Ok.. make believe, for a second, that this is you.
Last week you took a golf lesson, it was a really good one and your golf instructor gave you some great thoughts to keep you on the right track.
This, you thought, was the best golf instruction you have ever had. So, to take this golf lesson to the course was going to take some practice on your part.
So off to the range you go. With the following thoughts in your head from your very best golf lesson ever.
Thoughts for setup:
1. feet shoulder width apart at the heels
2. feet, knees, hips, and shoulder all square to each and to the target line
3. Chin up
4. knees bent
5. bend at the hips
6. back straight
7. butt out
8. good grip
9. right elbow pointed at right hip
10. weight even on both feet
11. tilt the spine to the right, just a bit
12. feel athletic
13. look athletic
14. arms hang straight down from the shoulders
These, you think, are not bad. You feel like you can do all of these and then just forget about them.
You have confirmed in your mind, once again, that this was the best golf instruction you have had yet.
Now see if you can get some movement into this whole affair.
thoughts for the takeaway, or backswing:
1. use a forward press to get it started
2. move the chest first taking the arms with the chest
3. use this as the one piece takeaway
4. keep the clubhead low and long
5. take the clubhead down the target line
6. keep the clubhead outside your hands
7. shift your weight to the right side
8. turn your left shoulder under your chin
9. keep your right leg bent
10. keep your spine angle the same throughout
11. keep the club on plane
12. keep the club on the correct path
13. cock your right wrist
14. get behind the ball
15. turn your back to the target
16. keep your right elbow pointed down
17. keep you left arm straight but not stiff
18. keep your left heel on the ground
19. your left knee should point at the ball
20. your right hip should turn away from the target
21. your shoulder should turn twice as much as your hips( almost)
22. the club shaft at the top should point down the line ( target line)
23. your left arm should stay very close to your upper chest with very little separation
24. you should not sway
25. you should not turn outside of your right leg with your upper body.
26. the back of your left hand should be flat not cupped backwards
With these in the back of your head, you have decided that perhaps the golf lesson was a bit too comprehensive and you will need to parry this list down to one or two that will work for your swing. Too bad the golf instruction didn’t include an edit program. Because this is going to take months.
But, being that you have a match coming up, you decide to do the best you can and even with all this in your head, you somehow, finish your back swing.
And your exhausted! ” Nice backswing” someone yells.
But you know the dreaded downswing looms large in front of you. For you know that a half swing is not a swing at all. So off you go once more .. re-living the golf lesson from hell. Once thought of as the saving grace. Now appears to be more than you bargained for.
Thoughts for the downswing:
1. first move slight bump to the left side
2. drop the right elbow to the right side
3. maintain the angle between your right arm and the clubshaft
4. maintain the right wrist angle as long as possible
5. push the right arm hard toward the ball
6. keep the club head on an inside path
7. begin to clear the left hip
8. hit down on the ball
9. maintain your spine angle
10. keep your left arm close to your chest
11. fire the whole right side
12. the right shoulder goes lower than the left shoulder
13. head stays back behind the ball
14. it is a down and under move
15. keep the clubhead in front of your chest
16. maintain your angles as long as you can
17. stay focused on hitting the ball
18. make sure you finish the swing completely
19. do not force the finish position
20. get a match
21. that means the chest on finish should point to where the ball went
22. pose
Alas! You have done it.. you know that you didn’t think of all the swing thoughts that you learned in your golf lesson, and , of course you feel a tab bit guilty. No worries. If you got that many you will never really want to play again anyway.
Note that you do remember that these are not in the exact order of things and that may cause you some troubles if you thought this is the correct sequence of events. It’s close but no exact.
Sometimes a small thought is enough to keep you on track. I like to take the right arm and clubshaft angle that I have at set up, and move it as a unit on the moveaway. This keeps my angles good for at least the beginning of the golf swing and then I have a better chance of maintaining them throughout the swing. It’s an important move. It is a power position. Try it!
By: Paul Macleod
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