It’s those magazines which run consecutively over a period of weeks where you can build a car, boat or something which, in an engineering sense, takes a while construct but when done in short bursts over a period of time something significant can take shape, which you would marvel at when finished.
The problem is that if you miss a week, forget about the project, it remains something which started out with good intentions yet really never made it to the finish line. Some may see a similarity to the tsunami of gym memberships which occur in January too. Human nature seems to be full of good intentions and yet the habits of the past will override any short term promise.
However, the purpose of this article is to help you build a golf swing which will be easy to understand, simple to construct yet those old habits will be devilishly difficult to override. There will be a number of articles which will build on the fundamentals of the golf swing. All you have to do is go onto the Portugal News’ website and search for them. They will be easily found by searching Fundamentals 1, Fundamentals 2 etc. So if you miss a week the next instalment will be easily accessible.
This week we are commencing with the takeaway; a significantly misunderstood part of the swing yet a very simple movement, where you want to keep the moving parts down to a minimum. If you look at the photo above you will see an old photo of three of the best swings history has to offer. They are not out of the ordinary if you go into Google and put in any world class golfer backswing you will see the most common traits of a fundamentally good golf swing; width and balance.
What I need you to pay particular attention to is the right arm; you can see that the arm has remained long with minimal bend in the elbow. The second part you need to see and realise is that the head of the three players has remained over their belt buckle. The third is that there is minimal left knee movement.
The great thing about these photos is that it shows that backswings have not changed over the course of decades, they never will because the same applies now as ever.
So here is the test, drill, enlightenment whatever you would like to call it; get yourself in front of a mirror, window or reflective surface of some fashion. Get your feet shoulder width apart, look at the photo and replicate the position of the feet, then start the back swing keeping your arms long, head still and legs as still as possible (depending on your level of flexibility). No wrist movement and certainly no break in the elbow, we will talk about that in the next article. Basically replicate the photo.
Now if that feels completely different there is some good news and bad news which you have to be aware of; the good news is that is how a good backswing should feel, the bad news is that you have been doing it wrong. Sorry.
My advice to you would be to do as many slow reps of this as you can, only moving the shoulders. The more you do the faster the movement will become learned. This action is so important as it serves as the cornerstone for any chipping or putting action.
So there you have it, good luck with the one piece takeaway, of course if you want a real life lesson, we are at the Golf Integrated Academy at Vila Sol – 912 263 555. Give us a call.