A technically proficient swing has a variety of moving parts and preferred positions. There are many basic factors in the golf swing that enable you to hit a successful shot. Awareness of these factors will help you to narrow your focus to the areas most likely to bring desired results on the golf course.
Stance
A proper stance is the foundation of what must happen in the golf swing. If there's something lacking in the stance, it's likely the swing that follows won't matter much. It's OK to adapt your stance to what's comfortable for you as long as it satisfies certain core requirements. The golf stance must provide balance. It also must allow you to make a full shoulder turn. Finally, it has to be aligned so as to aim your shot at the intended target.
Control and Balance
Control and balance must occur in the golf swing. For many amateurs, the temptation to "swing out of their shoes" and hit the ball hard is too great to overcome. However, keep this in mind: You should only exert as much effort as you are capable of controlling the swing. If you can't maintain control of the club or your balance, the rest of the swing will have little or no chance of succeeding. Pros will also tell you that their longest shots don't come from a hard swing. They come from a smooth swing.
Generating Clubhead Speed
Hitting a ball the proper distance for a given club is important if you're going to score well, and this will only happen if you can generate clubhead speed with your swing. Intuitively, it might seem as though swinging hard accomplishes this, but there is much greater benefit derived from having the club on the proper swing path and using a full shoulder turn back and through the ball.
The proper swing path is created by reaching a position at the top of the backswing that features the club shaft in line with the target. That kind of swing path, along with shoulder turn, will help you make an efficient swing, not working against your own body, but in harmony.
Weight Transfer and Rotation
Weight transfer and rotation of the upper body must also occur in the golf swing. The upper body needs to rotate around the spine angle that is created in the golf stance. This rotation creates the "coil" in the backswing that will store a good deal of the power needed.
The lower body will direct and initiate the weight transfer from right to left (for right-handers) through the ball. Without this rotation and weight transfer, the movement of the swing won't orient action in the direction of the chosen target.
Hands
The hands are the only part of the body that come in contact with the club. Therefore, the hands have a definite role in what must happen in the golf swing. The hands are responsible for creating and maintaining lag--that is, positioning the clubhead so that it lags behind the hands going into the downswing. This lag allows the clubhead to catch up to and then pass the hands as it fires through the hitting zone.
The hitting zone begins approximately 18 inches before the ball on the downward path. If the hands allow the clubhead to catch up before reaching this point, it is known as casting and throws off the power potential as well as the proper placement of the clubhead in relation to the ball.
References
- "The Negotiable Golf Swing"; Joseph Laurentino; 2008
- "Golf My Way"; Jack Nicklaus with Ken Bowden; 2005
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