My Swing

I write posts to help you play golf better. I try as hard as I can to make it clear what I think works and how you can do it, too.

This post is different. This is my personal instruction manual. These are my notes on how I swing the golf club. Parts of it might not mean anything to you, but all of it makes sense to me.

There are 230 words on the setup, 140 words on the swing. And I have't left anything out. Here goes!

[Modified for left-handed golfers]

Setup
You are in complete control of your setup, so there is no excuse for making a mistake here.

Get your mind moving before you start.

Use the cathedral grip.

Hold the club with the leading edge of the clubface vertical. Do not disturb that alignment when you apply your hands to the handle.

Turn your hands toward each other so the right thumb presses lightly against the pocket in the palm of the left hand, but not so much that you feel tension in your forearms.

Envelop the handle with a light grip pressure.

Hold the club at its balance point.

Check your aim before every shot.

Ball position: fwd-back, ball on the ground, center; driver, graze the inside of the left heel. Away, where a free swing delivers the clubhead.

Stand straight as you can with each club, with a feeling that your hips are high, and your upper torso is high and open, not sunken inward. Bend forward from your hip joint. Do not let your abdomen collapse, or your hips sag, when you bend. Your knees will bend a bit, but you should feel tall. Your shoulders and arms hang naturally from the suspension point at the back of the neck.

Your posture should be a comfortable position you look forward to getting into. You should feel in it the potential for powerful movement.


Swing
Rhythm is 3:1 from takeaway to impact. Tempo is the fastest you can swing and yet feel unhurried.

The backswing is a reaching movement, taking the right arm straight to a position where the hands are beside the head and far from it. The body turns as the arm reaches. This automatically takes the club back to the control point. There is no guessing. Nor does the right wrist change its shape at any time.

The downswing is a simultaneous combination of the hands dropping straight down and the body turning. Because nothing is forced, two key principles, the hands lead the clubhead into the ball, and the left knee must break forward, are observed.

Think from the start about following through to a finish, not about hitting the ball.