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A wide takeaway benefits the remainder of the golf swing in a number of ways.

The act of swinging the club around the body on a wide arc creates more power and more consistency. This is only possible, however, if the take away is correct.

Taking the club away long, low and slow is often the best way to start the golf swing. With this technique, the club tracks away from the ball as low to the ground as possible. It then rises slowly as the arms continue to extend. As the club shaft reaches parallel with the ground the left arm should be fully extended. Follow this guide to create a wide takeaway and back swing.

• Taking a neutral grip and solid posture, begin to swing the club away long and wide
• As the club shaft reaches parallel with the ground, the left arm and shaft should form a straight line extending away from the target
• From this point in the back swing the shoulders continue to rotate and wrists begin to hinge upward
• At the top of the back swing the left arm should point straight towards the sky and the club towards the target
• This extension of the left arm should be maintained as the hips turn and club are delivered into impact
• Keeping this amount of width in the swing will increase the amount of power available to the golfer

The club should be stretched as far away from the body as possible without losing control. If the right arm especially begins to lift upwards, the golfer could hit inconsistent shots.
Moving the club around the body as wide as possible whilst staying connected is the way to hit long shots.

If the arms come away from the body then golfers will lose connection. Theoretically, the more width a golfer produces, the more potential power they have. However, if the arms become disconnected, controlling the club would become almost impossible.

For a big, wide swing, the shoulders need to rotate away from the target and turn underneath the chin. This will allow the arms to extend and reach a great position at the top of the swing. If the shoulders rotate too quickly, however, the club could be thrown on an inside path causing path issues later in the swing.

For anyone wanting to create a wide back swing, hinging the wrists too quickly is a mistake. The act of hinging the wrists quickly narrows the amount of room between the club and body, effectively reducing the amount of width a swing has.