For those who have read through my website you will see I don't put as much of a high regard on the backswing as many golf instructors tend to do. The glaring reasons being that 1) there have been so many different looking backswings in the history of golf that have performed and repeated with exemplary results.... and.... 2) the backswing is MAINLY a way of taking the club back in a manner that will enable the golfer the best way they know how to put them into THEIR hitting area.
Therefore...IF a golfer has a flawed idea about the concept of what hitting the ball is actually like then trying to force his backswing into something that won't allow that 'idea' of their hit to occur is not going to help matters much. In most cases it will only make matters worse because now the golfer has to manipulate even more movements to get back to the ball in the only manner he knows how.
This is the main reason I teach in the manner I do. I teach what the HIT is first and foremost and in many circumstances my students backswings actually change for the better because their concept of strike has altered for the better also.
So what is the HIT?
In the photographs of myself above (from 1989) pay particular attention to the bottom three (3) photographs. This is the "hit into impact" exhibited by the golfers who exhibited high levels of power and control.
My hands have almost made it to the impact position (bottom left) and yet the clubhead still has close to 4 feet of travel to make before it collides with the ball. This is what has generally been referred to as the 'late hit".
Many of golf's greatest have screamed this concept at us in their written material. Ben Hogan in Five Lessons stated "I want the club to reach it's fastest point at a spot 3 feet past the ball "..... Ken Venturi stated "Bad golfers hit 'at the ball'- Good players hit 'through the ball'... George Knudson even went as far as noting that the golf ball is "incidental- it just gets in the way of the motion". These statements are glaringly obvious examples of a 'late hit'. So while that is all well and good and easy to say- HOW do we put this late hit into action in our swing?
As the ball is stationary on the ground in front of us golfers tend to have an overwhelming urge to do more than they have to to propel that ball from it's stagnant position. This is where they immediately fail miserably and often.
They have the wrong concept of what the 'hit of the ball' truly is. Even though they have spent countless hours working on their backswing and checking it in the mirror, this 'golf magazine cover' backswing look will unravel due to their want to hit at the ball in the wrong sequence and not beyond the ball with all moving parts intact and effective
To be brutally honest- no matter how we take the club away to the top of the backswing AS SOON as the change of direction from backswing to transition initiates EVERYTHING changes- hence why the perfect backswing can ultimately lead to a blubbering mess of arms and hands and misconstructed strikes on the ball if the hit intent is all wrong.
Back to the lower tier of photographs. Now take note of how open my forearms are and how much wrist cock I have saved in the lower left photo. This is range of motion that pretty much unwinds onto the ball in our want to HIT. The forearms and wrists unwind and then continue to pull the body -which is wanting to head towards the target- into the strike. Very much how a revolving door would operate around the hinges attached to the door frame.
Poorer golfers tend to want to apply ALL the force of the swing from the backswing down by throwing their arms and unravelling their wrists hands and then try and align that force onto the strike point- which is a slowing down motion and a recipe for all types of mishits and directional issues.
Now look at the top row of photographs.... All I am doing is basically letting the club freefall down without force. It may look like I am pulling the chain but the reality is I am loading the club in towards my body- keeping the clubhaed UP and the clubshaft BEHIND via forearm range and wrist range. My upper body is staying back and closed because there is no force down in the hands and I am in NO HURRY to get left or forward to my target. My brain and body know that is where I need to go and will take me there- I don't need to rush left or forward. In trying to get left I will lose the roundness in my swing which is so necessary to making the club swing on the rounded arc the golf ball desires and wants....around and down and around is an arc...down or up is not an arc.
My motion here pinpoints the title of this blog READY-LOAD-FIRE
I am getting READY with my backswing- I am LOADING in my downswing (which is an entirely different word and sensation to forcing) and I am FIRING into impact... letting the body range- forearm range- wrist range unwind itself onto the ball. The later the hit the more energy transferred to the ball...and because all my movements are working in unison the club will be much more under my control- the strike point will be more consistent and the distance the ball travels will be greater and more consistent in the spot it is landing.
This unwind into the hit leads us to what happens after impact- which I will cover in my next blog.
If you would like to learn more- don't hesitate to see me in person or online for a personal lesson. The experience will open your eyes to a whole new world of golfing prosperity and fun.