Golf Back Swing Improvment - The Best in Golf Page 7

by Steve Fontaine
Valley Golf
Saginaw, MI
copyright 2003
All rights reserved
FREE Full Printable Version of "The Best in Golf" Golf Tips

Developing golfing skills through training:
The Set Position Drill for Improvement on Your Golf Swing

Set position drill
To do the set position drill, stand with either your right or left side facing a mirror. Get into your golf posture or address position. While leaving your arms hanging straight down, cock the club up with your wrists until the shaft is parallel to the ground. Cocking is lifting the wrist straight up, the way you would with a cup, when you're taking a drink. Then, lift your arms straight up, allowing the right arm to bend a little, while keeping the left arm straight. This should allow the club to go up and over your right shoulder. The club should be at a right angle, forming a plus sign, over your shoulder line. Don't turn at all. Only lift as far as your body will let you go. Keep the handle pushed out far from the center of your chest. Watch your back, while making this up and down motion. Put some reference marks on the mirror, so you can keep track of how much your back moves. This drill should remain part of your routine, at least, until it is easy to lift the arms independently of the back.

Developing a back swing
Learning the back swing as a two piece motion and then blending it into a single move is easy. Set-up to do a turning drill. Make the clockwise turn away from the ball. From this position, lift your arms up, the same as you would when doing the set position drill. This will put you in a pretty good back swing position. From here, lower your arms back down to the original position and turn back to the center position . Repeat this motion a few times for several sessions. Eventually, you can start with your club in a normal address position. If you are relaxed, your club will seem to flow effortlessly, up onto to your shoulder as you turn. The back swing should start out nearly all turn with very little lift and gradually shift to nearly all lift with very little turn. You will be able to feel this, when you make a good back swing.

The arc will take you there
The arc carries the speed and power of your swing. That's not all it does. It can take over many swing responsibilities, making the swing more automatic and less timing dependant. Much like the turn, if you focus on path first (just swinging at the ball), it is not likely you will develop a good arc. The job of the arc is to create centrifugal force. The force, that makes, all these good things possible. Almost all golfers know what it is, but only a small handful ever learn to use it. It should never feel like you are lifting your club, your muscles and swing will become lost. Keep the hands low and ride the arc. The hands should only come up because the arc has taken them there. The arc will tell your muscles what to do and how to get back.
In our effort, either to control the path of the club or strike the ball hard, we take the shortest, quickest path to the ball. Centrifugal force, as it implies, is formed from a circular motion. The arms must start out swinging or reaching away from the ball and target. It takes longer for the club to get to the ball, but when it finally gets there, it will be moving with a lot more speed and power. The instinct to pull the club toward the ball takes a lot of effort and produces a V shaped arc that's weak and hard to control. Swing and turn, don't pull or drag. Practice this many times, over several sessions, before trying this with any balls. Make sure you know what a good arc feels like and try to ingrain it.

Left-handed version of "The Best in Golf" -- Golf tips for training