Golf: The Swing

Now we come to the least important of the fundamentals of golf, the swing. For those of you, who have never played the game, or who can not consistently break 90, then these are the checkpoints of the golf swing, to guide you.  There are 6 checkpoints of the golf swing.  These are positions along the way of making a golf swing, that you can look at,  feel, and see if you are within the guidelines, of a correct golf swing.  Remember these are just guidelines, and not much here, is in stone, but at least you will have an idea of what the golf swing is all about.  The 6 checkpoints are: 1. The take away 2. When the club shaft is parallel to the ground  3. When the left arm is parallel to the ground 4. The end of the back swing  5. Starting the swing down  6. Finishing the swing. Let’s look at each one.

The take away.   The take away is consider the part of the swing, where you are moving the club head about 12 to 18 inches away from the ball.  The key to the take away is called, maintaining the triangle.  There is an imaginary triangle form by your left and right arm connecting to the club, and a line drawn across your shoulders.  That triangle should maintain itself during those first 12 to 18 inches of the golf swing.  There should be no independent movement of the hands, arms, and shoulders during the first part of the swing.

When the club shaft is parallel to the ground.   From there you get the club parallel to ground any way you want.  You can use your hands and wrists.  You can use your shoulder and body.  Once you get the shaft parallel to ground you need to check to see how the club head is pointing in relationship to the line.  To do this, you simply turn your body to where you are looking straight down the shaft of the club. Now, just drop the club straight down to the ground. Look and see how the club is pointing.  It could be square to the line, it may be slightly closed to line, or it may be open. It does not matter which one, just so you know what your tendency is and is it consistent.  Do this check many times.

Getting the arm parallel to the ground.  At this check point you should cock your wrists enough to have the shaft perpendicular to the ground. Your left arm and the shaft should form an L.   Again this is easy to check. You just stop and look.

The end of the back swing. You continue to turn your body and lift the club until your left shoulder is touching your chin or getting as close to that as you can depending on how supple your body is. Once you have completed your back swing, it is now time to bring the club head back to the ball.

Starting the swing down. It is this point of the swing, that everybody likes to call, the transition part of the swing.  There is instruction that talks about how the downswing starts, before the back swing fully ends, and has  convincing video to show this.  However, if you TRY and do this, you will fail miserably. The way to feel this, is to make the fullest back swing you can, then start your downswing, by doing one, of any of the 3 following things.  Feel your left shoulder going up.  Kick your right leg in the direction of the ball.  Straighten your left leg which will drive your left but cheek straight back. Doing any one of those three things will get your downswing started properly.  You may like one over the other, which is fine.  You may change from round to round, if that helps get your swing going. Eventually you will not have to think it, about once you get use to it.

Finishing the swing.  The thing to remember, is the swing is not over, when you make contact with the ball.  You must continue into your follow through.  Remember how that feels, and do it for all shots, long and short. Another term for this is hitting through the ball.

Now, will you do all of this perfectly or correctly, of course not.  Nobody does it 100% technically correct. These are all just guidelines to help you make a workable golf swing, that you will develop, as you play the game.  Hopefully, applying these guidelines will help you get your score low enough to the point, where you can forget the physical side of the game, and get to where you can play 100% Mental Golf.