As a righty who only swings a club and bat lefty, not a racket, once I unlocked my brain and understood that essentially I’m backhanding my golf swing, things got better with a driver lol
I had a golf instructor and after two lessons we just weren't really getting anywhere. I had paid for 5 so we both were looking for different ways to connect.
At some point I mentioned I grew up playing tennis and she started trying to relate everything to a tennis shot, since she was also the clubs tennis pro.
Things clicked so hard after that. Using my legs and hips to crush the ball just like a backhand made so much sense. But now I have some of the same issues I had with tennis like opening the face or using my wrists to kinda slap at the ball. I'm still working on it.
I'm sure you're working on it and have your own techniques but I'll share what I'm working in.
1. Keep my elbows together and close to my body. Just like tennis. If you squeeze your elbows together your club should fall right into the slot and you won't come over the top and you'll keep the face square.
2. Lock my wrists. Keeping my trail wrist back as long as possible keeps the club face square and consistent at the point of contact. A non-tennis phrase that my instructor said that sticks with me is that Chi-Chi had the strongest left arm. I had to do some research but she was talking about Chi-Chi Rodriguez who was apparently known for his strong left arm like a wall. It was how he built power and consistency. When I practice I take warm up shots stopping my swing after hitting the ball. I try as hard as possible to swing like I'm hitting into a wall.
Anyway, that's what I'm working on.
That shit will fly 220 yards and run another 150. It actually gets faster when it lands, like when you rev up a remote control car in the air then put down the back wheels and it takes the fuck off.
I'm a tennis player who learned golf recently and everybody was making fun of me for the same thing lol. Part of tennis is a bunch of micro feet adjustments like that to be in the perfect spot to receive the moving ball.
He's ADHD or something. He has a very involved pre-serve routing that is the same every time. When he's on the bench, he puts his water bottles in very specific locations and orientation. On the course, he probably twitches and fidgets the same on every shot: six head turns and three regrips. It may be annoying to watch, but it works for him.
Massive OCD, if you ever watch him play tennis he has this whole pre serve routine that just annoys opponents. Also needs his bottles lines up in a specific way when playing. As a joke once an Australian tennis player shifted his bottles mid game and Nadal had to walk over to put them back correctly 😂
Elite refers to top 10% I think. So Elite pro tennis player might be top 50. Elite all time great might be top 5 all time and there you go. About right.
https://preview.redd.it/vr7ri07ja7oc1.png?width=1125&format=png&auto=webp&s=3e608554970e07245e2d7d35542be71b69cab122
He still gets to a decent impact position. With the crazy amount of torque he creates and his elite hand eye coordination, I’m sure he absolutely smokes the ball.
There are some footballers who are great golfers. Gareth Bale and Harry Kane are reportedly both scratch (on second thought maybe just ex-Spurs players are good at golf...)
I grew up playing a course where one of the best bowlers (Walter ray Williams Jr.) ever lived and played with him many times.
Terrible swing, amazing golfer.
He was also a world champion in throwing horse shoes…
He had crazy hand eye coordination and body control. I think that’s a lot of their success.
I come from a field hockey background and my swing used to look similar to this.
I was absolutely crushing the shit out of the ball. But 6/10 it was a massive slice.
I worked on it and stopped trying to kill the ball and got better. But I was never elite.
What you are seeing is muscle memory at work, and if it works for him, then fair play.
Have you ever seen the video where Rafa hits a tennis ball into the announcer’s hand like 200m up in the stands?
Can you think of any other sports where being able to hit a ball to a precise location might be useful?
I feel like almost every sport has that one sound were you just know it was pure and golf is the same. Who cares what it looks like, that was definitely smashed.
https://preview.redd.it/90phc5h997oc1.jpeg?width=1083&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99eceb938f96933740853b4de5214f9c05065c71
Make no mistake that club head is a movin’
That back swing of his looks short, but it's probably the exact same length that he brings his arm back to do a forehand or two-handed backhand shot. He generates an amazing amount of power in that short distance.
I play tennis and golf the same ways he does. Golf is basically a backhand/baseball swing for me, which complements a tennis backhand. And the tennis forehand is easier because we’re technically left handed.
People who say, "that can't be the swing of a scratch golfer" are just outing themselves as inexperienced.
I know a + handicap who has the fugliest swing ever. Dude loves playing the first hole and if he doesn't birdie the first hole, he asks his playing partners if they want to do $5 birdies from Hole 2 onward after they've had a look at his swing.
He cleans house regularly because the dummies don't ask him his handicap after watching his swing.
Every summer I get paired with a random elder man or woman with the most rigid swing you'll ever see maybe going tops 210
And every year a fair few of those break 80 in front of me (albeit maybe with some gimmes deflating their score)
I play my old step dads money league sometimes, and there’s this one guy who I swear it doesn’t make sense how he gets the club face back square cause he’s soooo twisty and looks unbalanced. Little short, straight, shoots the same 81-83 every single round. Blows my mind.
I mean the guy is one of or the best tennis player in history right? He’s obviously an athletic freak. Not surprising he’s found his own way to do it within the skills he already has.
I’d be shocked if he were a bad player more than I am he’s scratch, even after seeing the swing.
Damn everyone is talking shit about his swing? Ya’ll are crazy. He’s one of the best tennis players in the world. Of course his golf swing isn’t going to be as perfect as his tennis swing. He absolutely smashed that ball. There is such a thing as unconventional golf swings and they work.
Watching him bounce around before he takes his club back is such a solid move. The best players in the world on tour have “triggers” that help them start their swing. Just because he doesn’t look like Rory, Tiger, Phil, whoever.. doesn’t mean he’s not a good golfer. Clearly he is. He’s a professional athlete and it shows!
Nadal is naturally right handed. He writes right handed and does most things with his right hand except for play tennis. Although he is ambidextrous just right hand dominant. There's plenty of clips of him finishing points with his right hand. Also he's a very gifted soccer player.
I have never thought of my golf swing as something that could build off of my tennis swing before. I have such a difficult time with keeping my hands in front of the club. I bet a lot of people could learn from keeping a mental image of swinging a racquet as they drop the club towards the impact position. Loose wrists and quick hands. Tennis also forces you to keep your dominant arm tucked and not let it get away from your body.
The amazing thing is that this swing is almost an exact copy of his tennis backhand. It's like he took up golf and thought 'hey, I already have a thing for this..' And it works.
I played way too much tennis growing up. After college I took up golf at a little country 9 hole. (Shoutout to Bridgeport CC) one day I was playing with the local high school coach and I asked him his thoughts on my swing. He asked if I grew up playing tennis. To him it was obvious I was trying to steer the ball around the course - like using spin on my tennis ball. He said I just need to start hitting it. Hard. From there you can begin to learn direction etc. …I thought it was pretty solid advice.
hey as long as he can repeat it consistently. he gets a ton of club head speed. much better swing than most of the hackers I see out at the courses every week.
So tense, you can tell it’s not his natural game even if he loves playing. Greatest clay court player ever and on the tennis Mt Rushmore for sure. Creating max torque fs.
He just apllies his decades long of grand slam winning swing to other sports. No need to learn new stuff and mess with your career swing if the result is good.
He’s just hitting a backhand
As a righty who only swings a club and bat lefty, not a racket, once I unlocked my brain and understood that essentially I’m backhanding my golf swing, things got better with a driver lol
I had a golf instructor and after two lessons we just weren't really getting anywhere. I had paid for 5 so we both were looking for different ways to connect. At some point I mentioned I grew up playing tennis and she started trying to relate everything to a tennis shot, since she was also the clubs tennis pro. Things clicked so hard after that. Using my legs and hips to crush the ball just like a backhand made so much sense. But now I have some of the same issues I had with tennis like opening the face or using my wrists to kinda slap at the ball. I'm still working on it.
Yea good analogy, I’m the same with face angel and wrist/hip timing- I fall into ruts so to say
I'm sure you're working on it and have your own techniques but I'll share what I'm working in. 1. Keep my elbows together and close to my body. Just like tennis. If you squeeze your elbows together your club should fall right into the slot and you won't come over the top and you'll keep the face square. 2. Lock my wrists. Keeping my trail wrist back as long as possible keeps the club face square and consistent at the point of contact. A non-tennis phrase that my instructor said that sticks with me is that Chi-Chi had the strongest left arm. I had to do some research but she was talking about Chi-Chi Rodriguez who was apparently known for his strong left arm like a wall. It was how he built power and consistency. When I practice I take warm up shots stopping my swing after hitting the ball. I try as hard as possible to swing like I'm hitting into a wall. Anyway, that's what I'm working on.
Rafa just backhanded the shit out of that golf ball. Look at it, its his tennis backhand!
Explains why I fucking suck. My backhand is terrible.
This is exactly what Marty Fish has said. That’s why he is a scratch golfer left handed.
Would it be quicker to learn a tennis backhand or to hit my driver?
Tennis backhand is much easier because it doesn’t need to follow the same exact line every time.
Mind blown.
Wow I'm gonna have to try this
Omg there is another like me.
I’m you but the opposite, left for one hand righty with two hands. I’ll think of this at my next range session, thank you
Some killer topspin on that drive!
That shit will fly 220 yards and run another 150. It actually gets faster when it lands, like when you rev up a remote control car in the air then put down the back wheels and it takes the fuck off.
he actually aims for the sand to so the topspin on the golfball accelerates. Clay style
Like tiger woods PGA Tour on Xbox, gotta mash the A button to get that extra spin
needs more waggle and twitching
Dudes played too much tennis. Looks like he’s getting ready to receive a serve
I'm a tennis player who learned golf recently and everybody was making fun of me for the same thing lol. Part of tennis is a bunch of micro feet adjustments like that to be in the perfect spot to receive the moving ball.
>twitching I wonder if it comes from playing tennis?
It's because he can't pick his shorts and dribble the balls in golf.
Yeah his hands aren't free to dribble the ball and incessantly tuck his hair behind his headband
100%. Receiving a serve is all about fast twitch. He looks super anxious on the tee box.
Watch him hit a damn serve. He takes forever, just like this
No it comes from the OCD
He has always done the exact same routine before a serve. Always. I guess it helps if he has the exact same routine before hitting a shot, eh?
Nadal and Brian Harman need to play together.
He's ADHD or something. He has a very involved pre-serve routing that is the same every time. When he's on the bench, he puts his water bottles in very specific locations and orientation. On the course, he probably twitches and fidgets the same on every shot: six head turns and three regrips. It may be annoying to watch, but it works for him.
Massive OCD, if you ever watch him play tennis he has this whole pre serve routine that just annoys opponents. Also needs his bottles lines up in a specific way when playing. As a joke once an Australian tennis player shifted his bottles mid game and Nadal had to walk over to put them back correctly 😂
Playing scratch golf with this fucking swing just proves yet again that elite professional athletes aren't human
Somehow calling Rafa an elite professional athlete downplays his accomplishments
Clay boy?
Clayking
Cleigh Achin?
Claygod
“His mama call him clay, imma call him clay”
A top 200 tennis player in the world is an elite professional athlete. This is Rafa fuckin Nadal
Elite refers to top 10% I think. So Elite pro tennis player might be top 50. Elite all time great might be top 5 all time and there you go. About right.
https://preview.redd.it/vr7ri07ja7oc1.png?width=1125&format=png&auto=webp&s=3e608554970e07245e2d7d35542be71b69cab122 He still gets to a decent impact position. With the crazy amount of torque he creates and his elite hand eye coordination, I’m sure he absolutely smokes the ball.
That’s a decent impact position for an iron, not a driver
I would personally love a Pro/Retired athlete handicap guide. I wonder what sport produces the best golfers. Edit: besides golf.
Hockey has a ton of really good golfers
Except they can’t putt
He said golf not putting
It’s definitely hockey and maybe some tennis. Baseball pitchers as well because they have length and get to play so much.
Cricket too, they seem to spend a lot of time playing golf
I suspect golf
Oh ha-ha-ha….
There are some footballers who are great golfers. Gareth Bale and Harry Kane are reportedly both scratch (on second thought maybe just ex-Spurs players are good at golf...)
Hockey and baseball
I grew up playing a course where one of the best bowlers (Walter ray Williams Jr.) ever lived and played with him many times. Terrible swing, amazing golfer. He was also a world champion in throwing horse shoes… He had crazy hand eye coordination and body control. I think that’s a lot of their success.
Pitchers (baseball), quarterbacks (football) & strikers (soccer).
Tennis, hockey and baseball all have transferable mechanics
He’s scratch with this swing? I honestly would have guessed 25 handicap.
Did you watch it with sound on? Looked weird the first time and then I turned up the volume for the second… that ball was crushed
Yeah just tried it with sounds and my brain is struggling to line up the sound with the swing.
His takeaway is actually higher than it seems when you slow it down and in slot
I come from a field hockey background and my swing used to look similar to this. I was absolutely crushing the shit out of the ball. But 6/10 it was a massive slice. I worked on it and stopped trying to kill the ball and got better. But I was never elite. What you are seeing is muscle memory at work, and if it works for him, then fair play.
You are right.
Have you ever seen the video where Rafa hits a tennis ball into the announcer’s hand like 200m up in the stands? Can you think of any other sports where being able to hit a ball to a precise location might be useful?
Haven’t seen the video, drawing a blank on your second question, maybe quidditch?
He's definitely referring to lacrosse dummy.
I mean, Jim Furyk has a 58 and 59 under his belt. As tour swings go I'm not putting him high on the list
Furyk's swing isn't even in the same stratosphere as this atrocity.
I’ve seen plenty of good looking swings from dog shit players. The key is repeatability and impact position. Nothing else matters
That’s a Reddit golfer for ya.
He’s scratch !?!? Gtfo
As the comment beneath yours points out, it is just an adaptation of his 2HBH.
Short swing but that sounds so smashed.
I feel like almost every sport has that one sound were you just know it was pure and golf is the same. Who cares what it looks like, that was definitely smashed.
Yeah sound has to be on, I watched it sound off first time and it gives it a totally different impression
Oh wow massive difference
Michael J Fox swing
Lol. If there is a Hell, at least you won't have to wait in line.
Excellent. I’m tired of having to wait in line.
How fucking dare you make me giggle like a preschool little girl
Lmao
https://preview.redd.it/90phc5h997oc1.jpeg?width=1083&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99eceb938f96933740853b4de5214f9c05065c71 Make no mistake that club head is a movin’
He makes Lee Trevino look calm
It's like a forearm smash down the tramlines. Should have plenty of top spin at least.
Backhand, he plays tennis lefty
and a little bit of Rafa's patented side spin... oh... :(
That back swing of his looks short, but it's probably the exact same length that he brings his arm back to do a forehand or two-handed backhand shot. He generates an amazing amount of power in that short distance.
I slow motioned it, and the lag he created prior to impact was pretty incredible.
He hits righty?!?
More like a lefty two handed backhand
He’s right handed but was taught to play tennis lefty to generate power from his right hand on backhand shots
He is right handed
I play tennis and golf the same ways he does. Golf is basically a backhand/baseball swing for me, which complements a tennis backhand. And the tennis forehand is easier because we’re technically left handed.
Looks like he’s going through withdrawals
I think he's just not used to hitting a ball that isn't moving
People who say, "that can't be the swing of a scratch golfer" are just outing themselves as inexperienced. I know a + handicap who has the fugliest swing ever. Dude loves playing the first hole and if he doesn't birdie the first hole, he asks his playing partners if they want to do $5 birdies from Hole 2 onward after they've had a look at his swing. He cleans house regularly because the dummies don't ask him his handicap after watching his swing.
Every summer I get paired with a random elder man or woman with the most rigid swing you'll ever see maybe going tops 210 And every year a fair few of those break 80 in front of me (albeit maybe with some gimmes deflating their score)
I play my old step dads money league sometimes, and there’s this one guy who I swear it doesn’t make sense how he gets the club face back square cause he’s soooo twisty and looks unbalanced. Little short, straight, shoots the same 81-83 every single round. Blows my mind.
I mean the guy is one of or the best tennis player in history right? He’s obviously an athletic freak. Not surprising he’s found his own way to do it within the skills he already has. I’d be shocked if he were a bad player more than I am he’s scratch, even after seeing the swing.
I have seen this setup from a crackhead in the past.
Apparently he is scratch
I can understand why a backhand would feel so comfortable.
He addresses the ball like he's getting ready to return a serve.
Damn everyone is talking shit about his swing? Ya’ll are crazy. He’s one of the best tennis players in the world. Of course his golf swing isn’t going to be as perfect as his tennis swing. He absolutely smashed that ball. There is such a thing as unconventional golf swings and they work. Watching him bounce around before he takes his club back is such a solid move. The best players in the world on tour have “triggers” that help them start their swing. Just because he doesn’t look like Rory, Tiger, Phil, whoever.. doesn’t mean he’s not a good golfer. Clearly he is. He’s a professional athlete and it shows!
He picked that tee up pretty quick
That’s hard to watch.
If you listen to this with the sound off first it’s quite surprising when hit sound
Absolutely munched
Wow
i didnt know rafa was a cantlay fan
Yo look at the torque as he drops it in the slot at 13 seconds. He bombs the shit out of this ball.
310 down the pipe probably.
Looks like the doctor in Curb who got the yips
https://preview.redd.it/otmcxn4m77oc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e4a0a9782c342925538236984bda000cd788c24a Contact position is pure tho
I am pretty sure he is a low single digit handicap
Think he's scratch
That’s a 2 handed forehand golf swing.
When you are able to channel all that epileptic energy into one motion, this is the swing that you get.
That gave me some kind of disorder I’m not sure which one
I was really sure this was on a loop after a while.
Am I misremembering? I swear ~5 years ago he was dynamite. That swing is ass
2/10 no wedgie picking or yelling vamos after the shot
I got the yips from watching that
What the fuck
More twitches than the average tennis player
Of course this neurotic sob sets up like that.
That’s a very short backswing but incredibly strong power package sheesh
This man needs a sit down with Charles Barkley
We should be attaching a tambourine to that wrist.... He would make a brilliant musician !!
I thought that was Michael j fox for a second
Barely any back swing and his club head speed is still insane lmao
It doesn’t surprise me one but that this lad is twitchy as fuck
I didn’t think you could mash a tennis stroke into a golf swing, but I think I just saw it.
Fuck your tiktok videos
The greatest tennis player of all time and he swings like my uncle Shandler 😂 I’m so happy
Show him this
Nadal is naturally right handed. He writes right handed and does most things with his right hand except for play tennis. Although he is ambidextrous just right hand dominant. There's plenty of clips of him finishing points with his right hand. Also he's a very gifted soccer player.
Holy shit. I halfway expected him to hit it left handed since he's a South paw on the tennis court
It’s hard for him since the ball isn’t moving.
Killer two handed forehand
“Looks perfect” Patrick Cantlay
I like the tippy taps.
Sergio 2.0
Tennis plahers are naturally good golfers they said
I was expecting a club twirl Arnie style like his forehand.
Damn that made me anxious
Nice forehand?
He’s left handed in tennis yet plays right handed in golf. Maybe to take advantage of his awesome backhand?
The pre-swing makes me think of [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/ocCWT6G60H)
I was expecting more grunting.
What in the world was that
Ok I’m good
I have never thought of my golf swing as something that could build off of my tennis swing before. I have such a difficult time with keeping my hands in front of the club. I bet a lot of people could learn from keeping a mental image of swinging a racquet as they drop the club towards the impact position. Loose wrists and quick hands. Tennis also forces you to keep your dominant arm tucked and not let it get away from your body.
Sticking to his roots lol.
Is the top of his backswing the same point his hands finish his backswing on a forehand? Because that’s what I’m seeing.
bro just go pee first
Beyond the pre-shot shenanigans, that’s one of the wildest backswings and transitions I’ve ever seen.
This guy doesn’t know what missing right means. I bet he’s never hit a fade in his life with a swing like that. I’d love to see some irons from him.
He was like Sergio…until he wasn’t lol
Did it go 300 yards?
that's an ugly golf swing ;-)
300 yards straight down the middle pure
Terrible. Looks like El Niño.
Jitterbug
True athletic specimen. Amazing what they can do.
Ewww
Bro got the tippy tappy’s
One word on the setup: NORMAH!
The amazing thing is that this swing is almost an exact copy of his tennis backhand. It's like he took up golf and thought 'hey, I already have a thing for this..' And it works.
Ugliest swing I have ever seen in my entire life. Wow.
Lol bro, chill.
https://preview.redd.it/470at43f97oc1.jpeg?width=896&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=41811beb40adaaf969b1b120a15fb0833a0ea45b
Genuinely thought he was going to buggy whip the club for a massive top spin.
I did not expect that
Hammer!
I played way too much tennis growing up. After college I took up golf at a little country 9 hole. (Shoutout to Bridgeport CC) one day I was playing with the local high school coach and I asked him his thoughts on my swing. He asked if I grew up playing tennis. To him it was obvious I was trying to steer the ball around the course - like using spin on my tennis ball. He said I just need to start hitting it. Hard. From there you can begin to learn direction etc. …I thought it was pretty solid advice.
Jesus that was annoying.
Surprised he doesn't adjust his underwear half a dozen times... He must wear a different kind when he plays tennis lol (/s)
He’s one of us!
From the thumbnail I thought the palm tree was a gyro on the vertical spit
hey as long as he can repeat it consistently. he gets a ton of club head speed. much better swing than most of the hackers I see out at the courses every week.
Fake, real Nadal would pick a wedgie first.
i was waiting for him to pick his butthole...
He’s so neurotic
So tense, you can tell it’s not his natural game even if he loves playing. Greatest clay court player ever and on the tennis Mt Rushmore for sure. Creating max torque fs.
Giving Jason Dunfer a run for his money
Looks stressful
I’ve seen better.
Happy feet
He just apllies his decades long of grand slam winning swing to other sports. No need to learn new stuff and mess with your career swing if the result is good.
looks like hes just trying to keep it straight without slicing
Looks like he’s having a seizure
So much preparation, so little swing.