How to perform a back swing movement.

Therefore it is vital that you form the upper body unit into a compact condition by holding the elbows as close together as is physically possible and the muscles of the forearms held in a firm condition.
This will ensure that as the shoulders rotate to the end of the back swing movement there is no conscious independent movement of the arms or the golf club.
However in order to build up the core muscles to their absolute maximum, the heel of the left foot must remain firmly on the ground to the completion of the back swing movement.

However, you will reach a point when you think that it is not possible to rotate the shoulders any further without allowing the left heel to lift off the ground, however it is possible to rotate the shoulders around the central core of the spine for a few more degrees without allowing the heel of the left foot to lift off the ground, by learning the twist the upper torso to its maximum.

It is important to understand that you must ensure that the rotational movement of the shoulders cause to arms to move.
On no account must you use a lifting action of the arms to cause the shoulders to rotate.

Make a mini back swing ( Push the club head about 24 inch away from the ball) whilst the shoulders, the arms and the golf club are held in this compact condition but with the heel of the left foot remaining firmly on the ground. At the end of the mini swing you have complete control over the alignment of the club head with the club face only slightly open to the target line.
( As the back swing becomes longer, the torsion of the muscles will build up to a point when the it is impossible to rotate the shoulders any further without twisting the torso -- and this is the point when pressure must be applied to the left foot in order to reverse the movement of the hips and cause them to rotate towards the target area - thus ensuring that the hip movement leads the shoulders into the down swing movement.)

At the end of the mini back swing movement the whole body has been formed into a twisted condition so whilst holding the body in this twisted condition, simply apply pressure to the left foot and simultaneously force the hips to rotate back to the original address position which in turn causes the shoulders to follow -- and you will note that as the shoulders rotate back to the original address position the club face automatically returns to the ball square to the target line.

How the upper body is held as you make the mini swing is exactly how it should be held during a full back swing movement - ie, total control over the club head.

If you want to practice the correct swing path look at the Truepath golf swing device

To adopt the correct address position you must pull the elbows as close together as is physically possible, keep the biceps of both arms held close to the chest cavity and make the muscles of the forearms into a very firm condition, thus forming the upper body unit and the golf club into a compact unit.

But importantly, you must ensure that the upper body is slightly tilted to the right, with the right shoulder lower than the left shoulder and the right elbow just touching the waist.

(After you have set up the upper body unit, the feeling you must have is that from the moment you begin the back swing movement, the shoulders, the arms and the golf club move as one.)

Whilst holding the upper body unit in a very compact condition, simply rotate the shoulders around the central core of the spine, and in doing so, pushing the club head away from the ball whilst keeping the club head as low to the ground as is possible, but with the heel of the left foot remaining firmly on the ground.
(Obviously the club head will not stay close to the ground for long, because as soon as the upper body unit begin to rotate into the back swing movement, the club head will automatically and immediately begin to lift further and further away from the ground, but imagine the club head to remain low to the ground.
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However to ensure the correct swing path, as the upper body unit rotates into the back swing movement, the hands must move diagonally across the right foot - keep the club head low and move it slow..)

You notice that I say "push" the club head away from the ball rather than "pull" the club head away from the ball - the ball is pushed away low and slow from the ball during the back swing movement and is pulled into the contact area during the down swing movement.

It is vital that the rotational movement of the shoulders push the passive arms/golf club in a continuous movement to the end of the back swing movement without making any attempt to rotate the forearms or making any effort to lift the arms.

You must not allow the head to sway away from the fixed position that was set at the address position as you perform the back swing movement.

(Most high to mid handicapper golfers simply lift the arms to the end of the back swing movement - this is a definite no no.
You must ensure that the shoulders and the arms move as solid one piece unit but with the shoulders in total control over the movement of the arms.)

I can assure you that you will immediately feel the extra control you have over the club head when you change from simply lifting the arms to a situation where you keep the forearms in a firm condition whilst the shoulders rotate, thus pushing the club away from the ball and thereby placing the golf club in the correct position at the top of the back swing movement, but whilst keeping the heel of the left foot firmly on the ground,

The feeling you have to achieve, is using the shoulders to push the club head away from the ball whilst keeping the club head as close to the ground as possible, but whilst maintaining the shoulders, the arms and the golf club as a compact unit, whilst the lower part of the body plays a passive role.

(After setting up the upper body unit ready to perform the back swing movement, the first thing you must do is to ensure that the weight of your body is evenly placed over each foot and secondly you must intensify your focus on the back edge of the golf ball.

In addition, from the moment you begin the back swing movement, you must ensure that the upper body unit is held in a compact condition so that the rotational movement of the shoulders simply push the club head away from the ball until you reach the end of the back swing movement.)

You must ensure that the club head begins to move inside the target line from the absolute beginning of the back swing movement - as a good indicator look down at your right foot as you practice the back swing movement and make sure as you make the back swing movement, the hands move diagonally across your right foot.

If you keep the muscles of the upper arms ( the biceps of both arms ) touching the chest and the muscles of the forearms in a very firm condition throughout the back swing and the down swing movement you will automatically swing the arms/golf club on the correct swing path.

Remember, you must also the fix the focus of your eyes on the back edge of the golf ball before you begin the back swing and maintain this intense focus on the back edge of the ball throughout the back swing movement.

But also throughout the back swing movement you must keep the head firmly fixed in the position where the left eye is slightly behind the ball position - the head must not have any lateral movement away from this fixed position at any point in the back swing movement - simply rotate the very compact upper body unit around the central core of the spine without allowing the head to have any lateral movement until the core muscles achieve the maximum torsion.

In addition, the head must also be held in the Fixed Frontal position and the upper body angles must be maintained throughout the back swing movement.

But more important is that the swing tempo of the back swing movement must be slow - slower that you can possible imagine.
( There is no advantage in making a fast back swing movement because it all comes to a complete stop before performing the down swing movement.)

Remember, the upper body unit must continue to held tightly together so that it remains a very compact unit at all times, but with the shoulders in over-all control.

When you reach a point when the shoulders cannot push the compact upper body unit any further without:-
(a) The heel of the left foot lifting off the ground.

By learning to the twist the upper torso, it is possible to rotate the compact upper body unit slightly further without the heel of the left foot lifting off the ground.
However once this twisting action is completed, the torsion of the core muscles will be at their absolute maximum and therefore at that point, pressure is applied onto the left foot, thus causing the hip movement to immediately be reversed and the hips will begin to rotate towards the target area, thus forcing the shoulders to follow.

(It is vital that the heel of the left foot remain firmly on the ground throughout the back swing movement so that the core muscles reach their absolute maximum - the hips will gradually pivot/rotate away from the frontal facing position but you must not allow the right leg to fully straighten. -- Therefore although the weight of the body will have moved slightly onto the right foot, the head must remain firmly fixed in the original address position.)

I cannot emphasis too strongly that the eyes must remain firmly focused on the back edge of the ball and the head firmly positioned with the left eye slightly behind the ball, in addition the head must also remain held in the fixed frontal position whilst the back swing movement is performed, but importantly the left shoulder must remain in over-all control.

At the address position the shoulders and the arms are formed into a triangular shape, so simply maintain this triangular shape whilst focusing on the left shoulder as the controlling element as the compact upper body unit rotates around the central core of the spine.

End Of the Back Swing Position.

Therefore at the end of the back swing movement the whole body has achieved a twisted condition whilst the left arm remains fully straightened, but the head remains firmly held in the original address position where the left eye is slightly behind the ball.

The elbows remain as close together as is physically possible, the biceps are still held against the chest cavity with the golf club parallel to the target line with the golf club resting on the left thumb.

At the end of the back swing movement the compact upper body unit is held at the top of the back swing for a milli-second thus creating an overlap of the back swing and the down swing movement, whilst pressure in placed onto the left foot thus forcing the hips to reverse its movement and therefore begin to rotate towards the target area.

Do not worry too much about achieving the perfect back swing position, as long as you keep the heel of the left foot firmly on the ground, the core muscles will soon reach their maximum thus forcing the shoulders to stop rotating, but you must continue to hold your focus on the back edge of the golf ball and the weight of the body slightly over the right foot, but the head remaining firmly held in the original address position.

I cannot stress too strongly how tightly the upper body unit must be held throughout the complete back swing movement and the biceps of both arms held close to the chest cavity - but with the shoulders controlling the rotational movement of the compact upper body unit thus pushing the club head to the end of the back swing movement. However do not rotate the forearms or try to physically lift the arms - just use the shoulders to force the whole upper body unit to rotate around the central core of the spine whilst the heel of the left foot remains firmly on the ground.

At the address position the head is positioned so that the left eye is slightly behind the ball and the head must be firmly held in this position throughout the back swing movement.

The end of the back swing is not necessarily when the golf club is parallel to the ground.

The end of the back swing movement is when you are unable to rotate the shoulders any further whilst keeping the heel of the left foot firmly on the ground.

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