Joaquin Niemann's Secret Move: His Side Bend

Congrats to Joaquin Niemann on another 2026 LIV Golf win in New York. 🏆 One of the most recognizable characteristics of Joaco’s swing has always been his extreme side bend. He’s had it since he was a kid; it wasn’t necessarily something that was trained into his swing.

Here's why he does it.

1️⃣ High hands + steep backswing

Joaco’s hands work high, and his backswing is relatively steep. At the top, he already has 45° of chest side bend with a driver. That’s a lot of side bend before he’s even started down.

2️⃣ A LOT of rotation

While Joaco is tilting, he's aggressively rotating through the ball.

At impact, he has:

→ 51° pelvis turn
→ 40° chest turn

And this is where his side bend becomes really interesting.

By P8, Joaco is at 71° of side bend, helping him match all that rotation and continue turning through impact.

What makes his swing unique?

High hands. Steep backswing.

A ton of rotation.

And a ton of side bend to go with it.