Natalie Adams – PGA Teaching Pro
So with this swing tip we are going to look at helping you improve your position at the top of the golf swing so that you stop having a position where you are across the line at the top of the golf swing. So let's have a look of what that means, if we are looking at wanting to hit ball along this yellow line here and across the line position which say that the club at the top of backswing, is pointing to the right of target. So the shaft of club is looking like it's going across the target line and out to the right of where the target is. Now the problem with seeing this position at the top of the swing is that you are going to hit two golf shots from there. If you bring the club down on the inside, you are going to really approach your target line from a very acute angle on the inside of it and so you'll hit the ball straight out to the right. You'll hit a straight shot at the club face pointing that way, but you'll find it very difficult to get the ball on to target, it would tend to just be blocked out to the right from there.
The other thing that will happen from that position then is, you'll try to correct the position by over rotating the shoulders during the downswing and you'll make a more downswing movement which is coming over the top. The club head though as you are rotating the club head is coming over the top of your hands and it’s now on this side of your hands as you are looking, and the club head should remain on this side of your hands for maximum power. So from here with the club head moving over the top of your hands, it’s now gone onto the far side of the yellow pole as we are looking, which means it's on the outside of the target line, so that as you hit the ball you have to pull the club across the target line. And now the ball is going to go over the left somewhere depending on where the club face is pointing obviously, but its either going to go left or its going to spin left to right and its going to make it very difficult for you to achieve directional control. So we are going to look at what actually causes this and the main cause of this is to do with your take away, so I have placed two poles out here, one for the target line which is the yellow pole and that’s the line we are looking to swing the club along to make the ball fly straight down.
The red line here represents the back of my feet, so it's really where my heels are and you could try this at home using a wall behind you, because it will give you the spatial awareness of this area here, so coming up from a red pole and behind me. If we are sitting in across the line position at the top of the backswing, you take away will have moved very much around you and curved very quickly, so we'll see this type of position on your take away. Now if you can imagine that this is a wall, you'll now hit the wall. So it’s a great swing drill to practice in front of a wall, make sure that you take the club head along the target line more so, keep the club head moving out along the yellow line and then hinge the wrist so your golf club now looks absolutely parallel to both lines and if we did have a wall here, we'll now be in front of the wall rather than smacking the club into it.
So work on improving your take away, work on moving the club head, straight back along the target line and hinging your wrist so that the club head lift into a position where its high as the hands but the actual shaft of the club is pointing straight down to the right parallel to the target line. From this position here you can now rotate and achieve a position at the top of the swing where the club is also parallel it's not pointing at the target but it’s parallel to it and it’s parallel left of the target. From here you are going to find it much easier to swing the club back along the target line, the club head will move most straight along the target line more directly towards the target and you are going to start hitting much straighter golf shots.
2013-08-09 Natalie Adams – PGA Teaching Pro
So with this swing tip we are going to look at helping you improve your position at the top of the golf swing so that you stop having a position where you are across the line at the top of the golf swing. So let's have a look of what that means, if we are looking at wanting to hit ball along this yellow line here and across the line position which say that the club at the top of backswing, is pointing to the right of target. So the shaft of club is looking like it's going across the target line and out to the right of where the target is. Now the problem with seeing this position at the top of the swing is that you are going to hit two golf shots from there. If you bring the club down on the inside, you are going to really approach your target line from a very acute angle on the inside of it and so you'll hit the ball straight out to the right. You'll hit a straight shot at the club face pointing that way, but you'll find it very difficult to get the ball on to target, it would tend to just be blocked out to the right from there.
The other thing that will happen from that position then is, you'll try to correct the position by over rotating the shoulders during the downswing and you'll make a more downswing movement which is coming over the top. The club head though as you are rotating the club head is coming over the top of your hands and it’s now on this side of your hands as you are looking, and the club head should remain on this side of your hands for maximum power. So from here with the club head moving over the top of your hands, it’s now gone onto the far side of the yellow pole as we are looking, which means it's on the outside of the target line, so that as you hit the ball you have to pull the club across the target line. And now the ball is going to go over the left somewhere depending on where the club face is pointing obviously, but its either going to go left or its going to spin left to right and its going to make it very difficult for you to achieve directional control. So we are going to look at what actually causes this and the main cause of this is to do with your take away, so I have placed two poles out here, one for the target line which is the yellow pole and that’s the line we are looking to swing the club along to make the ball fly straight down.
The red line here represents the back of my feet, so it's really where my heels are and you could try this at home using a wall behind you, because it will give you the spatial awareness of this area here, so coming up from a red pole and behind me. If we are sitting in across the line position at the top of the backswing, you take away will have moved very much around you and curved very quickly, so we'll see this type of position on your take away. Now if you can imagine that this is a wall, you'll now hit the wall. So it’s a great swing drill to practice in front of a wall, make sure that you take the club head along the target line more so, keep the club head moving out along the yellow line and then hinge the wrist so your golf club now looks absolutely parallel to both lines and if we did have a wall here, we'll now be in front of the wall rather than smacking the club into it.
So work on improving your take away, work on moving the club head, straight back along the target line and hinging your wrist so that the club head lift into a position where its high as the hands but the actual shaft of the club is pointing straight down to the right parallel to the target line. From this position here you can now rotate and achieve a position at the top of the swing where the club is also parallel it's not pointing at the target but it’s parallel to it and it’s parallel left of the target. From here you are going to find it much easier to swing the club back along the target line, the club head will move most straight along the target line more directly towards the target and you are going to start hitting much straighter golf shots.
