Golf Myths

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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