Takeaway Problems solved

Hi all,
Just thought I would post this for all of you guys who are having problems with the takeaway, backswing or just getting in the correct position at the top. I found that the numerous methods shown discussed and promulgated by the pros and others always left me slightly out of kilter and wouldnt allow everthing to work together until now. Now I am not saying this will solve everyones problems but it certianly worked for me.
Formula:
1. Set up to ball as you have been taught by your pro.
2. Focus solely on the position of the your elbows. Yes elbows.
3. Now start the club back and ensure that the position of the elbows remains the same distance apart or feels the same distance apart for as long as you can all the way to the top.
4. When you feel like you've hit the top of the backswing, just let it happen.
5. Should result in a crisp strike with that " you know beautiful feel and sound" and the ball with sail off on line with a nice draw.

Hope this helps a lot of you folks out there.
I am now playing off a 8 handicap and was struggling at various times until I was able to groove this method of taking the club back which has pulled my whole swing into a nice smooth swing. Hopingto drop quickly ( and play to 5) which I will be more then happy to settle on at my age (56)

Regards
Jimw
Australia.

There is a trainings aid available to all golfers to help with the elbow issue you speak of. If you wear a belt, that can work, or anything else that you can put around your arms just above your elbows at your respective address position. The idea is when you swing back, and through the belt will stay tight, meaning your elbows are staying the same distance apart, and you are staying connected. When using a belt the tricky part is to get it adjusted properly, with your arms at the proper width for your swing. I think Leadbetter, or maybe someone else marketed this aid some years ago. I first saw it used in the 1960s using the one's belt. Back then you would incorporate the belt with a towel that was stretched across the chest, and was tucked into each arm pit which was helped to keep you connected while learning to swing with the body. Funny thing is I hardly ever see anyone using any of these training aids at the range anymore, if at all. GJS

That's fantastic advice if it works for a particular type of golfer, someone who has a "bad" swing because his elbows seperate. Every golfer needs something to focus on.

What you're saying is the triangle between the arms and chest - "the connection".

Do you know something: Tim Clarke, the South African golfer who I played with many, many years ... that's how he swings the club and that's just about the only thing he thinks about. Watch him swing and you'll see how close his elbows stay together.

Hey all,

This is just a quick point that might help somebody in the future. This was something that had to be fixed im my game by having lession. What i was doing was on my backswing i was not keeping my arm striaght and also the pro told me that when you do a backswing you take the club back further than you think...so ment i was taking the club to far and and losing some of the control. Hope this helps in someway someday.

Yes, this is the connected backswing. You CANNOT do this if you lead the backswing with your hands/arms. What you are doing is simply allowing your upper body (chest and shoulders) to turn the triangle away from the ball. You will then always be on or near the plane you establish at address

Took me a year of rebuilding my swing to learn this, but that one move combined with a tension free throughswing has improved my game tenfold

Graham,
I did notice watching Tim Clarke this morning in the final round of the masters how compact he is taking the club away as you suggested with his elbows.
Got me all keen and went to the driving range again repeating this feeling of elbow takeaway.
Was happy to have flushed 100% of balls hit. Looking forward to playing this week and maybe dropping a shot.
Pearn, It has taken me about 10 years after struggling with the one piece takeway to come across this "elbow connected" takeway which seems to have solved all my takeway problems putting me in a sound position at the top all the time. Just being a dumb "aussie" takes a while for some things to sink in. Must be a hangover from convict days.

Regards
Jim W (Aus)

Not sure about that Jim, you aussies seem to be smart enough to whup us at most sports these days (except the ashes of course )

BTW, now youve got the connected body led backswing nailed, another thing you could go look at is extension. Have a look at this great tip by Greg ... another thing that really helps me get a wide arc and extension off the ball

http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/v...hlight=Tension (Good Extension and a way to achieve it)

so Hogan and Garcia are not connected?

Hogan did not use his hands to lead the takeaway

http://golf.about.com/od/golftips/qt/hogantakeaway.htm

Hogan was taught connection by Sam Byrd who in turn taught Jimmy Ballard

This may be regarded as heresy, but here goes anyway. I control the backswing by keeping left side passive and moving right shoulder and arm back and around, when hands at hip height I feel my right wrist move backward, no pronation or supination. I initiate downswing by pulling and dropping left arm, left shoulder should move up and around. I know this is contrary to most accepted teaching, I can only say it works for me.

Have you read hogans book? Hands arms shoulders hips is the order on the backswing and reversed on the down swing, according to hogan in his book. Some of those hogan letters are suspect

Shootin

I have read his book but (prepares to be shot and hung ) I think Hogan contradicted himself a lot outside of that text

For example some of his other quotes taken from http://www.craftsmithgolf.com/quotations.htm

Being a big fan of Roger Gunn I belive that Roger himself believes that letter referred to above to be genuine

Dont get me wrong I know you believe that a hands/forearm led takeway can be effective and perhaps using the word 'cannot' in my original quote was unwise however I follow Ballards connection theory and believe this to be the only real way for most hackers like myself to learn to swing the club effectively

In relation to your Hogan quotes it is VERY evident he is talking about the downswing. do you think the body turning on the back swing cups the right wrist, folds the right elbow, and cocks the left wrist? Now take those quotes, apply them to the down swing, and THEY ARE ABOUT PERFECT.

Hogan had a matter of fact attitude sometimes, I can relate to that, and also a dry sense of humor that HE found funny. People always asked about his "secret" and he knew there was none. His belief, and mine as well, is that if you set up right and do certain things that the golf swing is a chain that happens pretty consistently and almost automatically. There is a reason he believed that most average people could break 80, I share that belief as well. There is no "magic" move in the golf swing, there are no "secrets" but people who do not do the fundamentals beleived there must have been one and that is why they were not able to hit a golf ball well. So what did Hogan do? Sometimes he wrote letters to satisfy seekers of "his secret".

Now you say you are a hacker, go to the set up fundamentals and find the flaws, fix those and maybe you will not consider yourself one anymore. I have been swinging this club for 5 years now, I wasted a lot of time. But once I became determined to set up correctly, I found A LOT of distance MUCH more accuracy, A TON of compression, and sometimes a few on lookers at the range. My personal swing is as simple as Set up right with grip, stance, posture, weight distribution, maintain spine angle in the back swing, and relase through the shot. Those are all fundamentals but if you look NO ONE who sends in there Vidoe or pics on this site does those, if they did then they would not need to know what starts the transition. They would know that maintaining spine angle, encourages proper coil, which MAKES THE LOWER BODY LEAD THE WAY.

I hope you realize that my posts are to help infor GTO members, I know I come across harsh and matter of fact in what I say many times, my intention is to help and sugar coating will not do that. People seek the golf swing and it is right in front of them all the time, not a secret, not an illusion, just on concept of basic fundamentals get those right and you will be swinging well, ignore them and you will always be searching.

When the club is parallel to the ground and the grip end is pointing to the target, should the club face be parallel to the spine angle, but still the club head would be pointing in a upwards position?

depends on how much you want to open and close the clubface in the swing. SOme pros open and close it very little, others much more. I personally would like it at about 11:00 position at the point you are talking about