2008 Ryder Cup - Sergio GarciaSergio Garcia is probably the scariest guy to the Americans. They know that he loves team play, and that he is the spirit behind the European side. On top of all that he has played very well this year. That is very promising for the Europeans. The video below is awesome. It is set in slow motion and is from the face on position. From here you can truly see the sequence of motions that he puts together to create all that power. There are two things I would like to highlight in his swing. The first is something that I would encourage him to watch out for, and encourage you to learn from. If you watch his knee farthest away from the golf ball you will see that it does not stay still. He actually slides his hips sideways during his backswing. This causes his knee to bow out and get out of position. Personally I believe this makes timing the downswing harder to make solid contact. Try to keep your whole leg in place through the backswing so that there is no side to side movement.
Now that we have talked about his backswing, let's take a look at his spectacular transition move into his downswing. If you were ever curious about how your body should unwind from the top of your backsiwng...look no further. You can easily see how his hips start to turn and his back is still facing his target. Then his core and shoulders unwind, which swings his arms down through impact. Garcia has a great swing from which you can learn. Return to 2008 Ryder Cup Players from Sergio Garcia Copyright 2006-2012 Free-Golf-Lessons.com
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PGA Tour Winner Quick Lesson
Congratulations to Steve Stricker on his victory at the 2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
I believe the commentators said he has won 9 times in his 40s. That is amazing!I also agree with Sir Nick and Johnny Miller that his swing will be copied in the future. Technology has reduced the need for hand action in the golf swing to generate power. Watch the old videos of Bobby Jones to see how much action he created compared to that of Steve Stricker.
A great objective for any player is to eliminate any unnecessary movement. Stricker does a great job of that. His hands stay very quiet on the backswing. His wrists hardly hinge at the top of his backswing. You can see from the above video that his backswing is all shoulder turn.
His downswing starts from the hips and he simply turns everything through the golf ball at the same time. His hands and wrists release naturally without any effort. This is a great way to have a consistent rhythm through the golf ball on every shot. This swing delivers enough power to win on Tour.
European Tour Winner Quick Lesson
Congratulations to Louis Oosthuizen and his victory at the 2012 Africa Open.
Louis burst onto the scene with his dominating performance at the Open Championship. Many have predicted multiple wins for this player. His victory this past weekend is likely one of many to come.
In the video above pay really close attention to when the video ends. Take a look at his left foot. Notice how all his weight his on his left heel. This is a great sign that he has cleared his hips properly.
One of the key reasons for starting the downswing with your lower body is to clear your hips out of the way to create more room for your arms to swing through impact. It is a great indicator as to how well you cleared your hips, when almost all your weight is on your heel.
If your weight is leaning on you toes or even the middle of your foot then you have not rotated and cleared your hips enough through your downswing and past impact. You really want to feel the pressure of your weight on your heel like Oosthuizen.
Make sure you start your downswing with your lower body. At the top of your backswing; either pull your left knee or your left hip (right handed player) towards the target. Also make sure your hips keep rotating through impact and into your finish position with your weight on the heel.