Nov 10
18
This Simple Golf Drill Will Perfect Your Backswing
Read on for a simple exercise to make sure you’re in the correct position at the top of the backswing.
On the driving range I often see golfers swinging to the top of their backswing and stopping and trying to see if the golf club is positioned correctly. Of course, it’s not really very easy to check the correct position that way.
If you’re in the same boat and never really know whether your club ends up in the perfect position, I’ll offer you a drill that will allow you to check easily if your swing is too steep, too shallow or just right.
To do this exercise, all you have to do is swing back to the top of your backswing and stop and hold your backswing position for a second or so.
Now loosen your grip and allow the club to drop. And if the club hits you on the tip of your right shoulder that tells you that your golf backswing is in a good position. But if the club misses your body altogether that indicates that your backswing is too flat. And conversely if your club hits your head or neck that indicates that your swing is too upright.
If you find that your backswing does not finish where it should, avoid the following:
Don’t try to force the club into a good position. The golf swing sequence is a chain reaction – one element sets off the next. Let me explain that some more by looking at what happens when you impact the golf ball:
- The impact position you get into when you swing is a result of the downswing position that you were in.
- The downswing position you get into when swinging is a result of how you transitioned from your backswing position to the downswing.
- The position half way into your backswing determines the position you get into at the top of your backswing.
- Your position half way into your backswing is caused by your takeaway.
- And how you take your club away depends on your setup.
So you see, you can’t take one position in your golf swing and try and fix that because the positions that you got into before that determined the future positions. Instead what you need to do is systematically work on getting each phase of the swing the best it can be, working from the setup, take away and on from there. If you manage to work your way through all the stages of your swing, the position at the top of your backswing will correct itself automatically.
