What is the correct way to start the golf backswing? The correct way to start the golf backswing is by initiating the movement with a smooth, connected motion where the arms, shoulders, and club move away from the ball together, often referred to as the “take away the golf club.” This initial movement sets the stage for the entire golf swing mechanics.
Starting the backswing correctly is vital. A poor start often leads to compensations later in the swing. Good golfers make the start look easy. It should feel slow and controlled. This part of the swing dictates the rest of your motion. We will look closely at each piece needed for a great start.
The Foundation: Pre-Swing Setup
Before the club moves an inch, your setup must be solid. This groundwork influences how easily you start the backswing. Think of it as laying the track before the train starts moving.
Achieving the Proper Golf Grip
The proper golf grip is the only connection you have to the club. A bad grip forces your hands and arms to work too hard later.
- Pressure Check: Hold the club firmly but not too tightly. Imagine squeezing an egg—you don’t want to break it. A pressure of 4 or 5 out of 10 is often ideal.
- V Placement: The ‘V’ shapes formed by your thumb and forefinger on both hands should point roughly toward your right shoulder (for a right-handed golfer).
- Neutral Grip: Most pros favor a neutral grip. This means the hands work together. If your grip is too strong (too many knuckles showing), you might hook the ball. Too weak, and you might slice it.
Stance and Posture
Your body position sets your swing plane. If your posture is too upright, it is hard to turn correctly. If you squat too much, it restricts movement.
- Stand balanced over the ball. Feel the weight centered on the balls of your feet.
- Bend from your hips first, not your waist. Let your arms hang naturally down from your shoulders.
- Keep your spine angle consistent. This angle is your axis of rotation.
Phase One: The Take Away
The take away the golf club is the first visible motion. It must be smooth and unhurried. This is where many amateurs go wrong, often yanking the club inside or lifting it too high too fast.
Unity of Movement
The key to a great take away is unity. The arms, hands, and shoulders should move together as one unit for the first few feet.
- Avoid Early Hand Action: Do not let your wrists flip or your hands take over right away. The hands should react to the body turning, not initiate the turn.
- Shoulder Connection: Feel your chest and shoulders rotating away from the target. This rotation pulls the arms and the club back.
Inside vs. Outside Take Away
The path the club travels immediately away from the ball is crucial for maintaining the golf backswing plane.
- Too Inside: If the club moves sharply inside immediately, you run out of room. This often leads to having to lift the club late or coming “over the top” on the downswing.
- Too Outside: Taking the club too far outside the target line makes it very difficult to drop the club back onto the correct path later. You might have to lay it off or steepen the angle severely.
A good take away the golf club keeps the clubhead just outside your hands as you move back. Think of the clubhead tracking along a line halfway between your hands and the target line.
Phase Two: Creating Width and Depth
As the club moves back from the initial takeaway, the goal shifts to creating width and establishing depth without losing control.
Establishing Width
Width means keeping the arms extended away from the body for as long as possible. This maximizes the radius of your swing, leading to higher clubhead speed potential.
- Feel the stretch across your upper back and chest as you rotate.
- Your left arm (for right-handers) should stay relatively straight until the club reaches about waist height. Do not consciously hold it rigid, but avoid intentional bending.
The Role of the Weight Shift in Golf Swing
While the backswing is mostly about rotation, a subtle weight shift in golf swing is essential for proper loading.
- Small Shift: As you start the takeaway, feel a slight pressure increase on your right foot (trail foot). This is not a full slide or squat. It is simply yielding to the rotation.
- Centering the Pressure: The pressure should settle slightly more toward the inside of your right foot, preparing your body to push off this loaded position during the downswing. Avoid spinning off your back foot entirely.
Incorporating the Wrist Hinge in Golf
The wrist hinge in golf dictates the angle between your arms and the club shaft. This hinge stores energy. However, it must happen at the right time.
Timing the Hinge
The hinge should be an acceleration of the club, not a sudden snap at the start.
- Delayed Hinge: Allow your body rotation to take the club back first. The hinge should start naturally as the arms reach about hip height or slightly higher.
- On Plane Hinge: If your take away is correct, the wrist hinge will naturally put the club on plane as you move higher. If you hinge too early, the club will often get laid flat or fold too steeply behind you.
Monitoring the Hinge
Many feel they are “lagging” the club when in reality, they are simply hinging it correctly. Feel the club shaft rising as your chest turns.
Table 1: Common Wrist Hinge Errors and Their Effects
| Error | Description | Resulting Swing Fault |
|---|---|---|
| Early Cocking | Hinging the wrists too soon. | Club gets steep or stuck behind the body. |
| Late Flicking | Holding the wrists straight too long, then snapping them late. | Loss of control; inconsistent clubface angle. |
| Over-Hinging | Creating too much angle (more than 90 degrees between arm and shaft). | Loss of power; difficulty controlling the clubface. |
Mastering the Shoulder Turn in Golf
The shoulder turn in golf powers the backswing. It creates the coil needed for speed. You are not just swinging your arms; you are turning your torso.
Depth Through Rotation
A good shoulder turn creates depth. Depth means the club is swinging around your body’s axis.
- Maximum Turn: Aim for a full turn. For most amateurs, this means the left shoulder (for righties) finishes under the chin. Professionals often turn 90 degrees or more relative to their target line.
- Hip Stability: The hips must rotate less than the shoulders. If the hips spin out too much, the shoulders cannot turn fully, leading to a stalled or restricted backswing. A general ratio is 2:1 (shoulders turn twice as much as the hips).
Maintaining Posture During the Turn
The rotation must happen around your established spine angle. If you stand up during the backswing (losing spine angle), you change your low point, leading to inconsistent strikes.
- Feel the Stretch: Focus on feeling the stretch across your upper back and chest. This assures you are using your large muscles, not just your arms.
Achieving the Right Golf Backswing Plane
The golf backswing plane refers to the imaginary plane on which the club travels during the backswing. Keeping the club on plane ensures it can return on plane through impact.
Visualizing the Plane
Imagine a line extending from your target line up through your forearms at address. This is your plane.
- One-Piece Start: As established, the initial takeaway keeps the club on or slightly below this plane.
- Mid-Point Check: When the club is parallel to the ground, the club shaft should point down the target line, or slightly inside it. If the shaft points well to the right of the target line, the club is too far inside. If it points far outside, it is too far outside.
Plane Adjustments
Minor adjustments on the plane are fine, but major deviations require corrections that often lead to problems.
- Shallow or Steep: A shallow plane means the club is slightly under the target line. A steep plane means it is slightly above the target line. Both can work if matched correctly in the downswing, but for starters, aiming for the center plane is best.
The Transition: From Backswing to Downswing
The top of the backswing isn’t a stopping point; it’s a moment of transition. How you reach the high point of the backswing affects how smoothly you transition into the downswing.
Reaching the Coiled at the Top of the Swing
The coiled at the top of the swing means you have fully loaded your energy. You should feel pressure and tension ready to be released.
- No Over-Swinging: Reaching the top should feel complete, not forced. If you swing past the point where your shoulders stop turning or your left arm starts to break down, you are likely over-swinging. This often results in a loss of control and balance.
- Balance Check: At the top, you should feel balanced enough to hold the position briefly. If you feel like you are falling backward or lunging forward, your weight shift or setup was off.
The Transition Sequence
The transition is the brief moment between the backswing and the downswing. It must be smooth and initiated from the ground up. This is the start of the golf swing sequence.
- Lower Body Initiation: The first move down should come from the lower body—a slight shift of weight toward the target, initiating a lateral bump or squat with the hips.
- Upper Body Follows: The shoulders and chest unwind after the lower body has begun its move. This separation creates lag and power.
- Arms Drop: The arms and club passively drop into the slot, ready to deliver the club on the correct plane.
If the transition starts with the arms or shoulders jerking the club down, you have thrown away the coil you built in the backswing.
Practical Drills for Backswing Improvement
Improving the backswing start requires focused practice. Use these drills to ingrain the correct feelings.
Drill 1: The Pause Drill
This drill focuses entirely on feel and balance at the top.
- Execute your normal backswing.
- When you reach the high point of the backswing, pause for a full three seconds.
- Check your balance. Check where the club is pointing.
- If you wobble, your weight shift was too aggressive or your setup was poor.
- Slowly transition down to impact.
Drill 2: The Towel Drill (Connection)
This drill ensures your arms stay connected to your body rotation, promoting width.
- Place a small towel or headcover under both armpits, lightly held in place by your upper arms pressing against your chest.
- Make slow, half-speed backswings (up to three-quarters length).
- If the towel falls out during the take away the golf club or the shoulder turn, your arms have separated from your body. Keep the connection throughout the backswing.
Drill 3: Mirror Work for Plane and Grip
Practice your setup and initial takeaway in front of a full-length mirror.
- Check your proper golf grip first.
- Watch the first three feet of your movement. Is the club moving away from the ball in one piece?
- Does the shaft follow your intended golf backswing plane? This visual feedback is invaluable for reinforcing good habits.
Analyzing Key Backswing Components Systematically
To ensure all parts of the backswing work together, we must examine the core components as a system.
The Coiling Effect vs. Sliding
True power comes from coiling, not sliding. Sliding means moving the center of gravity too far off the original setup line.
| Movement Type | Primary Action | Energy Storage | Resulting Swing Path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coiling | Rotation around a fixed axis (spine). | Stretches muscles like a spring. | Promotes an inside-to-out path. |
| Sliding | Lateral movement of the body mass. | Wastes energy laterally. | Often leads to steep or disconnected swing. |
The Importance of Lag vs. Hinge Timing
While we discussed the wrist hinge in golf, it is crucial to differentiate it from lag. Lag is the desirable angle maintained between the lead forearm and the club shaft late in the downswing. The hinge in the backswing sets up the potential for lag. If you hinge too early or too much in the backswing, you must actively try to hold it off during the downswing, which is counterproductive. A natural hinge during rotation allows the club to stay “behind” you until the transition.
Advanced Focus: Ground Reaction Forces (GRF)
Even in the backswing, forces from the ground are at play, influencing your weight shift in golf swing.
- Loading the Trail Side: As you turn, you must feel pressure pushing up from the ground through your right foot. This is not just about weight distribution; it’s about utilizing vertical force potential.
- Stability: If you feel unstable during the shoulder turn in golf, it suggests you are not properly bracing against the ground. The ground must resist your turn to create tension.
A stable, loaded base at the high point of the swing ensures the energy you store through rotation and hinge can be efficiently transferred into acceleration on the way down.
Conclusion: Consistency Through Structure
Starting the golf backswing correctly is a structured process, not a random movement. It begins with the proper golf grip and posture. It moves through a unified take away the golf club, establishing width and maintaining the correct golf backswing plane. The backswing culminates in a full, balanced coiled at the top of the swing position, ready for a proper sequence transition.
By focusing on these mechanical elements—the hinge, the turn, and the subtle weight shift in golf swing—you build a repeatable motion. Focus on quality over speed, especially in the early stages of practice. Master the start, and the rest of the golf swing mechanics become much simpler to manage.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: How fast should the backswing be?
A: The backswing should generally be slow and controlled. A common guideline is that the backswing should take about three times as long as the downswing. If your downswing takes 0.3 seconds, your backswing might take 0.9 seconds. Speed comes from the transition and downswing, not the takeaway.
Q: Should my hips move toward the target during the backswing?
A: No. While there is a slight lateral shift toward the trail side for loading, the primary motion is rotation around a central axis. Too much lateral movement (a slide) prevents a full shoulder turn in golf and ruins your base.
Q: What happens if I feel like I run out of room at the top?
A: Running out of room usually means you didn’t rotate your torso enough, or your arms lifted too vertically (steeply) instead of swinging around your body (wide). Focus on maximizing your shoulder turn in golf while keeping your posture angle stable to create more room.
Q: Is it okay if my lead arm bends slightly at the top?
A: A slight bend in the lead arm is common, especially for golfers with limited shoulder flexibility. However, significant bending or collapsing usually indicates that you are over-hinging or trying to lift the club instead of letting the turn take it there. Try the towel drill to maintain connection.
Q: Where should the club be when my left arm is parallel to the ground?
A: When your lead arm is parallel to the ground, the club shaft should generally be pointing along or slightly inside the target line. This is a critical checkpoint for ensuring you are on the correct golf backswing plane.