The Golf Swing

THE GOLF SWING

By Frank  d’Marco, PGA

Coiling or windind the trunk in the backswing creates potential energy for the forward swing. The wind-up or pivot occurs around a center of rotation, the spine. Accompanying the pivot is a transfer of weight from its starting position to an emphasis more on the rear foot. The amount of weight transfer will depend on the player’s style and the club being used, less for short shots than long. The coiling of the trunk and loading of weight over the rear leg increases the potential force that can be transmitted to the ball. The larger muscles of the legs, hips and back are incorporated to add to the power package and to the swing arc, making it longer. Transferring weight to the rear foot creates the opportunity for additional force when the weight is shifted to the forward foot, toward the target. This is a motion common to any striking or throwing action. The transfer of weight which flattens the arc turns it from a circle, into an ellipse. This flattening is important as it allows the clubhead to travel longer on the target line, thus reducing the potential for error.

Remember taking a group of dominos and standing them up so that when one fell, it knocked the rest over, one by one? When setting them up, the sequence and the placement was critical, till they were all in place. Knocking them down, they had to fire in sequence. So it is with the golf swing. Firing in sequence causes efficiency in movement. If we take the force of the swing to its source we’ll find that once a player has loaded the gun - that is, when he’s reached the top of a fully wound backswing - there is a series of sequential movements like a domino chain that produces a power-efficient swing. By timing the sequence in this fashion, there is a summation of forces with each part contributing some share. When the body parts fire in precisely the right order and right amount, the best swing is produced.

During your back swing make sure of two things. 1) Keep your left foot flat on the ground, DO NOT PICK UP YOUR LEFT HEEL, ANY UPWARD MOVE OF THE HEEL CAUSES BODY SWAYING.

2) FOCUS ON MAKING A SOLID TURN WHILE HOLDING YOUR RIGHT KNEE AND TIGH STEADY, DO NOT STRAITHEN THE KNEE AT ALL. IF YOU STRAIGHTEN THE KNEE, IT MOVES YOU AWAY FROM THE GROUND AND YOU WILL MISS THE BALL OR TOP IT. 

The back swing can be numbered 1-2-3-4 and it should be followed by the reverse 4-3-2-1 forward swing to be correct. Number 1 being the hands, number 2 the arms, number 3 the shoulders and number 4 the hips. If on the forward swing the sequence is anything other than 4-3-2-1 you will not be able to make a good golf swing! The linkage system is not being used correctly, timing is lost, a good deal of the force, and possibly the ball.