Lesson 4

The Back Swing. (Changed - 12/01/2012)

Pre-Shot Routine.

Before you hit a golf ball you have to set yourself up correctly, the method of setting yourself up correctly to perform this task is called "The Still Mechanics" which is self explanatory.

Here are a few details of how to perform this set up routine.

Aim and Alignment.

Posture.

Back Swing Movement.

Stand fairly upright with the right shoulder slightly lower than the left shoulder, the right elbow tucked into the waist and the hands in a mid position.
Whilst holding the body in this position, draw the elbows very close together and make the chest, the shoulders and the upper back muscles into a very firm condition, thus forming the upper body unit into a very compact unit.

Whilst focusing on the back edge of the golf ball, use the left arm to assume overall control over the very compact upper body unit as it rotates around the central core of the spine and ensure that the swing path is a wide sweeping action.

The upper body unit, which includes the arms, must rotate whilst held together as a very compact unit so that the upper torso and the arms rotate to the end of the back swing movement as a single compact unit,

However as the upper body unit rotates around the central core of the spine, maintain the slight bend in the legs, especially the right leg and also keep the muscles of the lower body in a firm condition and continue to hold the hips over the centre of your stance as the hips eventually rotate away from the frontal facing position.
(The right leg must not straighten during the back swing movement.)

See Pete Cowen`s -"Axe Drill"- (When site comes up, click on "home page" for the video.)

When you reach the point when you think it is impossible to rotate the very compact upper body unit any further without allowing the hips to sway away from the centralised position and without allowing the head to sway away from the original address position, the upper body unit can be rotated a few more degrees by forcing the torso to twist its maximum.

It is absolutely vital that the back swing movement is performed whilst maintaining the upper body unit, which includes the arms, as a very compact unit and the lower part of the body putting up a slight resistance to the movement.

If you perform this movement correctly it will feel as if you are only making a half back swing movement.

Remember, you must fix the focus of your eyes on the back edge of the golf ball at the address position and maintain this intense focus on the back edge of the ball throughout the back swing movement.
(I cannot stress too strongly how important it is to maintain the focus of your eyes on the back edge of the golf ball throughout the back swing, the down swing and watch the spot the ball was resting until well after the ball has been struck.)

But also, throughout the back swing movement you must keep the head firmly fixed in the position where the left eye is well 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 use the rotational movement of the very compact upper body unit to move the club head away from the ball until the core muscles achieve the maximum torsion and to perform this function, you must learn to twist the upper torso to its maximum.

In addition, the upper body angles must be maintained throughout the back swing movement and the hips must not be allowed to sway away from the original address position.

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 at some point, the upper body must come to a complete stop.
Therefore when it does reach the end of the back swing movement, hold it in this position for a milli-second whilst the lower part of the body begins the down swing movement.)

Remember, the elbows must be held as close together throughout the back swing movement.

End Of the Back Swing Position.

At the end of the back swing movement the compact upper body unit has rotated around the central core of the spine to its maximum by finally twisting the upper torso.
By that I mean that the shoulders and the arms have rotated as far as possible whilst held as a one piece unit, with the shoulder muscles held firmly enough to only allowing a slight independent movement of the arms thus creating an acute angle of the left arm and the shoulders, whilst meanwhile not allowing the muscles of the legs to become slack or allowing the right leg to straighten or allowing the hips to have any swaying movement.
(The hips must remain firmly centralised over the centre of the stance whilst the upper body unit rotates.)

At the end of the back swing movement the upper torso should be fully twisted, whilst the hips would have only rotated away from the frontal facing position for a short distance and the whole body should feel as if it is fully wound up like a spring - whilst your eyes are still focused on the back of the ball.

During the back swing movement the eventual rotation of the hips will cause the left knee to move very slightly forward of the original address position and similarly, the right knee to move very slightly backwards of the original address position, but importantly, the heel of the left foot remain firmly planted on the ground, the muscles of the legs, the thighs and the buttocks must remain in a firm condition and the hips must remain firmly held over the centre of your stance, thus putting up the maximum resistance to the rotational movement of the upper body unit, whilst meanwhile, the head remains firmly held in the original address position where the left eye is well behind the ball.

I cannot over emphasis that the hips must not be allowed to sway away from the original address position during the back swing movement, not even for a fraction of an inch.

The elbows remain as close together as is physically possible, the biceps are still held against the chest cavity and the right elbow is held as close to the waist as is possible, thus maintaining the shoulders and the arms as a very compact unit with the golf club parallel to the target line and the golf club resting on the left thumb, but the whole body is now in a fully twisted condition.

(Do not worry too much about achieving the perfect back swing position, as long as you keep both feet firmly on the ground, the muscles of the lower body in a firm condition and the hips held over the centre of your stance, as long as the compact upper body unit rotates around the central core of the spine, the core muscles will soon reach their maximum thereby forcing the upper body unit to stop rotating, but you must continue to maintain your focus on the back edge of the golf ball.

As the torsion reaches its maximum, the weight of the body begins to shift slightly on to the right foot, but the head and the hips remains firmly held in the original address position.)

Important.
During the back swing movement the arms and the shoulders are held very firmly as very compact upper body unit as it rotates to the end of the back swing movement but with the left arm basically controlling the movement.

However during the down swing movement, the hip and the compact upper body unit, which includes the arms, rotate as a solid one piece unit, with the right elbow tucked into the waist - but with the hips in overall control.

All these changes to your golf swing will not happen "overnight" -- so remember, the more you practise a new movement, the more natural the movement will become.

However, only practice one new movement at a time until the movement becomes automatic, then you can move on to the next new movement.

Therefore when you have fully absorbed and thoroughly practised the movements as described within this lesson, proceed to Lesson 2, the "Upper Body Turn" --- and learn how take complete control of your golf shots.

Summary.

The back swing movement will feel very mechanical and wooden when first performed whilst holding the upper body unit tightly together, and whilst also keeping the muscles of the lower part of the body in a firm condition and not allowing the hips to sway away from the ball and with both feet firmly on the ground, but what you should immediately feel is a sense of independent movement of the upper body from the lower body thus increasing the torsion of the muscles between the upper part of the body and the lower part of the body - but as long as you can maintain the fully twisted condition as the down swing movement is performed, you will achieve an increase in the accuracy of your shots.

Do not worry about generating enough energy, because as long as you keep the elbows held close together during the back swing movement - and then during the down swing movement rotate the hips and the compact upper body unit as a solid one piece unit, but holding the left arm closely to the right shoulders as is physically possible for as long as it is physically possible - you will generate sufficient power.
But importantly as the compact upper body unit rotate around the central core of the spine you must try to keep the right elbow against the body.

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