hand sway

Hi saw an article the other day re hand sway and how the pro's have a greater hand sway than am's. It didn't however expand on what HS is, it sounds like it means how far your hands move laterally to the right during the backswing, but i am guessing, over to you...

As if golf swing instruction isn't complicated enough... hand sway? Sounds like a synonym for either wrist cock or backswing width. Do you have a link to the article?

At GolfTEC, a part of the swing that we measure is Hand Sway. Hand sway is a measurement of how far the hands move laterally in the golf swing on the backswing and the follow-through. The tour pro's that we've tested have a hand sway measurement of 47cm from their starting hand position by the time they stop at the top of their backswing. Most of our amateur clients measure between 20 and 35cm of hand sway.

The average tour pro's hand position at impact is 17cm in front of where their hands were at the address position. This is an indication that the pros maximize the lateral motion of their hands in their golf swing creating more distance and straighter shots. This also indicates that their shaft is leaning forward at impact. Most amateurs' hands at impact are 5cm behind the position they were at address.

BLACKYDOG---- I SUPPOSE THIS WOULD INCLUDE THE SLIGHT LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE BODY ALSO, BUT IF I AM READING IT CORRECTLY IT SEEMS TO BE LEAVING YOU OPEN TO SLIDING ONTO THE OUTSIDE OF THE RIGHT FOOT IN AN EFFORT TO MAXIMISE HANDSWAY.

It certainly sounds to me like a measure of turn. Do they measure the arc traced by the hands on the backswing? Or is it straight-line, from address to the top?

IMO, it's pretty much useless - I can sway waaaaay back over my right leg, and leave my hands at 11 o'clock, just to increase my hand sway.

We're discussing width of swing, here. No new info - pros swings are generally wider than amateur, and pro's hands lead the clubhead through impact, while amateurs are often level or behind.

Two main factors I woud think
one is width you move club away from the body on the way back
two would be do you keep your head still on the backswing or rotate around your spine
seems all there is to it
and number two can greatly affect number one

My hands are always further away from me in the downswing than at address. I have to align the toe of the club at the ball at address to hit the sweet spot on the way back. I have attributed it to the fact that I am slightly more squat in the downswing. Not sure if this is hand sway though.

think the hand sway is more refferenced to width
as far as them being further away at impact, this could be because of the squat, but also because of the angle betweeen your left arm and the club shaft is decreased. centrifigul force wants to pull your left arm and clubshaft into a straight line, thereby releasing the angle and extending the club out.

Yes, correct.