Understanding the Chain Reaction

Photo 1

Everything looks good as I am set up at address.

Follow the photos and explanation as I explain some very serious problems for the majority of beginning golfers.

Photo 2

Now as I start the motion of my swing I am going to demonstrate one of the most common errors.

If you study the photo you can clearly see how my arms are swinging away from my body. This is a bad mistake and leads to a poor chain reaction of events. I will take you through this type of swing and explain some of the reasons why these mistakes can occur.

Usually this kind of a backswing is caused if the body is too stiff or if the body is very out of balance at address. If this picture looks a bit like your swing you should also check your grip because a poor grip can also cause an arms dominated takeaway.

Photo 3

When the arms lift away from the body during the takeaway this motion continues all the way to the top of the backswing.

You can see how the club is aiming far to the left of the target and also how my body has lifted out of position.

Usually the ball will start wherever the club is pointing at the top of the backswing; so if your divots aim left of the target and your ball starts left of the target then this could be a description of your swing.

Photo 4

From this top of the backswing position you will have a downswing that looks like these photos. You can see how the club swings back down on a very steep plane, it should never cut through my body as I am demonstrating for you in the model.

If you have a left to right spin on your shots and have deep left divots then again this could be your swing.

Now let me describe for you another fault, which is basically the opposite of the first model. The first model leads to the most destructive shots in golf and the second model, although slightly better, is still not ideal.

Photo 5

In this chain reaction you will see from the photo that my club is inside the takeaway, this is a body dominated golf swing. Notice how much I have turned my body during the takeaway as compared with photo 2 in the first model.

Now because I have turned my chest too aggressively you can see how my arms have followed my body turn so that now the club and my arms are swinging too much behind my body.

Photo 6

From this kind of takeaway motion you can see clearly the kind of top of the backswing that this motion causes.

As a result of my motion at the beginning of the swing, the club is now pointed to the right of the target line.

This will lead to the problems showing in photo 7 in my downswing.

Photo 7

Now the club is stuck behind me and is swinging down to the ball too much from behind my legs causing my arms to swing away from my body.

If you frequently take no divots or have divots which point to the right of the target then this could be the reason for your poor shots.

This chain reaction causes shots that start to the right and then go further right and also shots that curve excessively from right to left in the air.

This should give you a clear explanation of two very serious problems that each golfer should be aware of so think about your shots on the course. Look at your divots to see if you can find any kind of evidence that could help you to decide if you have one of these common problems.

The best swings are where the body and the arms work as a team so that instead of fighting your way around the course, you can create a chain reaction that produces good shots.

Follow me, through this simple exercise as I show you the way to build a simple effective swing.

Photo 8

I start of with a good address position where my body is aiming at the target.

From here, look how my arms stay swinging up my chest so that now the club is parallel to the target line.

You will need to do some practice swings in a mirror so that you can feel this motion.

Your left arm should be on your chest and you should feel that your arms are rolling gently up your chest.