What are the absolute essentials to a good full swing

I think that if I would quit analyzing and tinkering with my swing I could play this crazy game with some consistency. I will finally start making good contact and getting acceptable flight and distance. Then I will start questioning how the swing is working and how to get a bit more distance, etc., and the plunge begins anew. In a few more swings, I could use either end of the club with equal results!

So I was thinking: What are the absolute essentials necessary for a good golf swing? Swing paths are different, as are swing planes. Yet good golfers do certain minimal things well and consistently.

If you had to create a list of the minimum requirements for a good swing, what would that list contain? Grip, posture, maintaining the triangle, spine angle, what?

Thanks,
Bill

After reading boatloads of different books on the full swing, I am a Greg fan: Just go to http://members.cox.net/gregjwillis/LESSON1.htm I wish I had met his website about 1.5 years ago.

Essentials are:

1. Cupped wrist
2. Clearing hips (which I would suggest is required for #1)
3. (For me) Releasing (for us that fight chicken winging!)

I would also suggest that we are all born with a swing. Thus the real secret is not the items above, but finding somebody that can look at your swing, see what is really lacking, and then help you understand what is lacking. So in some sense, since we all start from different points, the question might not have as clean of answer as I am suggesting.

Theo "Always Has An Opinion" Logic

Theo has the right idea,

All great players have good basics with alinement, set-up, grip and swing plane top or bottom line as you say.


The one thing all players of a great standard have is impact, Gregs right hand drill is based on the impact of tour pros, everyone of them is turning through the ball, hips, shoulders everything at the same time, hence no chicken wing left arm, you only have chicken wing because you haven't turned enough on the way through.......................!!

Look at this picture to help.


Ian

I've been wondering this same thing lately, and have come to the following conclusion.

Everybody says it, now I've experienced it. Set up is crucial. If I setup wrong (ie reaching, crowding, ball position wrong), then my swing feels like garbage, and I don't hit the ball well. I validated this one at the range yesterday.

The other thing that I've been giving serious contemplation to (and it seems right), is impact position. No matter what all good golfer do from takeaway to downswing, they all look the same at impact (including Moe Norman). This indicates to me that proper position at impact is crucial.

Just my opinion.

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I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

I would argue that you can't just put yourself in the perfect impact position. It is achieved as the aggregate of several other mechanically correct movements.

My list would be:

1. Posture (mainly an athletic position at setup that includes a good knee flex)

2. Grip (in the fingers is important)


3. A good, smooth backswing that initiates the swing sequence.

Broadus: IMO if you can create a smooth backswing that turns your upper body over your lower body like a rubberband, the rest of the swing just happens.

I have a question. This weekend I realized that I haven't been keeping my right arm close to my body on the back swing. I'm a righty...So today I went to the range and concentrated on keeping my elbow next to my body and I
finally had consistant contact with the ball. So am pretty excited. I feel
that now I'm rotating my body more now. Am I right, what are the consiquences of not keeping my right arm close to the body?
Does anyone have anymore tips for me?

Thanks guys

close but not too close, dont hug your side with it the whole time, at the top it can seperate a tad, enough for a softball or something

this problem i have worked on for a year now.My problem with hooking it has always been attributed to a flying right elbow.I have learned that i have a problem letting the right elbow fold correctly..keeping the clubface closed at halfway back and halfway down and ultimately closed at impact.Anyhow i have found that if you try and hug the ribcage with it on the backswing..the swing gets too flat and i snap hook it.But if you let the elbow stay close at the start of the backswing then let it separate and fold to the rear..it produces a very solid hit on the clubface.Usually if i let the left shoulder led takeaway get TOO FAST..i let the right elbow fly out of position.I have to take it back slow to let it fold correctly.Anyway hope this helps ya some.David

Is the a drill where you keep a towel or head cover under your arm? I did keep it snug against the body.

With all due respect
in number one you say good knee flex, actually as little as necessarry is best. Too much knee flex and you cannot get your but behind you enough at address which can cause two big issues, bad balance because the butt is supposed to be behind the heels to counter balance the upper body, two is that you can get jammed up/stuck through the hitting zone

in number two, the grip does not go in the fingers of the left hand, refer to hogans book. Too much in the fingers and it can shut the face down too fast

I would have to agree with Shooting4par,

Quote I would argue that you can't just put yourself in the perfect impact position. It is achieved as the aggregate of several other mechanically correct movements.

Putting yourself in the perfect impact position is all that really matters, there are many variations of grip, backswing, knee flex(depending mainly on the height of the player) and these variations are evident in all the tour players............however what they all do is achieve the impact position with a square clubface, by achieveing this position you create two things different from any other Sunday hacker.......

1 About 30 yds more distance
2 Acuracy................deadly

I would hazard a guess that around 85% of average players don't ever achieve this impact position, because to be in this position at impact means there is know control whatsoever over the club, it is a free swing that is very repeatable.

Amateur players can't play without manipulating the club in some way, the thought of hitting the ball without control is scary.


food for thought........


Ian.

__________________
Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

SETUP, setup... and more setup. ( and everything around before your takeaway )

Work on this. You have homework enough now.

Next year on the same date at the same time we'll meet again.

Toni.

Im going against the technical grain here but IMHO once you have a good GASP (Grip, Alignment, Setup and Posture) then once youre on the course the number one essential IMHO is relaxation and confidence

If you play a round obsessed with fundamentals and spend the 18 holes tinkering with your swing you'll be ruined. I know as this used to be me

I now just go out and trust what I have, stay target focused and concentrate on one swing thought. For me thats a short, wide backswing

You dont learn how to play this game on the range. You have to go play

Well said Ian. I'm a good 30yds (eg. 7i is 130-140yds) behind all you experienced golfers and try as I might, I just can't get more distance out of it. But of course, my idea of trying harder is exactly what you said should not be done, eg. trying to hit the ball harder, using more hands/arms movements to achieve that, etc :P

Simon, how often do you play on a course with good balls, dry fairways etc ?