Basic Swing Thought

Grip Strength

Think about the tension you’d apply when throwing a baseball. Hold that tight enough so it doesn’t fly out of your hand when you cock your arm, but lose enough to allow speed.

The Address

Think athletic set-up and address the ball with your shoulders, hip, and knees in a nearly level position with your weight spread between your feet evenly. Remember the foundation of a great golf shot starts with a solid set-up. Think flexible, bouncy athletic stance through flexed knees and relaxed overall muscles allowing a full rotation through your back (thoracic spine.) Bottom line, if your set-up starts out poorly you’ll have little possibility of making a solid swing path.

Back Swing

Your palms should be at a 45-degree angle to the ground, which puts the clubface in a square position and maintains the width of the backswing allowing the maximum swing arc.

The Downswing

Feel like your swinging a rubber hose. This concept creates a steady acceleration of the club on the downswing producing a more consistent swing path and a powerful ball strike. In my golf practice the worst swings come from my clients that hit at the ball forgetting the kinematic sequence needed in golf. Have you wondered how the great golfers such as Raymond Floyd or John Daly have had such successful careers using sometimes an unorthodox golf swing? The answer is not how close your swing resembles Erie Els or Tiger Woods but rather the efficiency and consistency of the swing. The amazing fact is that all great ball strikers have a remarkable similar kinematic sequence for generating speed and transferring speed throughout the body. The sequence of energy initiation starts in the low body, moving next through the thorax, arms go third and the club head last. Each segment of the body builds on the previous segment, increasing up the body chain through the ball strike. And each segment of the chain slows down as the next segment continues to accelerate.

An efficient set-up and proper sequencing is the key to repeatability, efficiency and consistency whether accurate or not which translates into better energy transfer or deceleration of power.