Instruction
Do What the Best Do! The First Move
There is as much bad information and untested theories about the golf swing as there are different clubs and balls. That’s why I have a saying that I use with my students,
“If you want to be the best, do what the best do!”
What I’m trying to get across to my students is that if they hope to play to the level of a tour pro, they likely need to emulate certain things that the tour pros do.
There are many teaching pros that concentrate on impact; they try to get their students to control the clubface at the bottom of the swing arc. However, the truth of the matter is that having a great impact position is the product of great positions throughout the entire swing.
After getting in a good athletic posture, the first thing golfers need to concentrate on is the first move of their backswing. For years, many instructors have been telling students to roll the face of the club open in the backswing until the toe of the club is pointing up when the shaft is parallel with the ground (thus the term “toe up.” See Figure 1).
Figure 1: The “old school approach.”
For many golfers, this information could not be any more incorrect! There was a time when “toe up” made sense, but equipment has evolved and so has the way we teach golf. When teaching pros use this outdated information, it makes their student roll the club head too far inside, which gets the club head behind their back (See Figure 2).
Figure 2: Too far inside and behind back.
If you have this problem, I have a fix for you. The next time you are at the range working on your swing, place a tee on the target line about eight inches directly behind the ball (See Figure 3).
Figure 3: Tee behind ball.
Now take your club head straight back over that tee (See Figure 4).
Figure 4: Take the club straight back over the tee.
As you take the club back, make sure you do not roll your wrist in your backswing. You will notice that once your club is parallel to the ground, the clubface has not rolled inside and the face matches your spine angle (see fig 5).
Figure 5: Club face matches spine angle
For longer and straighter shots, it is essential that golfers get their club head in this position. Look at tour players on the Internet or TV and notice that just about all the guys making money do this.
Stay tuned, as I will continue to dispel bad tips from the past with fresh information for today’s game.
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Some call the image on the left laid off, but if you are hitting a fade, this could be a perfect backswing for it! Same for across the line for a draw! Stop racking your brain with perceived mistakes and simply match backswing to shot shape!
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My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.
As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.
The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.
Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply. Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:
Mis-aligned hands
By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.
The position of the grip in the upper/left hand
I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean. Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.
To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.
Too much lower (right) hand on the club
It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.
Gripping too tightly
Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.
So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.
More from the Wedge Guy
- The Wedge Guy: Golf mastery begins with your wedge game
- The Wedge Guy: Why golf is 20 times harder than brain surgery
- The Wedge Guy: Musings on the golf ball rollback
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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?
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Devin
Nov 10, 2013 at 11:55 pm
Great tip! The last time I took a lesson the instructor made mention of this very thing. He pulled up a video of Adam Scott and compared the face angle and spine angle.
[email protected]
Oct 5, 2013 at 12:41 pm
The takeaway as described has been a remedy that has worked for me many times. I also believe it prevents creating a short backswing ( another problem I face now and then).
Anna M
Oct 3, 2013 at 11:07 pm
Bob:
I’ve incorporated this tip into my practice and game and I am making much better contact and consistent shots. I shot the best round of my short golf career this week. Great Article!
Duane G
Jul 27, 2013 at 9:03 am
I was taught this years ago and got away from it…can’t wait to get back on the range and burn it in.
Eric
Jul 25, 2013 at 2:19 pm
When moving the club head over the tee, is this done by pushing the arms away from your body, or by turning your shoulders steeper (compared with the rolling outside takeaway)?
Matt
Jul 28, 2013 at 11:59 am
That is a great question Eric. Both approaches have profoundly different impacts on the swing. I myself prefer to use more left tilt which helps the club acsend instead of just pushing my arms which could lead to me losing connection and lifting my arms in the backswing
Wayne
Aug 20, 2013 at 6:03 am
Matt can you explain what you mean by “more left tilt”? thanks
Shelby
Jul 25, 2013 at 12:17 pm
I find when I do this I get stuck. I’m not sure if my chest and hands are a bit out of sync near the top of the backswing, but this is what I feel. I also feel that my right elbow wants to disconnect and sometimes I chicken wing. Lastly, sometimes I also feel like my shoulder plane gets really steep. Any suggestions?
andrew
Jul 25, 2013 at 10:14 am
I’ve started doing the same drill with a golf ball instead of a tee recently and has helped me become more consistent with my ball striking. Will give the tee a go instead of the ball now though as I want have to rake the ball bake into position. LOL!
joe Aslam
Jul 25, 2013 at 3:29 am
I am a big believer in lessons and have just had one with my local pro
he tells me to close the gap between my left thumb and finger so as the fleshy bits touch.
How important is this minor tip on a scale of 1-10?
yo!
Jul 24, 2013 at 10:38 pm
this is good advice … it may not work for everyone, but one can commit to it and experiment with it and see if it works for them. I think its a rather fundamental principle. an athletic person can adapt to a nonfundamental swing and still do well
HHGC
Jul 24, 2013 at 2:49 pm
This seems to be along the same lines as initially take the club back in the line of the ball and have the club shaft be parallel to the line when the club is parallel to the ground. My question is, once the rotation of the body stops, do you think about setting/hinging the wrists as a golfer normally would, or should there be another thought in setting the club at the top? Thanks and appreciate the swing thought. B
Steve Connolly
Jul 24, 2013 at 12:39 pm
Nice article Bob!
Jack
Jul 24, 2013 at 1:04 am
This is a great tip! I’ve been trying to figure out how to keep my clubface returning to square at and through impact. I think forearm rotation, or lack thereof, is going to help it!
WM
Jul 23, 2013 at 11:02 pm
This is the most confusing part of the swing. Since the club is hooded, where the right arm is above the left, how do you get it to the top?
Stu
Jul 23, 2013 at 8:39 pm
Bob. I have to agree with you. The way I was taught 30 years ago when I was a kid was to roll it toe up. As I got bigger and stronger I had to cup the wrist to avoid getting it hugely shut at the top. I’m in a process of reengineerimg at ten moment and this move that you highlight is key. All the really consistent $$$ earners on the tours do this as it reduces the amount of hand manipulation you need to do on the way down. You can get the club in a neutral slot which enaes you to fully release through the ball.
I used to think this made the club look ‘closed’ on the way back, but actually fanning it toe-up makes it easier to get it in a nasty face-to-sky position at the top, leading to have to hold it off through impact an stopping a full release.
On the right lines??
JB
Jul 24, 2013 at 12:14 pm
Phil doesn’t. He is a classic roll release old school feel turn in a barrel player. Ball striking is over rated, and so is this tip.
Little Lefty
Jul 25, 2013 at 7:19 am
Actually, Phil does hit this position on the takeaway. Virtually every single Tour player, from the best to the worst, hits this position. This tip is beautiful in that it’s simple, yet incredibly effective. The misconception about this tip is that you are hooding the golf club. Actually, keeping the clubface “closed” is keeping it square. That’s why everybody does this.
As for your second comment, ballstriking is overrated, but this tip is essential for at least maintaining a baseline of competency.
Jason
Jul 23, 2013 at 8:10 pm
There are many ways to swing a club and hit high quality golf shots. The BEST way for any individual to swing is whatever way allows them to achieve consistent impact conditions. Golf swings are like fingerprints, no two are alike. I happen to agree with Mr. Palmer, find your fundamentals ans swing your swing.
Bob Krause
Jul 23, 2013 at 8:33 pm
Jason, I too like Palmers approach. However, if you are finding yourself too far inside and behind, this is a quick way to get on plane. There will always be exceptions however, the bottom line is the more the club head is on plane, the further and longer you will hit the ball.
Jack
Jul 24, 2013 at 12:32 am
If you’re on plane and hitting the ball straight every single time, then go ahead and swing however you like. I guess I am not so lucky.
I get what you are saying though, but how do you give advice to the ones with unconventional swings if they are not hitting it straight? Just square your clubface at impact?
mark
Jul 23, 2013 at 8:00 pm
What about Ray Floyd or Doug sanders
snowman0157
Jul 23, 2013 at 2:49 pm
Do you recommend this move/position with Driver also or just the irons?
Bob Krause
Jul 23, 2013 at 8:28 pm
Snowman, Thanks for your question. Yes, I recommend this move with Irons and Woods.