Right now, Im going to teach you how this ball can help you transform your golf backswing. The Drill Start with a light stretchy exercise band from your local sporting goods store. What other techniques have you found helpful for improving your golf backswing? If the golfer has a really flat and laid off backswing (meaning the club shaft is more horizontal at the top of the golf swing), the player will cast the club over the top of the swing creating a vertical shaft, cupped left wrist (which opens the club face) and a leftward swing path. Swinging with arms bent will cause you to top the golf ball because the loss of swing radius. The club should fall during the transition of your swing, getting closer to your body as you build lag and start to turn toward the target. Someone may have already taught you to rotate your upper body during your golf backswing. After all, you really don't have much time to think during the swing itself, as it is over in just a second or two. Move slowly and smoothly into your downswing. Make a backswing pivot and pause. Today, we are going to discusshow to push the golf club throughout their swing. We are going to get to the bottom of that question in the article below. I have a problem hitting the ball in the direction that I want. It will maintain the arms/body geometry and increase your chances of an on-center strike. On down swing hips move toward the ball, I lose my spine angle, shoulders slow down and hook drives and fat my irons! Now, you try to swing the club up so your hands are shoulder height. What you may not know is that the shoulder turn needs to begin right from the start of the swing. When you start the backswing, rotate the left wrist clockwise. When you first start the drills, work at a slow swing tempo both during the backswing and the downswing. If the left arm sits across the shoulders when viewed down the line then the swing is most likely on plane. 4. Stable right knee. This forces the body to rotate. Take your golf shot, keeping the ball in place. First, let's talk about chipping and pitching. This side bend also promotes early extension and a flip of the hands at impact, which promotes a swing path that is too far from the inside. This motion gets you into a fully coiled position at the top of your backswing. Drop us a line in the comments. Countless amateur players use their hands and wrists during the @takeaway, a mistake which causes plenty of problems. All great players, especially the ones known for being consistent ball-strikers, make a strong body coil as they move toward the top of their swing. The club needs to trace a wide arc in the backswing in order to be in position for a powerful downswing and you will have an easier time tracing that big arc if you use your left arm to lead the way. Here are two drills that will help you achieve it. 152K views 10 years ago Too often players try to start their back swing by taking the club away from the ball along the target line, or straight back. 7. Top 100 Courses in the U.S.: GOLFs all-new 2022-23 ranking is here! The following list is a good place to start. This drill will help you keep the clubface square in your golf backswing so its square at impact. Are you trying to hit a high shot so the ball will stop quickly on the green? The right elbow should point to the ground, but be away from the body; similar to a waiter holding a tray of food. Poor body rotation can be an issue in many ways. There are plenty of hazards out there to worry about, of course, so negative thinking is easy to understand. 1. Thanks Todd, lots of good things there for me to try. The following step-by-step guide is going to walk you through a thought process you can use to get from club selection all the way through to a confident swing. For the average person, rotation of the upper body with limited rotation of the hips is very difficult due to a lack of flexibility. The left arm should also be considered the arm which takes the club away because of the way it needs to extend in the back swing. By sitting into your left side you are correctly transferring your weight to the lead foot and lowering your hands with the golf club. Now, you may be opening the clubface without intending to . Im over 40, and I find that this is a pretty easy mistake to make if I dont pay attention. You should be standing a few feet back from the ball at this time, and you can make a couple of quick practice swings if you like. This mistake is as difficult to self-diagnose as wrist-cupping. This video will help https://youtu.be/Dw6u96PKda0. Imagine the club traveling back along a straight line. Stand straight up initially and begin by bending forward from your hip joints placing your hands to the sides of your thighs; 2. Anyone can make this mistake, but Im going to go out on a limb and say that if youre over the age of 40, youre almost certainly making it. The back-swing starts with the club-head immediately behind the ball and ends when the club-head travels back behind the player's head. This hold helps stop your hands rolling the club away from the ball. I have been teaching the game of golf for over twenty years. narrow stance for senior golfers narrow stance for senior golfers JUST A LITTLE. The best players in the world have their arms pushing out and much straighter. Opening the clubface, separating the elbows and poor body rotation can lead to really bad habits in the golf swing. In order to have the most efficient swing possible, the club head and shaft must move first to start your golf swing. Your email address will not be published. Yes, arms should remain connected to the chest throughout the golf swing in order to maintain proper form and avoid any potential injury. The first few feet the club swings back is one of the most critical parts of the golf swing. what size is that ball ( 6 7 ect) and were we can buy it? Do not hit balls in the beginning. One-Armed Swings A third drill that you can do is one arm swing with just your right arm. Unless you're very flexible, you'll need to shorten your swing to do this drill. Only players who are willing to put in work on this point on the practice range will be able to improve their takeaway consistency over time. You seem to be confusing terms. It is important that you are able to avoid involving your hands early in the backswing while the left arm is pulling the club back away from the ball. We pride ourselves in keeping the game simple. That's a lot of movement! Ill certainly keep this article and video for future reference. If the right arm separates the pizza will fall to the floor. Using your hands early in the swing will force the club to the inside of the proper plane, likely leading to an over-the-top move later on and, eventually, a slice. After repeating this drill a number of times, players will understand better how to control the movements of the left arm. Ive been using this device called the Power Package https://www.powerpackagegolf.com/power-package It really depends on your grip style. This helps prevent wrist cupping so you can keep the clubface square. If the left arm stays connected to the body, the hands work inside and the club stays outside the hands. And remember to follow us Facebook, Twitter and Instagramfor more little-known tips and tricks to transform your game. Keep your left arm extended as you turn your shoulders and hinge your wrists. The left arm acts as the swing 'guide' and the right arm supports the club at the top of the backswing. Knees Follow the Hips How to start the downswing with the hips is an interesting topic. With a little bit of practice, these movements can be learned and you will be ready to transition into a proper downswing in no time. Thats a lot of movement! which I think accomplishes the same thing as the ball with respect to club face and elbows. Do this drill slowly without the club first and adding the club later. the problem might be related to your pivot. Elbow separation results naturally from a lack of flexibility in the body, and it can really hurt your swing if you dont. Here is another video we did for hitting driver as we get older: https://youtu.be/4mrDxYvckko Place the ball between your upper forearms. If you run this drill several times, youll get used to the way your backstroke should feel, and youll break the wrist-cupping habit thats been causing you to slice the ball. For a right-handed golfer, it is going to be best to start the swing with the left arm. The Finish Here the momentum of the released club head along with a continued positive pushing action from the hands has the club, hands, and arms fire up and over the left shoulder to a complete and balanced finish position. (We respect privacy and keep all emails confidential). Poor rotation can also be caused by a lot of other things going on in the backswing such as poor loading and separating elbows. It is important to make sure you are always pushing the club away with your hands and arms. Proper rotation in the backswing will lead to great arm structure and club positions at the top of the swing. Pushing the hands away from the body creates more body torque between the upper and lower body. If you happen to play left handed, please take a moment to reverse the directions as necessary. The drills I provided not only help you correct the mistakes you might be making. CLAW GRIP Take your regular gloved-hand hold but place the webbing between your trail thumb and forefinger against the side of the handle, almost like the putting claw grip. The action that you should strive to create is a sweeping motion which will 'drag' the club head back from the ball. The best players employ their whole body in their golf swing, especially for longer shots. While the ultimate goal is to make sure that your shoulders rotate fully away from the target, you can achieve that goal by using your left arm effectively. If you have ever seen a professional golfer staring up at the target while holding their stance over the ball, this is exactly what they are doing. And you cant just say turn more, you actually need to give exercises or stretches that will help the person be able to turn more. Good question. When we rotate from this position the club works behind us and is really flat. A large arc will also produce club head speed, accuracy, higher ball flight and a free. Understanding these movements will help you control the clubface throughout the entire golf swing. Ive been using it with my students for over ten years, and I see it more and more on the Tour. At the top of the swing, players can also use the left arm as a gauge of swing plane. You probably already know that a good shoulder turn is essential for a quality golf swing. READ ALSO: 3 BIG DISTANCE KILLERS FOR YOUR DRIVER. The goal when hitting these kinds of short shots is to make solid contact at impact which just so happens to be the same goal that you should have with your full swing. Now take your trail hand off the club and grip your lead wrist from underneath, as shown. Backswing: The club is likely being pushed outside the target line on the way back. Thefollow throughis a continuation of thepushingaction of thumbs down where the locked in hand and arm positions continue to approximately chest level before the arms fold. At setup should there be a bend at your left wrist or should there be a straight line from your left arm through your left thumb? When you try it for yourself you will feel how the hands are locked in to a solid impact position. The good news is this a quality takeaway is not actually a complicated action. Improve on the fundamentals of your takeaway and your swing will quickly improve as a whole. We sampled 48 different body motions from over 13,000 golfers of all abilities to create the GOLFTEC SwingTRU Motion Study. A golfer who gets into the correct position at the top of the swing due to a solid backswing will be able to deliver the golf club in a much more consistent manner. Understanding how the arms and elbows work in the backswing will go a long way to fixing the issue of separating elbows in your backswing. Good luck and play well out there! A player who thinks about using the left arm to swing the putter back is likely to 'block' the putter through the ball toward the hole often resulting in a miss to the right. The hit or impact itself is a push down and through the ball action where the ball is compressed against the ground by the club head due to the forward leaning of the club shaft. Got that? The belt will force you to keep your elbow tucked into your body, giving you the proper feeling as you rotate through impact. That is true but only when we are talking about the short game which occurs around the edges of the green. Great article. If you allow your mind to take over as you stand at address, you will find that there are quickly too many thoughts in your head to sort through all at once. Following the drill without using a club, pick up a high lofted club such as a pitching wedge and repeat the drill using only the left arm to swing the club back and through. If you havent already, be sure to subscribe to the channel as we have another one coming up in the next month specifically on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgz5-3igA0IfsyWGKTr6YKA?sub_confirmation=1 The problem that occurs most often when the left arm works out and away from the body in the takeaway is a flat backswing and an open clubface. Put your right arm behind your back out of the way. As you do this, use your trail hand to pull the lead arm downwards; avoid any tendency for it to move out towards the ball. Mostly, the work you need to do on your mental game is going to take place before the swing begins. What's the difference between the two turns? One of the best lesson tips I've ever had was to feel like you are pushing the club straight backwards with your left hand (if your right handed) during the takeaway. To initiate your downswing, simply push into the ground through your left side as uncoil into your finish. So what are the keys you should be looking for as you build your takeaway? You want it a little higher than in the previous drill, but still below your elbows. The instruction (and motion) for the backswing should instead be to move your right hip back in a straight line away from the ball (as if you were stepping backwards). Thank you for sharing! As a result, this helps create higher hands at the top of the golf swing. The first order of business when you arrive at your ball is to pick a club for the shot at hand. This will usually result in an outside in down swing which would cause a pull or a slice depending on if the club face is open or closed. Unfortunately, it can be used for both good and evil, and that is just within a round of golf. If you are going to focus on only two parts of your body to keep perfectly still during the takeaway, make those two parts your head and your right knee. Your putting stroke needs a nice release at impact, and that release isn't going to come from your hands (as it does with other shots). But have you been paying attention to the angle of your clubface at the top of your swing? So, which one should you put in charge? A more relaxed full extension backswing would lead to a more relaxed full extension downswing and be more beneficial. Getting your swing started can be one of the most difficult parts of the entire game. Hold impact with your weight shifted to your front foot and arms pushing and you will immediately improve your ball striking. There is a difference between mobility and turning. Once the club gets farther into the backswing, your hands and wrists will need to get involved in order to set the club properly. And sure enough, that student took seven strokes off their next round of golf. To keep both arms straight without tensing up and getting stiff, you need to feel as if both hands are doing an equal part of the work. Positioning that ball between your lower forearms forces you to maintain the position of your lead wrist. This will help your club drop to the inside. As you change directions in your swing, feel the left side of your body starting with your feet, knee and hips pull and begin the motion. The opposite nature of the game continues in the discussion we are having about which arm you need to use to start the swing. Thanks for reading and commenting Stefan, hope you are enjoying some good golf up north! Hitting the ball all over the course? The stomach and hips didn't turn. I would know. When first working with students, I will diagnose whether theirarms are bending too much and losing the width in the arc of their motion. 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Keep all emails confidential ) understand better how to start the downswing with the Hips an... A good shoulder turn is essential for a right-handed golfer, it is important to make if dont! Commenting Stefan, hope you are always pushing the hands work inside and the right arm supports the later... Speed, accuracy, higher ball flight and a free Stefan, hope you are transferring!