The 27 Best Golf Swings of All Time

Not who won the most - who looked best doing it. Tempo, balance, and the swings other players tried to copy.

1. 1
   Ben Hogan

   Wrote the book the modern swing is still taught from.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Sam Snead

   Still swinging at full extension into his seventies.
   772pts
3. 3
   Annika Sörenstam

   Turned her head toward the target before impact, an unusual move behind a swing that won ten majors and 72 LPGA events.
   648pts
4. 4
   Greg Norman

   An aggressive, full-shouldered swing that made him the longest straight driver of the 1980s and world No. 1 for 331 weeks.
   648pts
5. 5
   Sergio García

   Holds the club back longer than almost anyone, a late release that made him one of the purest ball-strikers of his generation.
   618pts
6. 6
   Fred Couples

   A slow, loose action that produced distance nobody could explain.
   595pts
7. 7
   Louis Oosthuizen

   A rhythm so consistent it is used as a teaching reference.
   534pts
8. 8
   Bobby Jones

   His long, flowing swing with hickory shafts won the 1930 Grand Slam and is still studied in slow-motion films he made in the 1930s.
   534pts
9. 9
   Ludvig Åberg

   Swede whose powerful, balanced swing took him from college golf to the Ryder Cup in a matter of months in 2023.
   463pts
10. 10
    Steve Elkington

    Won the 1995 PGA Championship and is remembered mainly for how he swung.
    463pts
11. 11
    Tommy Fleetwood

    A modern action widely praised for its balance.
    463pts
12. 12
    Mickey Wright

    Ben Hogan called hers the best swing he had ever seen.
    463pts
13. 13
    Jon Rahm

    Produces enormous power from one of the shortest backswings in the professional game.
    463pts
14. 14
    Davis Love III

    A long, fluid swing that made him one of the longest hitters of the 1990s and won him the 1997 PGA Championship.
    463pts
15. 15
    Johnny Miller

    His upright, precise iron swing produced the closing 63 that won the 1973 US Open, long the lowest final round in major history.
    379pts
16. 16
    Rory McIlroy

    Generates elite clubhead speed from a body far smaller than most of the players who match it.
    379pts
17. 17
    Adam Scott

    The swing most often held up as the textbook version of the modern action.
    278pts
18. 18
    Jack Nicklaus

    His upright swing with the famous flying right elbow produced the high, controlled ball flight that won eighteen majors.
    278pts
19. 19
    Ernie Els

    Nicknamed the Big Easy for a tempo that never looked hurried.
    278pts
20. 20
    Payne Stewart

    Classic, compact, and instantly recognisable.
    278pts
21. 21
    Nick Faldo

    Rebuilt his swing from scratch under David Leadbetter and then won six majors.
    278pts
22. 22
    Charl Schwartzel

    South African whose rhythmic, compact swing is a favourite of coaches and won him the 2011 Masters with four closing birdies.
    278pts
23. 23
    Gene Littler

    Nicknamed Gene the Machine for a smooth, repeating swing that won the 1961 US Open and 29 PGA Tour events.
    0pts
24. 24
    Moe Norman

    Canadian whose single-plane swing, arms held straight and stance wide, made him perhaps the most accurate ball-striker the game has seen.
    0pts
25. 25
    Tiger Woods

    Rebuilt his swing several times and won majors with each version.
    0pts
26. 26
    Byron Nelson

    Pioneered the leg-driven swing built for steel shafts and used it to win eleven tournaments in a row in 1945.
    0pts
27. 27
    Harry Vardon

    Six-time Open champion whose upright swing and overlapping grip became the standard for the century that followed.
    0pts

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