Backswing

The purpose of the backswing is to take the club from address - back to a position from where - you can move forward and hit the ball!

Hale Irwin and Graham Marsh, for example, believe that backswing is a poor term. They think it gives people the misconception that there is some effort or requirement in the backswing. They prefer a concept of ‘placing the clubhead in position’.

They address the ball, then place the club where they want to hit from, move forward and hit it.

I think that is a nice concept. My observation of the pupils I have had is that people who are naturally athletic or have played a lot of ball games do not have too much trouble with the backswing because they have done it all before. The position you get into at the ‘top of the backswing’ in tennis, squash, cricket, baseball and golf are all fundamentally the same. You are balanced on the back foot, body turned away from the target ready to move forward and hit. What happens in golf with the average adult player is that they never complete their backswing because they don’t turn their body. They address the ball - lift the club up - and smash at the ball.

The first movement of the golf swing is a body turn. You should rotate your body away from the ball as far as it will go before the arms start any independent movement. The sequence of movement is rotate the body - cock the wrists - which takes you to the top of the backswing. Some people seem to have some difficulty starting the backswing with their body. This is usually because they are pressing the club into the ground behind the ball and before they can start anything they have to lift it up.

If you observe the good players you will find most of them do not actually ground the club but hold it above the ground as though it were a bunker shot. This enables them to get the club going back - the moment they want to start the backswing.

They can move the club freely and easily away from the ball without any other movement. It is a little difficult to do at first, but persevere and you will get great benefit from it.