Sauce Gardner can swing the club a little
Hey kids, look over there. Is that Jack Nicklaus? No. Arnold Palmer? Nah. Tiger Woods? Again, no.
It’s New York Jets lockdown cornerback Sauce Gardner, swinging the golf club with shocking ease for a novice.
A handful of days after Gardner’s Tiger Woods post on X, he featured videos of his golf swing.
This drive just went 240+ and straight, but it looks like I'm hitting an iron(form wise) and not a driver. Drop tips below pic.twitter.com/MHKokGCEck
— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) June 26, 2024
Gardner, 23, first showcased the driver that he claimed went 240 yards and dead straight. Incredibly, his swing is pretty damn solid.
First and foremost, understand one thing: This isn’t Sir Nick Faldo breaking down a golf swing. Roughly a 12-15 handicap myself (bogey player at worst), Sauce may have already caught up to me in just a couple of weeks playing—versus the two-plus years I’ve been on the grind.
I also haven’t had the luxury of taking personal lessons—as I also enjoy torturing myself with self-teaching—but his swing is beyond amazing if he has indeed just started golfing.
Gardner’s setup is solid, and his backswing is pretty limited; but in reality, that’s exactly what the novice should emulate. It allows Sauce to achieve enough length in the backswing (plus enough turn) while also starting his downswing on a shallow enough angle to keep it simple.
Therefore, what we see is a swing following a near-perfect plane. (It’s always better to be too shallow than steep when starting.)
There really isn’t much early extension, though his higher setup for driver forces his head to dip a bit in the backswing. Nonetheless, he keeps that left shoulder down enough when driving/swinging through while maintaining enough tilt.
After reading a fan suggestion, he adjusted and smacked another shallow-plane drive:
I scooted back some and now I'm not slicing anymore. W whoever said that https://t.co/BTA11qvCeD pic.twitter.com/sgl1H8oB5z
— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) June 26, 2024
I’m assuming the advice was to move the ball up further near his lead foot, so he can hit up more on the ball—as opposed to the downward angle of attack with the iron swing—thus avoiding a slice.
Later, he points out an eagle opportunity on an approach shot:
I got an Eagle opp boys🫡🫡 https://t.co/c2nOAOjpSl pic.twitter.com/IhCLKvaNFx
— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) June 26, 2024
Finally, a short pitch shot—with a higher-lofted wedge—gets him on the green:
Ladies & Gentlemen.. FIRST BIRDIE OF THE DAY🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🏌🏾🏌🏾🏌🏾🏌🏾🏌🏾🏌🏾 pic.twitter.com/qAnsWeerN1
— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) June 26, 2024
From a pure swing standpoint, it’s pretty damn good for a novice. Scratch that: It’s actually absurdly impressive for a novice.
It just goes to show everybody what a world-class athlete can do in this land of ours. Better yet, even world-class athletes struggle when first taking up golf.
Generally speaking, quarterbacks and baseball pitchers more seamlessly adapt to the frustrating world of golf. Baseball position players tend to struggle, thanks to the right arm/elbow motion contrasting with swinging a baseball bat.
In Sauce Gardner’s case, it’s shocking that he took to it so easily, but it’s more impressive that he coached himself in such a short time period. It reveals something far beyond raw physical ability, and that revelation involves how coachable the kid actually is.
Whether it’s coming from another coach or his own internal drive/dialogue, it appears that New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner can do just about anything.
And lastly, allow me to speak for all golfers when I say, “Damn, Sauce; how dare you make it look so easy.”
