The golf swing is a unique motion, but certain components do have similarities to motions from other sports. One such example is a baseball throwing motion.
When you throw a baseball, you load into your trail side, shift your weight forward as you finish your coil and then sling your arm around your body, much like the motion in a properly sequenced golf swing. You can also use the baseball throwing motion as a model for how the structure of your trail arm should look at the top of the backswing.
If you want to feel the proper position for your trail arm at the top of the backswing, try thinking of throwing a baseball. Take your arm back like you would to start your throwing motion, and then pause when you get to the top.
You should notice that it looks quite similar to the position your trail arm is in at the top of the backswing.
“When your trail arm works back and up and gets to the top of the backswing, the arm is in the correct throwing position,” says GOLF Top 100 Teacher Krista Dunton. “If I were throwing a ball overhand, my trail arm [throwing arm] is going to move downward towards the ball and then release around the body.”
Now, from the top of the backswing, your arm will work more down toward the ball and around your body, so the comparison is not exactly apples to apples, but you can see how the movements have certain similarities.
The release of your trail hand and wrist is also similar to the throwing motion. In both of them, you want your wrists to be somewhat soft in order to create that whip-like motion to generate maximal power.
“Feel like the trail arm works back and sets the club,” Dunton says. “Then on the downswing, feel that trail arm creating that same motion sending the clubhead working downward and around the body. If you keep the trail arm working down and around like you are throwing a ball to the left, that delivers the center of the clubface right down into the back of the ball.”
If you’re someone with a background in baseball — or any throwing sport — try incorporating this feel into your golf swing. Those baseball skills may end up helping your golf game, too.
