Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.
As most golfers know, what you do in the backswing has a huge impact on what you do in the downswing. As Newton’s third law states, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” The same principle applies in the golf swing.
Typically we hear Newton cited in the golf swing when talking about ground reaction forces and generating power. But the same idea can be applied in the backswing-downswing relationship.
Lots of recreational golfers don’t make this connection, however. They get so concerned with the way their swing looks and feels in the downswing that they neglect the all-important backswing, which leads to many unnecessary faults.
One of the key backswing guidances is to keep the clubhead outside the hands when the shaft is parallel to the ground after the takeaway. This ensures that the club is on plane and in a good position to continue the turn to the top.
However, sometimes recreational golfers (this writer included) will overdo this backswing feel — and it leads to some nasty swing faults. In the video below, the folks at Athletic Motion Golf show how this mistake shows up, and how to fix it.
A sneaky reason for your slice
Keeping the clubhead outside the hands during the downswing is a great swing feel, but when you overdo the feel, it creates problems of its own. Sometimes when golfers try too hard to keep the clubhead outside the hands, they keep their trail hand on top of the grip too long, which causes problems later in the backswing.
“You see this ‘reverse roll’ in an effort to keep [the clubface] less open,” says GOLF Top 100 Teacher Shaun Webb. “And then nine times out of ten they kind of flop [the clubface] open.”
Once you “flop open” the clubface at the top of the swing, golfers tend to start pulling their hands on an outside path to start the downswing. This sends the clubhead back outside the hands during the downswing, creating ripe conditions for a weak fade or even a slice.
So what should you do to correct the mistake? Think about a handshake.
As you make your takeaway and get the shaft parallel to the ground, think about the position your lead hand would be in if you were reaching across your body to shake someone’s hand.
“The left handshake puts you in such a perfect spot,” Webb says.
If you’re someone who keeps the clubhead a little too far outside the hands during the backswing, give this swing feel a try. It’ll put you in prime position after the takeaway to keep the club perfectly on plane to the top so you can make a proper downswing.
