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Golf Backswing - A lesson learned on correcting or perfecting your golf backswing
A best-case scenario evolved from a worst-case embarrassment on the golf course the other day.
My horrendous play at the start of the round resulted in some valuable backswing tips from my playing partners.
When we started, I executed my backswing on a drive, lifted my head to see where the ball would fly upon contact, and followed through as if I was swinging a baseball bat. The ball skipped on top of the grass like a hockey puck. I thought to myself, “That swing felt pretty nice, if I was playing softball.”
The way my hips turned and my driver swung around made me feel like I was in batting practice. That is kind of embarrassing playing in a threesome with two other guys who hit the ball straight and long. And this happened not only once. Try five or six times in the first 10 holes.
Finally, one of my playing partners either felt my pain or was simply irritated.
“Keep your head down,” he said. “We’ll tell you where your ball went. That’s what we’re here for.”
Keeping my head down and firm over the ball gave me more control over the swing, but I was literally not out of the woods yet.
Another problem with my backswing is that I allowed my left leg to collapse a little toward the right, causing my shoulder to drop, my head to lift a little and my hips to sway. This caused me to slice the ball dramatically to the right.
The way to correct this, I learned through my playing partners, is to keep my left leg pointed to the target on my backswing. “Imagine being on a horse or sticking a ball between your legs,” one of them said. “You can’t move your left leg to the right if that was the case.”
I imagined I was Gene Autry on a horse, and I was amazed at how much more I was in control of my swing because my hip and shoulder movement was more defined.
I still felt I was not getting enough power behind my swing, so I over compensated on the power of my follow through by driving the ball with my arms and wrists. Big mistake. That kind of swing made the driver feel like a baseball bat again.
The idea to overcome this is to concentrate on the power of the whole body, especially the muscles in the upper leg to chest area during the follow through.
Another problem I encountered was bending my right knee. The knee must remain solid or else the power of the swing will be affected. A loose right knee also causes the body to jerk more and the ball to fly to who knows where.
The upward and downward motion of my swing was void of problems, according to my playing partners, but that was of little consolation after such a bad start. The swing must be fluid. It can not be too fast, or too slow (hinging too long on the upper part of the swing).
Put all of your thought process into the swing before you let it rip. A good practice is to do as many practice swings until you feel comfortable. You then address the ball and swing without hesitation. And swing easy, even in the wind. The club head will do the work for you. You just have to give it the right direction.
With all that I learned, I can not wait to get on the golf course again. Isn’t that what fascinates us most about golf? Just when you think you will not play again because you are horrible, you gain a sense of confidence and feel you can conquer the game.
The key is repetition. Don’t allow too much time – maybe a couple of weeks – to pass before playing again or else what was learned can be lost and must be regained.
To recap on how to improve your backswing:
• Keep your head down and over the ball. Do not look up until your swing is complete.
• Keep your left leg (right leg if you are right-handed) pointed toward the target on your backswing.
• Use the muscles of your upper legs to chest area, and not only those of your arms and wrists.
• Keep your right knee solid to gain more control and power.
• Swing easy with a fluid motion. Think each swing through before you stand over the ball.
Thank you to Javier Morales for this article
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