90* at the top of the swing.



3JACK

[vjsinger]

Feb 4, 2010 17:48:46 GMT -5 gmbtempe said:

Feb 4, 2010 17:22:13 GMT -5 @vjsinger said:

I think trying to mimick any swing is dangerous and difficult. What don't you like about Sergio's swing and why?

Well even if one was able to have that massive flattening in the downswing I think it would be very hard for an average player to have their hands catch up and its likely going to cause some real sequencing issues. I also don't like the amount of forward lean he has and the amount he de-lofts the club.

I don't think its a hand speed issue as much as it is a shoulder location and pivot issue. I'd bet that both you and I can move our hands as fast as Sergio does, but I think the hard part is getting the pivot correct without stalling it while having the lead shoulder in the right spot and trusting where and when to slot the club. The thing that is most amazing to me about Serges swing is the crazy ability to repeat his early slotting. I've seen him at a TOUR event and there are only two guys I saw in the field that made that noise when hitting the ball, Serge and Tiger. Amazing sound, I wish I could bottle it.

[imperfectgolfer]

3 jack

You wrote-: "Plummer and Bennett insist that they want the spine at 90* at the top of the swing."

How do you reconcile that claim with this description by Bennett/Plummer from their book - with respect to the following photo series.



To get the "correct" feeling involved in performing a S&T backswing pivot action, Bennett/Plummer state that a golfer should stand erect and extend the spine (image 2), then tilt the extended spine 30 degrees to the left (image 3) and then bend forward at the waist (image 4).

At the end-backswing position, the S&T golfer's upper swinger center may be vertically above the ball, but do you really not believe that their spine has to be tilted leftwards to enable the S&T golfer to acquire that end-backswing posture.

Regarding SG's 5 degrees leftwards spinal tilt at the end-backswing position, it is only the upper thoracic spine that is torqued leftwards. Look at the view from the back (tush line view) - you will see that his lower-mid spine is rightwards tilted.

Jeff.