Sergio Garcia has been known as one of the premier ball strikers since he burst onto the scene 25 years ago. In this Sergio Garcia Swing Analysis video below, PGA Professional Jack Backhouse breaks down his technique to show you why his ball striking has been so good over the years.
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Sergio Garcia Swing Analysis: Set-Up
Garcia stands to the ball with a pretty narrow stance width which I believe allows him to stay nice and centred in the backswing without any lateral movement to his left or right. I really like how triggered his right index finger is as this will heighten his club face awareness and allow him pressure the ball at impact.
It is all fairly textbook and nicely in balance, a great address position to copy!
Backswing
Garcia initiates the backswing with a little forward press and then uses his wrists to set the club in motion before his hands move away. This is great for sequencing as it gets the club moving up and in front of the player rather than low and inside.
As he gets to the top of the backswing, his upper centre and head actually lean toward the target. This position is often criticised by amateur golfers, but it is a huge key to Sergio Garcia’s ball striking. This lean forward with his spine helps guarantee a downward attack angle with the ball at first contact.
It is also worth noting that whilst Garcia keeps his swing well short of parallel, the club and his arms are in a perfectly straight line, which means the club is in a very neutral position.
Downswing
Garcia stars his downswing with his patented lag/drop move, where the club head shallows and the club and arms drop down.
Sergio keeps the club head behind him as late as any golfer in the world in the downswing, which is why he hits the ball so far and strikes it so well. A lot of golfers are scared of this position but it really is the key to long flush strikes.
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As his club moves towards the ball, Garcia looks very ‘textbook’ with the club swinging down on the plane into the ball. It really isn’t as individualistic as people think.
Into The Finish
Sergio shifts himself out of that reverse spine angle positon at the top into a hips forward head back positon through the strike, and exits with that classic good ball striker bent left wrist and bent left arm.
What can we learn?
Sergio Garcia’s golf swing is one of the best, and whilst is seems idiosyncratic, there are a lot of elements to this swing that are similar to other players and can be useful in your swing and to your games. Here’s what I like to help you strike the ball better.
- Keep the head and upper centre forward when you turn back
- Shallow the club behind you as you start your downswing
- Turn hard pushing your hips towards the target late in the downswing
You may not want to copy Sergio Garcia’s golf swing exactly, but watching his can help you understand your own more.
If you enjoyed this Sergio Garcia swing analysis, keep an eye out for more tour winners’ swing analysis in the future.
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