The full swing movement starts with a forward press that then moves smoothly into the backswing, straight back, low to the ground and wide. The club head moves first straight back from the ball and then inside the target line and up in a low and wide arc. This will cause the shoulders to turn, not ’tilt’, on the correct plane. The plane of the shoulders during the back-swing is always flatter than that described by the arms.
The width of the backswing is governed by the left arm because the right arm is bent at address. The absence of tension at address now causes the right arm to bend more; then the wrists start to hinge and as the arms continue up, the shoulders follow until the top of the backswing is reached. At this moment, the shaft should be parallel to the target line and nearly parallel to the ground.
Maintain the left hand well away from the body, thus keeping the radius of the swing constant. Retain enough pressure on the shaft with the left fingers to prevent it from losing contact with the heel of the left hand.
The arm movement has now turned the upper body so that the shoulders are 90° to the target line and the hips are turned only 45°; plus, most pressure is on the inside of your right foot and the right leg is in the same position as at address.
The turning of the body has also pulled the left leg so that the left knee points in towards the right and, for almost all players, causes the left heel to leave the ground. Trying to keep the left heel on the ground during a full swing is best left to professional tournament players.
If your stance and posture are correct, everything will move together in one piece and you will avoid unwanted independent action of the upper body while you maintain good contact between your feet and the ground. During the backswing, this contact restricts the movements of the thighs and legs, while the upper body is ‘wound up’. (The winding up of the shoulders during the backswing is called ‘torque’ and is caused by the free arm movement against the lesser movement of the hips, which is in turn caused by the restricting movement of the legs.) This winding up creates torsion, not tension (absolutely not!).
Watch the professional players and you will see that they move their shoulders more and their hips less on the backswing than does the ordinary player, creating enormous pent-up energy. Of top professionals, only a very small handful stop at the top of the backswing; they show a noticeable bending of the left arm just then, proving that it is the centrifugal force of the swing that helps to keep the radius of the swing constant, not a conscious attempt at keeping the left arm straight. Smoothly and without rushing, the backswing moves into the downswing. If you keep the swing moving, the centrifugal force maintains the left arm fairly stretched, helping you to keep a constant radius.
So, the backswing creates and conserves energy by winding up the torso and putting the club in the correct plane and position, making it easier to swing the club with increasing speed back to the ball along the correct path and angle of descent. In other words, it is the energy that you create and conserve during your backswing that propels the ball on its way to the target.
In order to send the ball the required distance, you must have the correct position on the backswing so as to allow the full, free use of the golf club on the downswing, through the ball, to a finely balanced finish.
Many golfers ask if their left heel should lift slightly off the ground on the back-swing (this is caused by the inward pointing of the left knee). The answer is that it is not mandatory but depends on your age, size and suppleness. Most people find it easier to allow the left heel to lift slightly, but you must ensure that you retain good contact between the inside of the left foot and the ground.
With the head behind the ball and the shoulders turned 90°, the swing centre is best imagined as your left shoulder. Should you feel that the swing centre is the breast bone, you are very likely to cause a reverse weight shift during the backswing, with most of your weight on the left foot instead of the right.
The path followed by the club head on the backswing is straight back from the ball, to the inside of the target line as the shoulders turn, then up as the arms continue to control the movement. The lower body follows last in the backswing sequence and acts as a stabilising force to conserve the power created by the winding up of the shoulders.
Although for 95% of all golfers there is no backswing position – the downswing starting from the lower body before the backswing is completed – the club should be parallel to the target line and in the correct plane before returning on the downswing. This allows the arms to play the major role, swinging the club down to and through the ball, unhindered by the body, causing power and length through the release and full use of the club.
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