Parallel

What is parallel and why do most golfers get messed up when they try to get there, and how do we correct the problem?

In the golf swing there are many terms which can confuse us, this is one of the biggest. So often we hear from our playing partners the dreaded four words “you went past parallel”.

We then reply “it didn’t feel like it”, or “no I didn’t”. Well I’ve said it a million times, “what we feel, and what actually is, are two different things”.We can’t see ourselves swing. So what really is parallel. It is a reference point! That’s all. A point where most people probably shouldn’t be.

When we take a nice easy backswing and try to stop by unnatural means ie. tension, we generally stiffen the arms not the hands. You see when the arms get tense (the big muscles) the hands (the small muscles) break down or collapse. What happens then? The club goes past parallel. Sometimes way past. It would be ok to be there if we did it by natural means, ie. relaxed. Look at Johnny Miller and Tom Watson, and how about John Daly. They all go way past parallel. So why don’t they get into that much trouble, they’re relaxed. Maybe not jello but their arms are not as stiff as yours are! After you read this grab a club and hold it in front of you. Then move your wrist one inch. Then break down your left elbow and what do you have? I know, way past parallel!

Let’s look at another player, Nick Faldo. His left arm bends a little on the backswing doesn’t it. Does he go way past parallel, NO! Why? Next time you watch him look at his hands, they’re solid aren’t they. Another great solid hands player is Lee Trevino. His hands really don’t start hinging until the down swing. “WOW” You see the hinge in the wrist (when you allow it to) does most of its moving on the down swing. How does that accur, by gravity. That’s right gravity. That split second piece of space where we don’t need to do anything, but allow the club to change directions on its own accord. But if we break down and go way past parallel, what phenomenon generally happens, casting or hitting from the top.

We’ll now that we have all this knowledge, how do we correct the problem? The easy solution is don’t worry about it. If the club goes past parallel, so what. If we don’t get tense we’ll be ok. We might not have the power we’d like but we won’t be a ball of nerves either trying to manufacture a swing. I used to give lessons to a gentleman named Steve Grogan. He had to be at least 80 years of age. I used to joke with him that he hadn’t missed a fairway in fifty years. He’d laugh and then hit it on a frozen rope. Not very far but straight. He was relaxed and took the club back about three quarters. He knew his limitations! God bless him.

That word, limitations. We all need to know ours. John Daly knows his, a long swing. But he does it with a hugh turn and he’s very limber. On the other side of the coin let’s look at swings like Greg Norman, Davis Love, and Tiger Woods. When they get too long on the backswing with their arms, they lose their control. They hit it farther when they make that full turn with their upper body but with less arms. Something I’ve told my students for many years is, I want you to feel more turn and less arms on the backswing. When the chest moves first and we maintain our arc with little hands, the club will go where it is suppose to all by itself, and usually for most people that is short of parallel. The club will then be able to fall into the downswing effortlessly.

You see that’s the key, feeling something even though you’re not doing it. I’m 6’4”, and when I feel like the club is only going straight back, I hit it the farthest! I feel “no hands”. When I feel any hands at all I lose power and control. So if you want to correct yourself make a full turn with the feeling of no arms. Feel the club go out, not up. You’ll start to relax, and the club will start changing directions at the natural point in the swing that’s right for you, and it will be at a point farther than you feel. That’s why we need to feel less. Everybody’s different, and everybody feels something different. Quit worrying about what other people say about your swing except your PGA golf professional, relax and have fun.

Stay out of the rough!