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The back swing will be started by a number of different areas of the body for many different people. What is important is what aspect of the body gives the best consistency for this movement and sets up the best possible back swing.

The takeaway is the slowest part of the swing but carries a great deal of importance because it determines how the club will get to the top of the back swing which then determines where the transition takes place and how the club approaches the ball.

Players have different triggers that start the takeaway, these are:

• Forward press
• Wrist
• Rotate shoulders
• Rotate hips
• Stay rigid and extend back with left arm and shoulder.

The forward press is a nice initiation to the swing but the movements listed above are all important. This is more of a pre-shot routine. Not allowing the wrists to take control initially is important because the wrists will tend to roll rather than hinge and once the wrists have rolled, the angle of the club face has changed making it difficult to judge the timing of the impact.

Rotating the shoulders and hips will cause an extremely flat takeaway where the club is behind the body. This can cause the player to loop the club over the top during the transition, between the back swing and down swing. This will disconnect the swing causing an out to in swing path which results in a sliced shot and/or poor ball striking.

The best and more consistent takeaway is the left arm and left shoulder pushing the club away on a straight line to maintain width in the swing but more importantly keeping the swing on plane. Ensure the wrists remain solid without any rolling or deviating from the path to eliminate poor swing path results or major directional issues. Once the club reaches parallel to the ground, the wrists can start to hinge and the arms lift to maintain the plane of the swing.

Players that attempt to rotate away from the ball using their hips will tend to allow the shoulders to follow creating a flatter swing plane but this also allows the hips to turn too much during the swing by rotating past 45 degrees and resulting in a loss of power as well as a poor swing plane.

Any time the wrists initiate the back swing it can only be a bad thing. This movement will cause a loss of control during the swing and especially through impact where the timing is key to good strikes and direction. The amount the wrists move during impact will be inconsistent and will not always match how much they have moved in the takeaway. The wrists will tend to roll causing an open face which will need to be neutralized before impact.

The shoulders can create a superb takeaway position but only if done correctly. If they rotate too much it can create a flat back swing which can lead to both an out to in and in to out swing path causing great inconsistency in golf.