Golf clubs: Champions � Sergio Garcia's swing analyzed

Sergio Garcia might be self taught, but it hasn't done him any harm

Sergio Garcia is Europe 's best golfer, but like fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros, he has made a golf swing all of his own. As a result, it's not necessarily a technique that you'd tell anyone to copy. However, it works for him. Sergio relies much more on timing and feel than someone with a more classic technique. And he's got a much faster rhythm than many other golfers.

Set-up

At only 5ft 10ins Sergio is not the tallest of players, so he sets himself up in a much more upright stance than the likes of Woods or Harrington. You'll notice if you watch him on TV, he's quite fidgety as he addresses the ball. He performs a lot more waggling and regripping than some players, because his swing is much more about feel.

At the top

Until now Sergio's swing has been fairly conventional, but here's what makes it so unusual. At the top of the backswing, the club is supposed to be pointing along the line of your shoulders straight at the target. Sergio, however, keeps his club 'laid off', as the coaches call it. This means it is at roughly 45 degrees to the left of where the ideal line is. In order to correct this he has to make a little loop at the top of his swing, dropping the club head back inside. It means he has to rely much more on timing to deliver the club head at the right place.

Downswing

The little loop at the top of Sergio's swing means his arms are quite late coming through on the downswing. Ben Hogan, the great 20th century golfer, used to have a very similar swing. It was once thought that a late action was the key to increasing power, but this has been discredited by the likes of Jack Nicklaus. You'll see that the club head comes through to the ball some time after his body but from impact onwards, it's pretty normal. He has a tendency to exaggerate follow through, with the club head practically wrapped round his neck pointing back at the target.

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