Set Your Swing in Motion

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

 

Grab a club and follow these simple ideas to discover just how easy it can be to enjoy the makings of a natural, flowing golf swing - in just 20 minutes you can transform the way you play.

KEEP THE TRIANGLE OF THE ARMS INTACT AS YOU SET OFF...

 A great drill for the range: place a second ball a grip's length or so behind the one you are aiming to hit, and then simply knock it away as you start your backswing. With your arms and shoulders are relaxed, all you have to do is imagine you are making a putt as you sweep that rear ball away in one continues motion.

 

As I emphasised last time, it is vital that you take on board the basics of grip and posture – the starting points for every golfer – before moving on to the swing itself.

 

And the key to enjoying that chain reaction lies in getting the swing underway as efficiently as possible – which is where the simple drill you see me helping Louise to master here will really help you.

SHOULDERS & ARMS TOGETHER

 

 

Imagine you are making a stroke - that simple thought will help you to rock your shoulders to move the triangle of the arms and the club away in one synchronised motion.

‘Rock your shoulders like you are hitting a long putt’, that’s my advice to Louise as she works on getting her swing underway. If you rock the shoulders and keep the arms in this triangle you will get off to the perfect start. It’s as simple as that. We are less than 5 minutes into this lesson and just look at how good and ‘together’ the takeaway move looks. The arms and body are working in harmony – there is no independent movement of any single component. Knocking away the second ball gives a real purpose to this all-important first move, and from here it’s a case of adding wrist hinge to get the club swinging on its way to the top of the backswing.

FEEL THE RADIUS OF YOUR SWING, ONE ARM AT A TIME

Place your 'free' hand on your stomach - a reminder that you have to rotate corel. There’s a wonderful (and quite simple) symmetry in a good golf swing, and this exercise will help you to feel the way the radius of the swing is governed first by the left arm in the backswing, and then the right in the through-swing. Training those components individually will help you to greatly improve the shape of your swing with both hands on the club.

First up, the one-handed drill you see Louise rehearsing here will help you to appreciate the way the left arm governs the radius in the backswing, with the right arm then extending that radius into the followthrough. The idea is to flip a club around, so that you grip the shaft near the head (which makes the club feel light in your hand), placing your free hand on your stomach, so that you can sense the rotation of your middle as you repeat the exercise, left then right.

 

Try to keep your swinging arm as straight as you can as you allow the wrist to hinge up. With each repetition you will be strengthening the heart of your natural swinging motion.

 

 

Left arm is straight to create the radius on the way back, with the  wrist hinged .... right arm is straight on the way through, again with the wrist hinged to swing the club to the finish. Alternate between hands to ger this feeling.

FEEL SWING, HEAR SWISH

 

 

Feet together, grip the shaft down near the clubhead and make free, uninhibited swing through hitting area.. The wrists hinge up again in the through swing as right arm controls the radius - a mirror innage of the backswing. 
 

The third exercise I recommend involves extending the club up through your fingers until the butt end rests in your belly button, and simply reminding yourself of the need to have the club, arms and body working together on either side of the ball (below). Do this in between the rehearsal swings, just to remind yourself of the rotation that exists in a solid swing and also the way the arms remain in their ‘triangle’, working in tandem with your body.
 

 

Work on this simple rotation excercise in between rehearsing the L-to-L drill. This is great way to appreciate the sensation of the arms staying in their triangle at the start of the swing, through impact and again in the follow-through. Do this at home, and then go after the same feeling in the swing.

FINE-TUNE WRIST ACTION FOR SPEED & SWOOSH
 

A good wrist action gets together the movement of the arms, club and body - and it is the quality of that coupling that enables you to create speed and swoosh.

You can see from the images on this page just how well Louise has taken on board the lessons covered within this feature. In the 20 minutes or so that it took to shoot these photographs, she displays all the encouraging signs that I look for as a beginner builds on good fundamentals with a basic idea of what it takes to create a natural swing.
 

Best of all, your arms will pull your body into a series of good positions...without you having to think about it!.

 

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Get Your Body in Gear

  The relationship your hips and your shoulders is one of the most important in the golf swing when it comes to creating coil. The key is to create a resistance with the knees and lower your body while at the same time turning the hips to facilitate the correct rotation of the torso.

A GOOD HIP ACTION FACILITATES A DYNAMIC BACKSWING COIL

We talk a lot about the importance of creating and holding ‘resistance’ in the lower body, to turn against a flexed right knee and thigh and so create this coiling effect in the backswing as the bigger muscles in the torso stretch over the hips and the legs. All well and good – but you do have to be careful. I see a lot of talented amateur players who take this to the nth degree, and who display so much resistance in the hips and legs that they actually stifle the natural turning motion that must exist in a dynamic golf swing. If I were to put a ration on it I’d say that anyone who is restricting their hip rotation to 30 degrees or less is in danger of sabotaging the quality of their full swing – you need a little more rotation to make the most of your coil.

 

 
RECOIL GENERATES THE SPEED FOR IMPACT...

...AND BODY ACTION CONTROLS THE SHOW ALL THE WAY TO A BALANCED FINISH

 

When we work on the sequence of moves in a flowing swing we look for a chain reaction, and nowhere is this more important than from the top of the backswing as you negotiate the transition and shift through the gears in the build up to releasing the club through impact. This is where that hip action is your ally, as turning your hips correctly in posture on the way back enables you to then utilise them effectively on the way back down as you unwind.

Study the sequence here and you will notice that the transition works progressively from the ground up – exactly as it should. From a compact backswing position, a subtle move in the left heel and left knee signals the change in direction; as my weight shifts towards the target, the hips enjoy the freedom to re-rotate, which in turn invites the arms and the hands to fall into a wonderfully natural hitting position – the ‘slot’ tour players are looking for (note that the wrists remain fully hinged and ‘loaded’ relatively deep into the downswing).

 

A key point that I would make here is that as the lower body unwinds from the top of the backswing the chest holds for a split second, allowing the arms to shallow and then gather speed as they are accelerated through impact. Speed in the swing is generated by the rotation of the ‘core’, and this subtle sequence at the start of the downswing enables the arms and the body to match up through the ball.

 

ENJOY THE SENSATION OF BEING ‘GROUNDED’ AND UNWIND BODY IN SYNC

 

The temptation to drive the legs into the downswing is one that causes a lot of golfers a serious problem – and so let me share a couple of ways in which you can work on stabilising your leg action and so enjoy a more synchronised body move through the ball.

 

 

First up, try hitting a few shots with what I call the ‘flat-footed’ drill, as you see in this sequence above. Just as it says on the tin, the key here is that you keep both of your feet flat on the ground throughout the entire swing, and the toes open. This will help you to appreciate the ‘quietness’ of a sound lower body action as you wind and unwind your top half.

 

 BACK TO BASICS: NO BETTER EXERCISE TO ESTABLISH THE BACK-BEAT OF A GOOD BODY ACTION

 

In my coaching I advocate using a combination of the exercises you see demonstrated over these pages to improve both the quality of the leg action and the general rotation of the body that is so vital in terms of generating speed and also pacing the tempo of a solid golf swing. Remember, the hips must be encouraged to turn away from the target in the backswing in order that you turn your upper body correctly and get properly coiled behind the ball; in the downswing, the re-rotation of the hips and stomach is the chief source of speed

TURN BACK, TURN THROUGH THE ESSENCE OF A NATURAL, REPEATING SWING

As a final fun exercise, hit a few shots as I am doing here in between working on your regular swing. Drawing your right foot back like this paves the way for the arms and upper body to work nicely together in the backswing, and you then enjoy a lovely feeling of swinging from the inside as you unwind and clip the ball away, re-rotating your body against the flex in the left knee. Again, a useful drill with which to develop better rotary motion of your hips and ‘core’

 

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Dynamics of Speed

Good players make hitting the ball a long way look easy because they work with the laws of physics and understand the importance of inspiring a motion that features ‘lag’ and a whiplash effect that accelerates the clubhead through the ball. Inherent in this action is a flexibility and athleticism that emanates directly from the set-up div>

‘SOFT’, SUPPLE ARMS ADD TO ATHLETICISM
 

If I handed you a tennis ball and asked you to throw it as far as you could my bet is that you would hold the ball fairly lightly in your hand so as to keep your throwing arm relaxed – after all, you want that arm to generate the maximum speed possible as you wind and unwind your body in the act of making the throw.
 

Exactly the same principle holds true in golf. With a driver in your hands, you want to hold the club in such a way that you leave your arms and shoulders as relaxed and flexible as you can, so that in the process of winding and unwinding your body to create a golf swing you reap the benefit of the ‘lag’ and the recoil that accelerates the golf club through the ball at impact. Any sign of tension and that fluidity of motion, that natural physical dynamic, is going to be diminished.

 

 

 LEFT KNEE, HIP & SHOULDER LEAD THE WAY BACK TO THE BALL

Creating and maintaining resistance in the lower body is vital in the process of winding your torso and ‘loading’ your backswing with energy. The knees play a significant role in stabilising this rotation and maintaining the ‘level’s of a good swing. One way to experience this is to rehearse making your backswing with your right heel raised half an inch off the ground. In a good posture, this has the effect of really engaging the right knee and thigh as you shift your weight across and on to the right side while simultaneously coiling your upper body.

 

 

LEFT KNEE, HIP & SHOULDER LEAD THE WAY BACK TO THE BALL
 

One of the most significant areas that I want to highlight in this feature is the ‘separation’ of the left shoulder away from the chin at the start of the downswing. I’ve always been a huge fan of Nick Faldo’s swing and his teaching and this has always been an area that he maintains as being critical in the correct sequence from the top of the backswing.

 

The separation of the left shoulder away from the chin at the start of the downswing is one of the critical moves in a solid and dynamic golf swing. As the left knee and left shoulder pull away together, so the unit of the arms and the club drops to the inside. The elasticated cord that I am using is called a Power Release, and is one of several training products available through a new website www.sportstechlab.com

 FEEL THE POWER WHIP...AND SPEED YOUR WAY TO A BALANCED FINISH

Ben Hogan famously wrote that when it came to the moment of truth in the golf swing – the area through impact – he wished he had two right hands. The legendary ball striker was referring to the wonderful sensation you get when you use your body correctly, rotating and clearing out of the way so the final burst of speed can be applied to the back of the ball. Two right hands, twice the power!

Engage your ‘core’ muscles as you wind up for a powerful swish Hold the ‘lag’ in your right wrist until the last possible moment... ...and unwind all the way through to finish facing your target

 

This re-hinge is a vital component of a sound wrist action – and vital for maximum clubhead speed through the ball. Momentum of the clubhead pulls your right shoulder/torso all the way to a full finish.... ...recoil adds the finishing touch to a fully committed swing

 This is a critical element of good swing technique as it confirms the symmetry that exists either side of the ball and also reflects the fact that a player has released the club fully and freely.

With a driver, you want to feel that you unwind so fast you are pulled all the way around to a finish. Some players do this with such a force they recoil from the follow-through into a pull-back position as they watch the flight of the ball. I always used to love the way Nick Price did this. It was his trademark.

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