Basic Steps to Better Golf

It is important to understand is that the golf swing is broken down into three sections and each section of the swing has its own "sequence of movements"

The back swing movement consists of using the lower back muscles to rotate a very compact upper body unit to the end of the back swing movement which literally pushes the passive arms to the end of the back swing movement, whilst the lower part of the body of the body play a totally resistive role so that at the top of the back swing movement the the whole body has been formed into a fully twisted condition.

The down swing movement is initiated by simultaneously pressing the left foot to the ground and also rotating/pivoting the hips towards the target area, however almost immediately after the hips begin to rotate /pivot towards the target area, the hips and the lower back muscles are bonded as one so that the two bonded components work together to force the compact upper body unit to rotate around the central core of the spine, thus returning the shoulders back to the original address position.
(The hips and the compact upper body unit move into the down swing movement in complete tandem but with the movement of the hips in over-all control.)

Therefore it is absolutely vital that as the compact upper body unit rotates around the central core of the spine, thus returning the shoulders back to the original address position, the shoulders and the arms must continue to be tightly held together as a solid compact one piece unit so that there is absolutely no conscious independent movement of the arms.

(But what is absolutely vital is that as the compact upper body unit rotates around the central core of the spine, thus returning the shoulders back to the original address position, the golfer must focus on the ball and also keep the head firmly held in a position so that the left eye is always slightly behind the ball, thus ensuring that the club head will return to the golf ball at speed and square to the target line. You must not allow the arms to move independently of the shoulders, simply hold the whole upper body unit tightly together as a solid, one piece unit and simply use the uncocking of the wrists to generate club head speed.

However at the precise moment the shoulders return to the original address position, the shoulders must stop rotating, albeit for a milli-second whilst the muscles of the left shoulder pull the passive arms into the contact area thus counteracting the inertia effect upon the arms, and then whilst the shoulders remain parallel to the target line, the muscles of the left shoulder pull the passive arms through the contact area, thus forcing the right arm to adopt the fully straightened position.

As soon as the both arms are straight, the right shoulder is forced to rotate under the chin whilst a combination of the movement of the hips and the lower back muscles force the compact upper body unit to continue rotate around the central core of the spine.

Therefore it is absolutely vital that the head remains in the original address position and the upper body angles must be strictly maintained until well after the ball has been struck.

It importantly you must make a special effort to ensure that the whole upper body unit, which includes the passive arms, remain tightly held together as a solid one piece unit as the club head moves through the contact area.

Although at the point of contact the professional golfer will aggressively straighten the right arm, any attempt at this stage by a high handicapper to try to apply extra power with the right arm will simply cause the muscles of the forearms to become tense or cause the elbows to spread apart, thus causing a sliced shot so introduce this movement gradually . - but this is all covered in the next lesson - The "Follow Through"

To stop yourself from trying to "HIT" the ball, take a few practice swings prior to playing the actual golf swing.
( I can assure you that during the practice swings most golfers correctly perform a gradual accelerating movement of the club head into and through the contact area. However when they have to strike the ball, something happen within the brain that causes the golfer to put that little bit extra into the swing movement just before the club head makes contact with the ball and it is that little bit extra that causes the muscles of the forearms to tighten up and cause the club head to twist off line.)

So when it comes to play the shot, try to repeat exactly the same swing that you used during the practice swing of using the movement of the hips to force the compact upper body unit to rotates around the central core of the spine, thus returning the shoulders back to the original address position -- before using the muscles of the left shoulder to pull the arms through the contact area whilst the shoulders are parallel to the target line which forces the right arm to adopt the fully straightened position and therefore swinging the club head through the contact area at a smooth constant accelerating speed.

Therefore it is the skill of the golfer to judge the movement of the shoulders so that the club head makes contact whilst the shoulders are parallel to the target line.

At the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball, the shoulders must be in the original address position, the head must be positioned so that the left eye is slightly behind the ball, the hands must not be ahead of the original address position and the weight of the body predominantly over the left leg.

Therefore the golfer has to synchronised the down swing movement so that the club head makes contact with the ball whilst the shoulders are parallel to the target line, but what is paramount is that the head must remain slightly behind the ball. ( Impact Position.)

This sequence ends as soon as the shoulders, the hands and the clubhead are back at the original address position.

This is the critical part of the golf swing, because during the down swing movement, these action were simply carried out in order to ensure that at the impact position the shoulders are parallel to the target line, the hands have returned to the original address position and the club head is about to make contact with then ball.

Therefore at the impact position, the next "sequence of movements" begins.
As soon as the both arms are straight the right shoulder is forced to rotate under the chin whilst the movement of the hips continue to force the compact upper body unit to rotate around the central core of the spine whilst the whole body pivots on the left foot and quickly turns to fully face the target area.
(You cannot turn the body to face the target area too quickly as soon as the both arms are straight.)

However in order to perform the golf swing successfully, the head must remain slightly behind the ball position and the upper body angles must be maintained until well after the ball has been struck.

If you want a clear illustration of this action, observe the technique of Annika Sorenstam and see how quickly she turns the whole body to fully face the target area as soon as the club head makes contact with the ball.

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