You're Correct!

A golf swing is very much a rotary movement. Your body rotates as you swing the club, the club rotates around your body and the club face rotates around its swing arc.

Rotation is absolutely crucial to make an effective golf swing. However, too little rotation, or too much, can cause a variety of issues in your swing and results in inconsistency with your strike, lack of directional control to your shots and a loss of power. Achieving the correct amount of rotation as you make your back swing is vital to achieving your best golf swing and golf shots.

If we look specifically at the rotation in your hands as you make your back swing, you need to allow your arms to rotate in order to keep the club face square to its swing arc and therefore square to the target. As you make your takeaway and swing the golf club to hip high, the shaft of the golf club should be parallel to the ground and the target line. If you have achieved this position, the club face will be angled so that the leading edge, or the bottom line of the club face, replicates your spine angle and you will have achieved the correct amount of rotation in your hands.

As you now continue your back swing, your right palm will rotate upwards so that as you reach the top of your back swing, your right palm is facing the sky, as though you were holding a tray on it above your shoulder. Achieving this position will see you achieve the correct amount of rotation in your hands as you complete your back swing and the club face will have remained square to its swing arc.

As you rotate your upper body around your spine on your back swing, if you do not allow your hands and arms to rotate as well, then the club face will close and it will be aiming to the left of the target. If you swing the club head back to the golf ball with the face aiming left of the target, then the golf ball will be struck and miss the target on the left.

If you rotate your hands in an anti-clockwise direction as you make your takeaway then you will hood the club head as you move it away from the golf ball. This means you will have turned it down to the ground and if you return it back to the golf ball from this position, the club face will be aiming left of target.

Your hands and arms should rotate clockwise on your back swing