Swing Sequence: Padraig Harrington

By Padraig Harrington | Analysis By Bob Torrance

Photos By Stephen Szurlej

November 2003

View his swing in motion: Face-on | Upline

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Golf Instruction / Swing Sequence

AGE: 32 HEIGHT: 6-feet-1 WEIGHT: 183 DRIVER: Wilson Deep Red, 9 degrees loft CLUBHEAD SPEED: 115 mph BALL SPEED: 169 mph LAUNCH ANGLE: 10 degrees 2003 DRIVING DISTANCE: 284.2 yards

One of the best compliments I have ever been paid came from my fellow Irishman and Ryder Cup teammate, Paul McGinley. He said I must be the first person since Nick Faldo to completely change the physical look of my golf swing. And he's correct, at least about the extent to which my action has changed. If you compare pictures of my swing today with the one I had as a Walker Cup player 10 years ago, you'll see that I don't look like the same person.

That said, the swing you see on the following pages is still very much a project in progress. My ultimate goal is to have a low-maintenance method, one that allows me to show up at an event and not have to practice as much. I want to get to the point where I know what swing I have week to week and not have to search for it.

After more than five years working with my coach, Bob Torrance, we are at the "tidying-up" stage. Our emphasis has always been on the body creating the leverage in my swing. I don't want my hands doing anything more than they have to do. I know that the more my body works to create leverage, the better the strike is likely to be.