When the take away isn’t correct, chances are that the rest of the entire swing won’t be correct.
Firstly understand that it should be the shoulders that initiate the movement.
A different way to describe the start of the back swing is to ‘maintain a one-piece take away’. That means that the club head, hands, forearms and shoulder turn should work as one unit. And the only way that this can happen is when the shoulders start the back swing.
Here’s a good drill to start the take away as one piece:
Place an extra ball on the ball-to-target line one foot behind the ball you’re about to hit.All you have to do now is push the ball away as you make a back swing. Sound simple enough. The feedback you might get from pushing that ball away is crucial. A few things can happen:
One, you might just connect it with the toe of your club – means that you are too much inside with your take away.
Two, you might connect it with the heel of your club – means that the take away is moving on an outside path.
Three, you barely get the ball to roll more than a meter away, almost like you are topping it – means you are picking up the club.
Four, if you miss it completely you’ll immediately know your take away is wrong.
All of these ‘misses’ have got one thing in common – it’s not your shoulders that start the movement.
Repeat that a few times with any iron and you’ll soon get the ‘one-piece-take away’ feeling.
Golf tip by Carlo Kok, KeNako Academy
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