@ThePlayers On X
Audio By Carbonatix
There are certain moves in sports that become synonymous with the athlete that seemingly perfected them. There’s the Ali Shuffle, the Iverson crossover, the Cruyff turn and plenty more. One of the most recent of those famous moves in Rafael Nadal‘s iconic backhand, which he has now turned into an absolutely horrific-looking golf swing.
Nadal’s 22 grand slam victories rank second all-time behind only rival Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard, who said a tearful goodbye to the sport in October, was known for his remarkable defense and, of course, he’s ridiculous backhand that won him a countless number of rallies. Now that he has a bit more free time on his schedule, Nadal has decided to hit the links.
A walk around THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at @TPCSawgrass with tennis legend, @RafaelNadal. pic.twitter.com/ILOEDlc0KS
— THE PLAYERS (@THEPLAYERS) June 3, 2025
Most recently, he took a trip to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida to play at TPC Sawgrass, home to The Players Championship. While there, The Players took the opportunity to film Nadal’s round, including his tee shot at the iconic 17th hole, which features the island green.
Video from the event shows Nadal hitting the green and making par at No. 17. That alone is impressive. But what makes it even more impressive is how Nadal manages to find the green with an absolutely mangled backswing. He seemingly takes the club away at far to flat of an angle, similar to his tennis backhand, then sort of re-adjusts during his downswing to somehow make solid contact with the ball.
“Guy turned his backhand into a golf swing… pretty crazy move haha,” PGA Tour golfer Michael Kim said of Nadal’s swing.
Now, it doesn’t take a golf or tennis expert to know that Rafa Nadal has elite hand-eye coordination. So he can probably get away with things that the rest of us amateurs can’t when it comes to his swing. But this is extreme even by that measure. Somehow, however, it works for Nadal, and that’s all that matters in the end.