The Ideal Takeaway (Video) - by Pete Styles
The Ideal Takeaway (Video) - by Pete Styles

Now really key phrase when you’re working on taking the golf club back away from the ball correctly is one piece, low and slow. So three elements to that sentence, one piece, low and slow. So let’s break those down and work on how they’re important in you’re takeaway move to start your golf swing correctly. The one piece element refers to have from a good address position here. We want everything to move away from the golf ball in one piece.

So we don’t want the club head moving independently from the hands and arms. We don’t want the hands moving independently from the club head and the shoulders, and we don’t want the shoulders turning without the club head. So everything moves away in one piece. So the club head, the wrists and the shoulders are all going to move away in one piece. So there’s no joints, no hinging motions, nothing leaving anything else behind. Everything moves away in one piece. A great way for you to practice this is facing on into a mirror, so where my camera is. You could have a big mirror or a patio door, glass window, something like that, looking up into the mirror and just making sure everything moves away in one piece. So there’s no flicking or wristing of that movement, everything moving away one piece. So one piece, low and slow. The next part of the sentence, the low sentence, part of the sentence. The low element is the fact that the club should move away from the ball relatively low to the ground, so much that sensation particularly with your longer clubs of dragging the golf club across the floor. That in turn would make sure that everything moves away one piece and we don’t get the club picked up or lifted into the sky. So some golfers stand up with a golf club trying to lift the club over their shoulder. That doesn’t really need to happen. We’d prefer the golf club to move away low to the ground and then it will come up behind you anyway; natural arc of the swing will bring the club up. It’s not our job to pick it up. So one piece, low and then slow. The last part of the sentence, slow. To bring the club away from the golf ball slowly really creates a good wide arc, a good bit of tempo in the swing and allows you to generate your power and your club head speed in the downswing element, not in the backswing element. So we want to resist the temptation to throw the golf club up quickly and then hack back down on the ball, but actually would rather take it away low, slow, one piece and then have power during the swing. You can practice all three elements of that sentence. One piece, low and slow, face on into a mirror, where that camera is, one piece, low and slow. And I think if you can work on that element to your takeaway position, you’ll really improve your quality of ball striking and the consistency of your whole swing. 2015-08-11

Now really key phrase when you’re working on taking the golf club back away from the ball correctly is one piece, low and slow. So three elements to that sentence, one piece, low and slow. So let’s break those down and work on how they’re important in you’re takeaway move to start your golf swing correctly. The one piece element refers to have from a good address position here. We want everything to move away from the golf ball in one piece.

So we don’t want the club head moving independently from the hands and arms. We don’t want the hands moving independently from the club head and the shoulders, and we don’t want the shoulders turning without the club head. So everything moves away in one piece. So the club head, the wrists and the shoulders are all going to move away in one piece. So there’s no joints, no hinging motions, nothing leaving anything else behind. Everything moves away in one piece. A great way for you to practice this is facing on into a mirror, so where my camera is.

You could have a big mirror or a patio door, glass window, something like that, looking up into the mirror and just making sure everything moves away in one piece. So there’s no flicking or wristing of that movement, everything moving away one piece. So one piece, low and slow. The next part of the sentence, the low sentence, part of the sentence. The low element is the fact that the club should move away from the ball relatively low to the ground, so much that sensation particularly with your longer clubs of dragging the golf club across the floor.

That in turn would make sure that everything moves away one piece and we don’t get the club picked up or lifted into the sky. So some golfers stand up with a golf club trying to lift the club over their shoulder. That doesn’t really need to happen. We’d prefer the golf club to move away low to the ground and then it will come up behind you anyway; natural arc of the swing will bring the club up. It’s not our job to pick it up.

So one piece, low and then slow. The last part of the sentence, slow. To bring the club away from the golf ball slowly really creates a good wide arc, a good bit of tempo in the swing and allows you to generate your power and your club head speed in the downswing element, not in the backswing element. So we want to resist the temptation to throw the golf club up quickly and then hack back down on the ball, but actually would rather take it away low, slow, one piece and then have power during the swing. You can practice all three elements of that sentence. One piece, low and slow, face on into a mirror, where that camera is, one piece, low and slow. And I think if you can work on that element to your takeaway position, you’ll really improve your quality of ball striking and the consistency of your whole swing.