How To Build Your Golf Swing
This process is multi fold
Learn what YOUR neutral grip is
The CORRECT ball position for every club
The CORRECT swing shape
How far back YOU can take the club
How to play within YOUR style
You will have many options to choose from and we'll show you how
to find the ones that will work for you. Once you have all of
your "components" you won't need to experiment any longer!
WHERE TO START - GRIP AND POSTURE
While this may be obvious to some you would be surprised by the
number of people that work on their swing without starting with
their grip. There is a neutral grip for any golfer! That grip is
where YOUR arm hangs down from the shoulder socket and the angle
of YOUR target side hand. It makes no difference whether you use
an overlapping, interlocking, and ten-finger (baseball) grip.
What IS critical is the angle the club lies in your hand.
To find YOUR neutral grip, first take your address position, but
without a club, and let both arms hang downward from the shoulder
sockets with NO TENSION. Most golfers will find that their target
side arm hangs somewhere between the middle of the target side
thigh to the inside of the thigh (depending on the width of
stance and/or the width of the chest). As you look down at your
target side hand pay attention to the angle it hangs. Some of you
will see two knuckles of the hand, some will see three, and some
may even see four. It doesn't matter how many you see! Whatever
the number, this is YOUR bodies way of telling you its natural
tendency and that is the neutral angle for YOUR grip! When you
place your target side hand on the club it should be at the same
angle you just saw.
The club then runs diagonally from between the first and second
joint of the index finger to the base of the pinkie finger. Close
the fingers and then close the hand with the heel pad on top of
the shaft with the thumb to the backside of the shaft. This
supplies pressure from the heel pad downward and the last three
fingers exert pressure upward. Then take the lifeline of the
trailing hand, located between the thumb and heel pads, and place
it on the thumb of the target side hand. The lifeline against the
thumb exerts the pressure here; the right forefinger should be
separated, in a "triggering position", but with no pressure. It
is important to understand that the forefinger and target side
thumb both be on the same side and angle of the shaft for the
best support. The trailing thumb should be on the target side of
the shaft. You never want the thumbs to exert any pressure.
Finally, in order for the hands to work together, they must be
parallel to each other.
POSTURE
Regardless of the player's level of golf anyone can get into a
posture that looks as good as any Tour Player, it takes no
athletic ability to get into a proper posture! For full swing
shots, other than a Driver, the inside of the heels should be as
wide as the outside of the hips (for a Driver the inside of the
heels as wide as the outside of the shoulders). Push the hips
sockets back and up so that the pelvis is at an angle, not
horizontal to the ground. As you push the hips back, and up, this
will lower the chest and place the weight toward the back of the
arch of the foot. Simply unlock your knees, you'll feel a little
pressure above the kneecaps, and let the arms hang limply
downward from the shoulder socket. There should be NO TENSION in
the arms or shoulders. Some players like to tilt their upper
bodies slightly away from target as the final set-up adjustment
and just because your trailing hand is lower than the target side
hand this is acceptable, just don't overdue it. Now you have YOUR
grip and posture.
BALL POSITION
Ball position is the most misunderstood portion of the entire
set-up. There have been many opinions about ball position. Some
say one position for every shot, others say move it around
depending on the club. All of the guesswork is taken out however
if the golfer would set the club at address as the manufacturer
designed it. All clubs, except for the Driver, are designed so
that the grip end of the club is ahead of the clubhead if soled
properly, this means the shaft leans forward, not vertical or
backwards! If you address the ball, with say a 5 iron, and the
shaft is vertical then even before you swing you've added loft
and turned it into a seven iron! That same 5 iron is designed to
have approximately 8 degrees of forward lean at address. The best
players in the world, using that same 5 iron, have upwards of 15
degrees at Impact! This turns it into a 3 iron! Having said that
you have the option of setting up to the ball with the shaft
vertical as long as you can get into the proper Impact
position…the shaft leans forward at Impact!
The player also has the "option" of starting with the shaft, and
hands, at a mid-body position. We also need to cover where the
ball is located in relation to the player's upper body, not the
feet. The width of the stance changes during the course of a
round but the width of the upper body does not. In addition, the
target side shoulder socket is the low point of the arc and the
fulcrum of the target side arm swing. Therefore the ball with a
wedge will be in the center of the chest, in line with the
sternum, for full swing shots, the 5 iron under the target side
of the chest, and the Driver at the low point, which is the
shoulder socket. This could vary depending on whether the player
has exceptionally wide shoulders, but for the most part these
locations will be fine for irons but the target side shoulder
socket IS the LOW POINT and the Driver MUST be played at this
location for straight shots! Back of this location produces a
fade, with no manipulation, and forward of this location produces
a draw, with no manipulation. You may see some players playing
the ball back, or forward, of the target side shoulder socket but
these players must either change the shoulder location at Impact,
by leaning backward with the upper body, or must manipulate the
clubface to hit a straight shot.
AIM and ALIGNMENT
As you take your grip you must be sure the leading edge of the
clubface square. The leading edge is the edge closest to the
ball. Always set the clubface first, perpendicular to the target
line, then set your feet, knees, hips, eyes, and shoulders
parallel to the target line.
THESE LINES ARE PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER! NEVER AIM YOUR BODY AT
THE TARGET! What is the object of golf? To get the ball in the
hole with the fewest strokes as possible! To aid in alignment it
is imperative that you utilize a procedure called an
"Intermediate Target". The intermediate target is something
between the ball and the target. It could be a piece of
discolored grass, an edge of a divot, a broken tee, etc. It
should be within your peripheral vision, so that you don't have
to lift your head.
MOVING THE CLUB
Because we play golf on an Inclined Plane this dictates that the
club MUST move on an arc. That means the club head is only on the
base on the Plane Line approximately 2 inches during the swing!
It also means that the club always moves in 3 dimensions. The
Backstroke dimension is backward, upward, and inward all
simultaneously and On Plane. The keyword for Backstroke is
"BACK". The hands and arms control the backward and upward
movement of the club. Therefore, if you did not make a shoulder
turn the clubhead WOULD NOT move inside the baseline. The
shoulder turn moves the club inward, NOT back and up. So if the
player just turned their shoulders, without any hand or arm
movement, then the club would be inside but not back and up.
These two movements MUST work together to achieve the proper
sequence. The trailing forearm moves the club on Plane by
"tracing" the Plane. The bending, and folding of the trailing
elbow also raises and lowers the club and cocks and uncocks the
target side wrist. Never raise the arms and club by lifting from
the shoulders sockets!
The Downstroke dimension is downward, outward, and forward. Once
the player has reached full extension (follow-through) then the
club moves again upward, inward, and backward. This completes the
3 dimensional swing.
LENGTH OF ARC
What does this term mean? Simply put, length of arc means how far
back YOU can take the club. Some players may be able to take
their hands high above their heads in the backswing while others
can only get their hands to shoulder height, or less. It doesn't
matter! However far you can take the club and still maintain
structure is the end of YOUR swing! You can increase your length
of arc by increasing your range of motion. (see your local
physical therapist for exercises to increase your range of
motion).
LET'S GET STARTED
Before every shot you play there must be a sequential order of
events. First of course we have to find our golf ball. Once the
ball is located we then must examine the type of lie we have, the
distance to the target, the shot shape desired, the wind
conditions (if any), how we're feeling that particular day,
whether to play aggressively or conservatively or somewhere in
between (this depends on our style), and finally choosing the
correct club for the type of shot. We can't call this a "pre-shot
routine" because there is nothing routine about a golf shot!
There are always factors to be decided and these factors
constantly change. So we would encourage you to use the phrase
"PRE-SHOT". Pre-shot may or may not include a dress rehearsal of
the swing, a practice swing. During the practice swing you're
getting a feel for the mechanics involved in hitting the shot and
visualizing the ball flight.
ADDRESS AND SET-UP
Once we have gone through our pre-shot we now start the initial
mechanical and mental programming procedures. Approach the ball
from behind and follow this order for success. Verify these six
Impact Alignments.
Clubface to Target Line
Grip to Clubface
Hands to Ball
the Plane Angle
Pressure Points
Position of the Trailing Forearm
Balance, Grip, and Plane Line MUST be verified before EVERY shot!
Now we're ready to start the backstroke.
BACKSTROKE
Once address is completed we can start the backstroke. As
discussed earlier, this involves two separate movements. These
movements are controlled from the waist up. The lower body should
be moved by the upper body if the player is flexible enough, if
not, then allow it to move freely in both directions.
The hands and arms … the vertical plane
The shoulders … the horizontal or inclined plane
At this point we would like to remind you that Address and Impact
are NOT THE SAME! The only thing that has not changed is the ball
position.
You may use any backstroke procedure you choose and there are
basically three to choose from.
A one piece takeaway…Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods
A two piece takeaway…Ernie Els, David Duval, Karrie Webb, Anika
Sorenstam
A three piece takeaway…Raymond Floyd, Nancy Lopez
Choose anyone you wish that feels comfortable and natural. What
initiates the backstroke? Ask ten different instructors and you
will get ten different answers. Some player's feel it starts with
turning the shoulders, some feel it may be the hips, and still
others think and feel it's the hands. We believe it is a
combination of the hands, trailing forearm, AND shoulder turn
that start the backstroke. Earlier we talked about the role of
the hands, arms, and shoulders during the backstroke. They
absolutely must work together and synchronous if the club is to
stay on plane!
As the club starts back the clubhead must point at the base of
the plane line until the clubshaft reaches parallel to the plane
line and horizontal to the ground. As the club starts upward then
the butt of the club must point at an extension of the base of
the plane until it reaches the top of the swing. If you can't get
the clubshaft to parallel, then the butt of the club Must point
to the base of the plane line. If you are one of the few that can
get the shaft to parallel, then it should be parallel to the base
of the plane line.
The hip sequence (how the hips move) for full swing shots is
always the same. They Turn, Slide, Turn. A great majority of
players think the hips slide in the backstroke (shifting weight).
While this certainly is an option it eliminates creating any
rotating force of the body. A better procedure would be the one
described above and is the option that the majority of the
world's best players use.
One of 17 Teaching Professionals worldwide to hold the
designation of "Doctorate Golf Stroke Engineering".
Director of Instructor Training & Education for The Golfing
Machine
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