Golf Takeaway, What Is The Perfect Backswing For Great Iron Shots (Video) - by Pete Styles
Golf Takeaway, What Is The Perfect Backswing For Great Iron Shots (Video) - by Pete Styles

Once you’ve established a good set up, good alignment, and a good grip, it’s now time to take the club away from the golf ball. And it’s quite important how we bring that club back. Certainly the first couple of feet, really important, because that sets the club on the right arc of swing. And I’m a big advocate of a one piece take away, so one piece take away where the club moves back in one piece with the shoulders, and the hands, and the arms, all working together. So we’re not having lifting and picked up here, we’re having everything turn away in one piece. There’s a check point here to make sure you’ve got the one piece take way on the right line. From down the line here you’ve got to view down the line of the target, I’m going to make a one piece turn back, and the club sits here. Now, as the club sits with the head of the golf club directly on top of my hands there, the shaft of the golf club points down the target line, its level to my toes, and the club head is covering my hands if the camera is looking at me or I’m looking in a mirror. So if where the camera was is a mirror, and you swing back and do that, you’ll see your hands because the club head is too flat, too shallow, too far behind. If I did this, it’s too steep, it’s too far right in front of me. If I do this, the club head is pretty much right on top of my hands from that down the line view. So that’s a perfect take away for when you’re playing your iron shots.

One last thing to look at to make sure your club head is also square in the golf takeaway, if you don’t want to have the club face rolled open, that’s an open face, that’s a closed face. That angle there I think is just about perfect; the leading edge of the golf club is going to be there which is the same angle as my spine. So if I take a good posture, swing that club back, that leading edge now is the same as spine angle. That’s too vertical, that’s going to cause a slice. That’s too close, too horizontal, that could cause a hook; put the club in, that position, perfect for spine angle, nicely up to the top from there. So if you can take that club back online on plane with the square face, that’s a perfect golf takeaway backswing for your iron shots. 2014-11-06

Once you’ve established a good set up, good alignment, and a good grip, it’s now time to take the club away from the golf ball. And it’s quite important how we bring that club back. Certainly the first couple of feet, really important, because that sets the club on the right arc of swing. And I’m a big advocate of a one piece take away, so one piece take away where the club moves back in one piece with the shoulders, and the hands, and the arms, all working together. So we’re not having lifting and picked up here, we’re having everything turn away in one piece. There’s a check point here to make sure you’ve got the one piece take way on the right line. From down the line here you’ve got to view down the line of the target, I’m going to make a one piece turn back, and the club sits here. Now, as the club sits with the head of the golf club directly on top of my hands there, the shaft of the golf club points down the target line, its level to my toes, and the club head is covering my hands if the camera is looking at me or I’m looking in a mirror. So if where the camera was is a mirror, and you swing back and do that, you’ll see your hands because the club head is too flat, too shallow, too far behind. If I did this, it’s too steep, it’s too far right in front of me. If I do this, the club head is pretty much right on top of my hands from that down the line view. So that’s a perfect take away for when you’re playing your iron shots.

One last thing to look at to make sure your club head is also square in the golf takeaway, if you don’t want to have the club face rolled open, that’s an open face, that’s a closed face. That angle there I think is just about perfect; the leading edge of the golf club is going to be there which is the same angle as my spine. So if I take a good posture, swing that club back, that leading edge now is the same as spine angle. That’s too vertical, that’s going to cause a slice. That’s too close, too horizontal, that could cause a hook; put the club in, that position, perfect for spine angle, nicely up to the top from there. So if you can take that club back online on plane with the square face, that’s a perfect golf takeaway backswing for your iron shots.