Lesson 4

The Back Swing. (Changed - 05/05/2013)

Before you begin this lesson try a little experiment, address a golf ball in your normal manner, rotate the compact upper body into a short back swing movement.
From the end of the back swing movement, use your hips to assist in forcing the compact upper body unit to rotate into the down swing movement.
As the compact upper body rotates back to the original address position, continue to maintain the triangular shape of the upper body unit so that the upper body unit is tightly together as a one piece unit whilst the club head swings into and through the contact area.
It is absolutely vital that the elbows remain close together thus holding the upper body unit firmly together as a solid one piece unit as the club head swings through the contact area.

The full swing should feel exactly the same, i,e, a continual, seamless and accelerating rotational movement of a very compact upper body unit, throughout the down swing and into the follow through movement.
It is absolutely vital that you do not allow the very compact upper body unit to deteriorate until it is forced to do so at the very end of the golf swing movement.

There are a few points that I strictly adhere too as I perform the back swing movement:-

1) I hold the head firmly in the original address position at all times.
( I do not allow the head to move laterally back and forth.)

2) I rotate the shoulders and the arms, while held together as if welded together to form a solid one piece unit, until I have rotated the shoulders approximately 90 degrees away from the address position.
( A common fault is to simply lift the arms.)

3 ) I ensure that the club head moves immediately and deliberately inside the parallel to the target line, from the moment I begin the back swing movement.
( A lot of golfers take the club head straight back instead of moving the club head inside the line which creates a swing path that causes a slice.)

4) I hold the hips firmly in the frontal facing position whilst totally resisting any swaying movement of the hips as the upper body rotates.
(The lower part of my body hardly moves for the majority of the back swing movement.)

5) I watch the back edge of the ball at all times.

6) I strictly maintain my upper body angles.

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.

Posture.

Back Swing Movement. (Set Up)

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 also hold the chest, the shoulder and the upper back muscles into a very firm condition, thus forming the upper body unit into a very solid compact unit.

Finally check your grip

If you wish to play very good golf, one of the most important items is that you must not allow any lateral movement of the head from the moment you begin the back swing, right through to the end of the follow through movement,

To enable you to understand how it feels to keep the head very still as you perform the golf swing, I have invented a device to train golfers to drastically reduce any lateral movement.
This device can be purchased by simply clicking the "buy" button at the bottom of the page of the section on head position.

Whether you buy this device or not, I would suggest you read the section on "Head Position" before you begin this lesson.

Back Swing Movement.

Whilst focusing on the back edge of the golf ball, rotate the upper body unit into the back swing movement whilst holding the elbows close together and ensuring that the shoulders and the arms rotates as a solid one piece unit around the central core of the spine whilst keeping the heel of the left foot firmly on the ground

As the upper body rotates into the back swing movement, you must keep the club head square to the ball position for as long as possible and the hips held facing the frontal position for as long as possible.
(Keeping the club head square to the ball is not the same as keeping the club head square to the target line, because although the club head opens in relation to the target line, it is still possible to keep the club head square to the ball position for most of the back swing movement .)

From the moment the club head begins to move away from the address position, you must ensure that the golf club begins to move inside the parallel to the target line.

You must keep the forearms in a neutral position throughout the back swing movement.

To clarify what I mean by keeping the left forearm in a neutral position, the position of the left hand relative to the left forearm at the address position must be maintained to the end of the back swing movement.
You must not allow the forearms to rotate.

However as the upper body rotates around the central core of the spine you must maintain the slight bend in the legs - especially the right leg.
The upper body must not sway away from the central position and to ensure this does not happen you must keep the head in the original address position at all times, but importantly, you must also hold the hips in the frontal facing position for as long as possible.
(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.)

You will only perform a correct back swing movement as long as you stop the hips from swaying away from the centralised position and keeping the heel of the left foot firmly on the ground, nor allowing the head to sway away from the original address position.

To further understand what I mean by not allowing the forearms to rotate, carry out the following exercise:-
Hold your left arm so that your left elbow is touching your waist and your left arm is pointing directly in front of you thus creating a 90 degree angle of the left arm.

Keep the left arm held at this angle and ensure that the back of the left hand is square to the target area, and then whilst keeping the left elbow against the waist and in the 90 degree position, sway the left arm back and forth .
You will note that as long as you do not rotate the forearms, the back of the left hand remains square to the target area throughout the complete movement.

However if you allow the forearms to rotate as the left arm sways back and forth you will note how the left hand begins to rotate away from the upright position.

Therefore by keeping the forearms in this neutral position and maintaining the slightly arched condition of the left wrist throughout the back swing and the down swing, your golf shots will become very accurate.

Do not allow the hips or the head to sway away from the original address position.

( It is vital that the rotational movement of the upper body unit causes the shoulders and the arms to rotate as a single unit to the end of the back swing, rather than simply lifting the arms to the end of the back swing movement.)

As the back swing is performed you must ensure that the elbows remain held as close together as is physically possible.

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, thus greatly assisting with the task of holding the head in the original address position.
(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 and the down swing and watch the spot the ball where 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.

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 the shoulders at the end of the back swing movement for a millisecond whilst the hips begin to rotate towards the target area.)

It is vital that the elbows are held as close together throughout the back swing movement.

End Of the Back Swing Position.

At the end of the back swing movement the rotational movement of the upper body unit has pushed the arms/golf club as far as possible whilst the upper body unit has been held firmly enough to only allow a slight independent movement of the arms, thus allowing the left arm to be across the chest and the shoulders should have turned approximately 90 degrees away from the address position.

Whilst meanwhile, the muscles of the legs remain in a firm condition thus resisting the right leg from straightening.
( Although the hips will have rotated away from the frontal facing position, the hips must remain firmly centralised over the centre of the stance until the end of the back swing movement.)

At the end of the back swing movement the heel of the left foot still firmly on the ground.

Whilst the hips would have only rotated away from the frontal facing position for a short distance, the rotational movement of the upper body unit should create a feeling of the whole body being coiled up like a spring - but your eyes must be still focused on the back edge of the golf 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 the lifting of the arms cause the compact upper body unit to rotate 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 remains firmly held in the original address position and the hips remain centralised over the centre of your stance.)

All these changes to your golf swing will not happen "overnight" -- so remember, the more you practice 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 practiced 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 also keeping the muscles of the lower part of the body in a firm condition in order to stop the hips from swaying away from the ball whilst both feet remain firmly on the ground.

However 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 you must force the left arm to remain across the chest and keep the upper body unit in a very compact and totally passive condition as the hips begin to rotate towards the target area, do this correctly and 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 the down swing- But during the down swing movement use the rotation of the hips assist in forcing the compact upper body unit to follow - 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.

*** Donation ***

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