The Key To A Good Backswing

The Key To A Good Backswing

The Key To A Good Backswing

If you want to hit the ball straighter, longer and with more control then you need to understand the key to a good backswing.

The secret really is creating consistency and ensuring that the clubface moves squarely back to the ball. If we can do this then your distance and accuracy will improve.

For more consistency we need less moving parts. Less moving parts mean that there is less to go wrong with the golf swing. The major problem amateur golfers have is that they move their arms independently of their body and in effect have two separate swings. Sometimes and entirely by chance these two swings come together and a good shot is played but these are few and far between.

What we need is for the body and the arms to be working together to create a smooth takeaway of the golf club. For most golfers a poor backswing happens within the first 15 inches. The club is picked up very quickly by a sudden breaking of the wrists. The connection between the body and the club is lost and the swing is on an incorrect path that will never recover. Consequently at the top of the backswing the club will be out of position.

Instead of thinking about the arms and swinging the club backwards try to concentrate on a turn of the shoulders. Think about slowly turning the right shoulder behind you and putting the club behind your back.

Thinking about this simple move will help you rotate around your spine angle with very little lateral (sideways) movement. If we move sideways as well as around then we have to get both our bodies and the golf club back to the ball correctly in order to hit a good shot.

Try this simple drill:

Hold a golf club at each end and raise your hands above your head. Now bring the club down behind your neck to rest on the top of the shoulders. Take up your address position and rotate your right shoulder behind you. What you are experiencing is the correct turn of the shoulders during the backswing.

The back swing is all about coiling your body and creating the muscle tension or torque needed to release a powerful downswing much like a tightly wound spring. More specifically, resistance is created between the turning of the upper body and shoulders against the turning of the hips and lower body.

The greatest rule of the backswing is don't hurry. We don't hit the ball with the backswing so making a hurried backswing will not make the downswing any faster, in fact it may create just the opposite. At the top of the backswing the direction of the club must change. I often liken this backswing feeling to that of an archer drawing back his bow string. This is done with care and precision and then let go to allow the arrow to fly straight and true!

The speed of the back swing should be a nice steady tempo, neither fast nor slow. The tendency with many amateurs is to go too fast. Any time your golf swing begins to break down, the first correction should be to slow down the back swing.

So if you want to see improvements in your golf try concentrating on these simple swing thoughts:

Rotate around your spine angle and don't sway

Slow down your backswing to help get the club in the correct position at the top.

These two thoughts alone are the foundation to a good backswing and will produce longer, straighter shots!

Simon Firkins - Qualified PGA Professional http://www.birminghamgolfschool.co.uk

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