Who Is She?

Known for her dress sense and quirky golf swing as much as her playing ability, Natalie Gulbis is one of the starlets of the US LPGA tour.

What She Does

With one of the most recognisable swings in the whole game of golf, Gulbis could be described as the LPGA's answer to Jim Furyk. Gulbis takes a very athletic and wide set up position. This leads her into an excessively wide backswing motion where her wrist hinge happens incredibly late. In turn, this causes Gulbis to over rotate in her backswing meaning that her arms are wrapped almost completely around her back, and the golf club points way to the right of the target line, in a position that we would class as across online in the extreme. Gulbis has an extra vertebrae in her back which possibly makes this position easier for her to attain than for most other golfers.

During the downswing, Gulbis works incredibly hard to return the golf club back to an on plane position. The most noticeable part of Gulbis' golf swing, however, is her excessive head dip and reduction in spine angle through the impact phase. This, combined with standing on both tiptoes at impact, mean that her entire body looks very squashed through the impact position, before she finally rises out of the shot to stand in a balanced finish position. Very unorthodox and not nearly as pretty as the player.

What Can You Learn?

In all honesty, very little. Most club golfers are not technically gifted enough or physically able enough to take on the attributes of Natalie Gulbis' golf swing with any degree of success. If there is one thing we can all learn as golfers, it is that you can be successful even without the stereotypical pretty swing.

What Should You Avoid?

Most of the dramatic movements Natalie Gulbis makes in her golf swing should be avoided by the club golfer, who is looking for more consistency. In particular, if your golf club is pointing so far across the line at the top of the backswing, you will always struggle to be a consistent ball striker and if your footwork is as dramatic as we see in Gulbis' swing, then you will often struggle for balance and consistency throughout your whole game. Enjoy watching but don't copy!