The second part of the backswing

For this part of the swing, I wanted to talk about the part of the backswing from the club parallel to the ground all the way to the top.

impulse

This part of the swing is based on momentum. I think if set up correctly your body will get into the correct position at the top allowing you to consistently hit the ball back down. That being said, there are still parts of this sequence to instill, learn, study, and create a habit.

For the swing discussed in this blog, I don’t think you should start by presetting anything. I think the momentum is really what tilts the wrists on the way back, not the conscious effort. I think a lot of practice sessions were wasted trying to lift my wrists up and then punch down towards the ball without using my body correctly.

moments

I highly recommend getting the Momentus swing trainer, if you can find the version that is a few years old. The training grip on the newer one is horrible. The boost is one of the best training aids out there, simply because it speeds up the process of ingraining the correct movements.

As the club clears parallel, momentum begins to tilt the wrists back. You learned in Lesson 10 how easy it is to get to the bottom of the backswing stance, as described by Sevam1 in his video on pronation. If you haven’t seen it, click here. I wanted to add that while that’s a great drill to get to the top of the backswing, I’ve always had trouble understanding how my hands should feel on the club.

The right hand

If you take the club, place it in front of you, raise your wrists as shown in sevam1, and rotate your upper body over your right leg, the backswing is ready. The key is to understand that the club should not feel like both hands are cocking it up. Although the two hands work as a unit, you should feel that all your power is in your right hand, as if it has done most of the work. Don’t get me wrong, the hands work together, but in terms of how it should feel on top, it feels like all the power is in my right hand.

hold that tension

As I said in the previous post, be careful during all of this that your right arm doesn’t slip behind your body, as this is a dead zone. The tension that builds up helps to apply power later, but also to keep the arms in front of the chest at this point. Don’t force it against the upper chest at all costs, as it will separate naturally when it reaches the top. Just don’t let it get left behind.

At the top of the swing, the correct grip helps tremendously. You’ll feel like you’re supporting the club, helping it on its way back. The left hand will cup slightly. Some have a flat-on-top hand, but for reasons I’ll discuss later, I don’t try to force a flat-on-top wrist.

left arm

The left arm has been kept as straight as possible throughout the entire backswing. A little bit of left arm swing is fine, as the golf swing is an athletic movement that requires athletic action, not stiffness. For the swing we’re creating here, the left arm has been “turned” a bit (discussed in the pronation video) across the chest in such a way that the arm matches the angle of the chest. This is the key. Some teachers recommend extending your hands up and then letting them down again. I personally find this method simpler, more repeatable, and easier to learn.

weight distribution

His weight at this point is a difficult topic to discuss. Many would say, “At this point, your weight should be 60-80% to the right.” That may be true, but it’s also starting to move to the left in such a way that you don’t have to worry about how much weight is on your right side.

What I mean by that is if you’re throwing a football, baseball, or anything else, plant on your right (right-handed) side. Just plant your foot when you start to throw the ball back. Exactly how much weight is to your right? Obviously it depends. For longer shoots, you can plant more and vice versa. The point I’m trying to make is that golf is just as athletic as these other games. Most people just don’t see it that way. The golf swing will become an athletic movement, not a static one.

For argument’s sake, we’ll say 60-70% at this point. But the turn of the right foot towards the ground will be very important during the next lessons. That was key. Just know that the true end of the backswing is the beginning of the downswing. They are a mix, a mix, one in the same, and they go together.

Other logistics:

1. Your right knee should be in the same position it was in the direction
2. Your left knee should have bent well, pointing behind the ball. Some restrict movement of the left knee. I let him go as far as he wants. Just not directly or to the point where you start to dive closer to the ground. On the backswing, the height of the head above the ground should remain the same.
3. Your belt buckle should be pointing toward the toes of your right foot, while your shoulders should be able to turn about twice, so that you’ve turned a full 90 degrees.
4. The angle of your spine should not change. If you find this to be a problem, you probably haven’t set yourself up correctly at address, as it’s your bottom bracket that allows you to support your spine throughout your swing. Go back to the setup tutorials.