Project Description
I’ve experimented a lot during my career as a golf pro. And witnessed first hand the little idiosyncrasies that produce good moves and bad as a teacher of the game.
What I’m going to share with you today will help you not only ‘load’ the club going back but also help you stay centered with your body.
Loading
There’s a few things we need to do during the back swing to produce a powerful blow through impact. There’s the full turning of the body, an arm swing and a hinging of the wrists. All necessary to apply power to the ball through impact.
‘Loading’ is simply making sure we accomplish these things during the back swing.
There’s been many ways people load during the back swing.
Tiger, Annika and Norman load and set the club gradually during the back swing. Although Tiger sets the club a little earlier now he has been working with Sean Foley. Who like me, prefers an earlier wrist set.
Jack Nicklaus had a very late back swing load and setting of the wrists.
While guys like Johnny Miller, Jay Haas and Kenny Perry all set and load the club very early on the back swing.
So there’s more than one way of getting it done.
I’m all for getting back to impact properly and producing the desired dynamics. If someone came to me with a late wrist set and load but had an amazing downswing and impact, I wouldn’t change that! that would just be changing something for the sake of it and not a good teaching mentality. The real answers lie in the route cause of things.
As long as we’re loading our lag going back and lagging our load coming down. It’s all good..
So why do I promote an early wrist set?
Simply because I’ve been around so many amateurs who sway so much during their back swing. With a late setting and loading of the wrists, it only promotes a sway away from the target with body. Namely the head and hips.
If there’s no priority in setting the wrists early then there’s definitely the chance of allowing the body to sway as the hands drag the club away during the back swing.
I don’t like any movement of the body swaying away from the target during the back swing. Unless you practice hitting balls doing it hundreds of times a day, chances are you won’t get back to impact in the desired position. Which includes having your weight forward, hands forward and shaft leaning forward. The downswing happens too fast.
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Here’s how I see the golf swing starting, and I’ve got a few thoughts on it.
Firstly, the club head travels the furthest in the swing so therefore it makes perfect sense for that to start moving first. Right?
After all – the arc or circle that the club head is traveling on is a lot larger than say the arc of our hands or the rotation of our body.
So to get the club head moving first the hands have to play a very specific role in the takeaway. And it’s simply a feeling of hinging the club head up and setting the club with a cocking of the left wrist. If you can do this in conjunction with your body’s pivot, you’ll have loaded fully during your back swing.
The second part of the equation is the direction of the hands. This is the easy part and if your arms are connected to your torso they should move back, up and inward.
From a down the line view your hands and arms should be hanging pretty much straight down from your shoulders. Just draw a line straight down from your shoulders and as your hands move back and up, they should also move inside this line.
If you haven’t got an app on your phone or tablet to analyze your own swing. You’re truly being left behind nowadays. Download the V1 app… It’s the best one out there!
So, we know the club head should move first in the takeaway and we know our hands that control the club head should move back, up and inwards. But how do we check to see if the club face is in the right position?
Check this video out and start implementing this drill into your practice time.
It will SET the club face in the correct position during the takeaway so you can move and turn fully during the back swing and not have to manipulate the club face coming down. Also, there’s a few other bits of info.
Note to self: I must stop rambling in my videos and get to the point faster…. Also check my bloopers at the end..
