The Golf Swing

The first thing to remember about the golf swing is that power and distance come from the coiling motion of the upper body and not brute force. The best golfers have a smooth and consistent swing and this should be every golfer's goal. The golf swing is actually broken into the three categories namely the short, medium and long (full) swing. This article focuses on the full swing however the other two are also explained.

There are five stages to the golf swing - address, take away, back swing, down swing and the follow through. These are explained in detail below. Remember to maintain posture throughout and focus on the coiling motion of the upper body and the movement of the feet. Keep your eye on the ball at all times.

The Long / Full Swing

Address

To address the ball is to assume the correct stance and posture and bring the clubhead to the ball. Previous sections in 'The Golf Pro' cover these topics. They are deceptively straightforward but constitute the foundation of your golf swing. Their importance therefore cannot be over-stressed.

 

Take Away

The takeaway is the first part of the backswing. The club is brought parallel to the ground simply by moving the shoulders alone. Hands and arms remain in the same relative positions as when at address. Weight is transferred to the right leg as the left foot lifts at the heel.

 

 

Backswing

The backswing compresses the coil which is the body. The clubhead is brought over the head as the hands extend to shoulder height. Only at the top of the backswing should the wrists be cocked. This action will naturally bring the shoulders through a 90 deg arc and the hips through a 45 deg arc. Weight is almost entirely transferred to the right leg. The left leg will only be touching the ground with the ball of the foot.

 

Downswing

The downswing is that part of the swing from the top of the backswing to the point of impact with the ball. It uncoils the body and releases it's potential energy. The action is driven by the unwinding of the hips. The upper body and legs follow the hips and weight is transferred from right to left. Only during the later stages are the arms once again extended and the wrists uncocked. This is a natural rather than a forced movement should therefore not be a matter of having to remember it.

As the club impacts the ball you should not find yourself in the address position but slightly balanced more on our left side.

 

Follow Through

The follow through is that part of the swing during and after impact with the ball. The body uncoils fully with the right hip and shoulder pointing at the ball's original position and body facing down the target line. The arms follow through to bring the clubhead around the back of the head.

The important part of the follow-through is that the clubhead momentarily pulls the ball along the target line. Previous stages provide the power while this stage provides guidance. While the clubhead is in contact with the ball it must move along the target line. If the clubhead moves from out to in or vice versa, the ball will be either pulled to the left or pushed to the right. If your divots point straight down the target line then you can assume that your follow-through is correct.

 

The Medium Swing

The medium swing lends itself to pitching, that is shots of around 50 yards using a highly lofted iron or perhaps pitching wedge. The idea is for the ball to travel with a high trajectory causing minimal roll on impact or perhaps to clear obstacles.

The main difference between the medium swing and the full swing is in the degree of the backswing , typically 50% to 75%. Reducing the backswing is akin to only partially winding up the coil that is the body. This naturally limits the extent of the follow-through.

Note that the ball should be positioned centrally in the stance. The degree of loft is influenced by the width of the stance. A great deal of practice is required to learn how to hit the ball a given distance with a given degree of loft.

 

Short Swing

The short swing lends itself to chipping, that is shots of around 5 yards, using a highly lofted iron or sand wedge. These shots are typically used to overcome hazards such as bunkers or rough.

The loft of the club is the main influence on how high the ball rises and consequently how far it rolls. Note that when using irons for this shot, the grip differs from the norm in that the hands move down the grip as far as the shaft. Wedges are shorter than irons and therefore no change of grip is required.

The main aspects of the short swing are that the shoulders do the work rather than any coiling motion of the torso. The hands and arms always remain in the same relative position to take a short swing, assume a relatively narrow stance around a centrally positioned ball. The backswing is a simple rotation of the shoulders which brings the clubhead to the 8 o' clock position. The downswing simply brings the clubhead to the ball. The follow-through, to the 4 o'clock position, pushes the ball along the target line.