Beginner Golf Swing: What Are The Basics of the Full Golf Swing? (Video) - by Pete Styles
Beginner Golf Swing: What Are The Basics of the Full Golf Swing? (Video) - by Pete Styles

Now you understand the basic movements that bring in together the half swing, we can now start to look at a proper full swing. Now, the difficulty with describing a full swing is a full swing can be very different for different golfers, depending on age and flexibility and injuries. So, once we’ve got a good set up, takeaway, half swing, we try and keep turning the golf club further round behind us to make more power, basically the more turn you have, the more power you should be able to get within a certain limit because we don’t want to lose too much control. Now things that provide the control is stable head position, stable left arm position and not too much left wrist hinge.

So, this isn’t a competition for who can swing back around the farthest because if you move your arm, you move your wrist and you move your head position, that’s going to do you no favors in terms of consistency. So, takeaway, half swing up to the top, my shoulder is still underneath my chin and my chin is staying still, my left arm is trying to stay in a nice straight position and my wrist hinge is comfortable, there is still a bit more to go but I haven’t left my wrist out straight, I have had a nice wrist hinge. And the best way to think about the length of your swing back here is what time did you swing it to. So, 12 o’clock we described as a half swing, 3 o’clock really would be the limit for most people to comfortably make a full swing, anytime between there would be good.

I would aim for most comfortable swings to be about 2 o’ clock and I think that’s a great position for most people that don’t have any injuries or don’t have any particular stiffness in their back. If you are very young and fit and athletic, maybe 3 o’ clock is better. If you have got stiffness and injuries and you are struggling to get around, just be comfortable anything past 12 o’ clock to 1 o’clock would be fine. So like I said it’s difficult to give you direct advice on exactly how far or back it should go, it has to be very personal for you but a big full shoulder turn, a straight left arm and a bit of wrist hinge would get you into a good position for the top of your back swing, that’s the full swing. Next up is going to be the follow through.

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Now you understand the basic movements that bring in together the half swing, we can now start to look at a proper full swing. Now, the difficulty with describing a full swing is a full swing can be very different for different golfers, depending on age and flexibility and injuries. So, once we’ve got a good set up, takeaway, half swing, we try and keep turning the golf club further round behind us to make more power, basically the more turn you have, the more power you should be able to get within a certain limit because we don’t want to lose too much control. Now things that provide the control is stable head position, stable left arm position and not too much left wrist hinge.

So, this isn’t a competition for who can swing back around the farthest because if you move your arm, you move your wrist and you move your head position, that’s going to do you no favors in terms of consistency. So, takeaway, half swing up to the top, my shoulder is still underneath my chin and my chin is staying still, my left arm is trying to stay in a nice straight position and my wrist hinge is comfortable, there is still a bit more to go but I haven’t left my wrist out straight, I have had a nice wrist hinge. And the best way to think about the length of your swing back here is what time did you swing it to. So, 12 o’clock we described as a half swing, 3 o’clock really would be the limit for most people to comfortably make a full swing, anytime between there would be good.

I would aim for most comfortable swings to be about 2 o’ clock and I think that’s a great position for most people that don’t have any injuries or don’t have any particular stiffness in their back. If you are very young and fit and athletic, maybe 3 o’ clock is better. If you have got stiffness and injuries and you are struggling to get around, just be comfortable anything past 12 o’ clock to 1 o’clock would be fine. So like I said it’s difficult to give you direct advice on exactly how far or back it should go, it has to be very personal for you but a big full shoulder turn, a straight left arm and a bit of wrist hinge would get you into a good position for the top of your back swing, that’s the full swing. Next up is going to be the follow through.