Backswing

Written by Tony Manzoni

The lower body supports the shoulders, chest and arms in any athletic movement. Balance and power come from the ground up.The legs at address form a tri-pod; the hips are inside of both feet, with the weight balance on the inside of both the left and right foot. Now you are ready for the wind-up.

At address, the arms are centered to and in front of the chest. The elbows point to the respective hips. The arms must stay in front of the chest during the backswing as in the starting address position. The right side turns behind the spine to its maximum hip and shoulder coil. A full coil of the hips to about 45 degrees allows the shoulders to turn 90 degrees or more, depending on one’s flexibility.

I do not buy the concept of a shoulder turn with a restricted hip turn; that looks good on paper, but it does not work for the majority of people searching for accuracy and power. At this point, the weight is still 60% on the left leg, and the spine angle has not changed; the right leg will straighten, while the knee remains flexed as the body coils around the single axis, the left leg; the arms and hands remain under the shoulder line, as Ben Hogan termed it, “under the plane of the glass.” As long as the arms stay under and in front of you, the swing path is inside the target line.

Brace your left hip against an imaginary wall, just inside the left foot. During the backswing, the left hip feels as if it is moving toward the target, over the left foot. The majority of the weight (60%) is over the left foot, as well. By setting up with the weight already on the left side, the body is in position for impact from the start.

Tony Manzoni, PGA, is the men’s head golf coach at College of the Desert.