Backswing

Recently a student wrote me about getting the club to the top of the back swing. The student in question said he could get the club back half way, but not to the top.

Well, what makes the club continue and get to the top where it is suppose to? Inertia, continuation of motion, not disrupting centrifugal force, maintaining your arc, turning.   A good way to practice getting “the feel” is to practice the swing a couple of feet off the ground. Swing the arms back and forth. Once you can feel the arms and the club move and wait together at the point where the club changes directions, start turning the upper body with the arms and club. Feel the right arm fold on the way back and the left arm fold on the way through. Now pause at the top and after the follow through, hold your finish. There’s the golf swing.

Well, that sounds easy Jeff but what about getting the club back from a standing position at address? Well what makes the club move at take away? It’s a combination of things working together in unison. The hands, arms chest all work together to get the club to the top. I like to feel the club head move just a little first, then my arms and then my chest. Other days I feel my chest move the arms like two pieces of rubber hose. The feelings you’ll develop will change from day to day or week to week. I have several feelings to do everything in my swing. Some days are different than others. The big key is to keep turning whether it’s right or not. Eventually it will feel natural and you’ll start developing feelings of your own.

Remember, to acquire the correct feelings for your golf swing you must first have a sound grip, aim and set up. If you want to work on correcting any part of your swing you must have these three things correct or you will be giving yourself a false sense of feelings. Also remember that when you practice swinging a couple of feet up in the air you’re swinging around your spine angle. When you set up to the ball your spine angle has changed. You want to keep that angle back and through. If you change it during the backswing it will be difficult to get the club to the top correctly. The best place to practice these things is in front of a mirror. Look at yourself doing the things you want and eventually you’ll feel them while you’re watching yourself do them. Then it will be easy to take to the range or course because you’ll know where the club is and especially you’ll feel where it is.