Mar 23, 2011
What is a proper backswing? This is in response to an email I received asking my advice on how this player could improve his backswing. I would assume that by the term alone – Back Swing – if the club went back, you succeeded. Defining proper is debatable. The backswing is basically a loading process for the chest, arms and wrists so however a player takes the club back, it can’t really be wrong… unless if negatively affects the downswing. Each player will have their own way to deliver the club into the ball but there are some physical principles that must be followed to get the energy from your body that can include many different types of swing mechanics. This is why the majority of tour players hit their irons within 5% distance differences but many different trajectories and curves.
Some of these physical principles are laid out in the here with the 3D Linking but to the average player, this might not be practical. For the student of the game, I encourage you to read everything you can, and for the player, look for feelings that accomplish the principles first and the ‘look’ second. I have one principle for the backswing – Create Width. ’Width’ is a term thrown around like spine angles and shaft lag that are impractical at best, however when defined, described, and demonstrated, I hope you can understand what it’s all about.
Width is the bodies ability to create space between the hands and chest, and no better way to do it than with Long Arms. When your arms are long, your arms are close together, and when they are close together, you will have better rhythm with your body (chest/shoulders). Somewhere along the way, golfers were taught to lift their arms and hinge the club up which created a bunch of slack in the arms which will be come useless if your body acts accordingly on the way down. Think of the water skier waiting the water for the slack in the rope to tighten so that he can be pulled by the boat. Ideally this works a slow speeds but you can imagine what would happen at high speeds! The same theory can apply to the golf swing.
One of the staple Tips we’ve heard over the years is “Keep your left arm straight.” By trying to do this, you could be preventing rotation and stalling your arm speed so why don’t we take the water skiing example and think of the lead arm like a rope where the roll of the right arm is to keep it tight – for the whole swing. There are a lot benefits to this including maintaining width in the arms, sequencing the arms with the chest, preventing the clubface from rolling open on the backswing, and creating just the right amount of lag on the downswing. Amateur golfers dream of lagging the golf club and in doing so create angles that are too much to control and ultimately can’t control them leading to the exact opposite at impact. Try going for an inch of lag instead of a foot.
When working on this backswing, the trail arm will stay longer than you may be used to and have the feeling like it stays ‘above’ the lead arm. When you’re in a position to apply a tighter ‘length’ to the lead arm, you may notice that you begin to push on your glove thumb. This pressure button is a sign that you’re doing things well. You may feel like your arms are closer together than what you’re used to and it probably feels different! But the elegance of the golf swing is that it is unique to the individual where the golfer has the ability to choose how much and when. There is a difference between pressure and tension – the first is physical and the second is emotional. Pressure in the golf swing is Good. Tension, a result an uncomfortable scenario, is not good. Don’t relax. Get ready for battle.
