The Takeaway...

[huds1475]

Just wanted to get some expert input on the takeaway following on from some setup and rotation advice n another thread.

Question largely on for thecoach but others welcome to help.

Have struggled, for a long time, to have a consistent way to mitigate the takeaway and handle body rotation.

One of my classics is to swing my arms away from the ball, a classic beginners mistake.

Other times I try hard to rotate only and just lift my arms, not sure this really works either.

You can watch countless videos and to the naked eye it's really hard to understand exactly what's going on so...

Finding it a really hard thing to feel / understand so any input appreciated.

 

[sawtooth]

I wouldn't call starting the backswing with the arms a mistake. Just a different golf teaching that is all.

If you believe that power and direction is caused by the free swing of the arm then the backswing needs to begin that way.

I for one do and even though it's considered old school, some coaches today still teach that. It doesn't have to be a one piece takeaway.

 

[the_coach]

would just run by your Pro what the key awareness points he wants you to feel first moves off of the ball
assuming you embarking on regular sequence of lessons over some time there will be a structured plan


the hold on the handle and the set-up is real crucial and often times overlooked some as folks just want to get on and strike the ball
but if posture and grip are in a sound place then folks got the best opportunity to make a decent motion

one ways to feel a smooth reasonable takeback move {working with a 6i or 7i} is using a tennis ball as that can give some real useful direct feedback

set-up to golf ball with the tennis ball around 1' (ft) behind the golf ball on the target line so directly in line
feel as the lead shoulder/chest-arms-hands/handle-shaft-club moves as one with the turn at a pace that will just push the tennis ball straight back a little ways (there's no kinda set distance say someways around 6' give or take so not looking to hit it hard to move it a distance, the ball just 'gets' gently moved as a consequence of the motion)

if the move is snatchy-quick the tennis ball will get 'hit' a ways too hard
if the wrists set too early or the arms lift away at start the tennis ball can be missed completely or moved off at a strange angle
likewise if the wrists break backwards to shoot the handle out and the shaft ways inside behind the legs the tennis ball will again be missed or again moved off at a tangent

so say this good smooth takeback was achieved with some consistency to just push the tennis ball away some on a straight-ish line back a good bunch of times with consistency

then the drill could then be extended some and then introducing an alignment stick around 3"/4" (inches) off of the toe line (stick parallel to toe and target line)
make the takeaway as above with the tennis ball but to halfways into the backswing to a position when the lead arm gets horizontal to the ground and stop to check but without changing posture
at this position the lead arm should look over top of the stick on the ground and also around parallel to it
the hands/wrists will have set so thumbs point upwards and there's around a 90º angle between lead arm and shaft - at this position

again you can do this a couple of times and check lead arm in relation to the alignment stick
when this seems pretty good then you can repeat but extend the drill to carry on to complete the turn to the top and then go through to strike the ball and into a balanced and held finish
(always best if working with drills that combine a ball strike to work at a slower swing speed so say 60% effort never full swing that's flat out)

all this kinda of stuff is only for the training/practice sessions - you wouldn't take all this stuff anywhere's near the golf course in play
technical stuff of any kind maybes mull over at home if thinking about the golf motion or as part of a focus to work over during practice so it becomes just part of an automatic process so out on the course in play the focus is shot selection and target, enjoying the game

need to watch how you go though as no-one can change 'everything' all at once

 

[huds1475]

Thanks for both your replies. Am also having discussions with my coach, just feels a little intangible to get the right 'feel' or 'move'.

Coach Cricket myself so know how difficult these things can be to convey.

Coach, if you're ver in the UK you can have a round or beer on me. Have some great resources that I can go back to know.

Thanks again.

Craig