Relaxed swing that works

 Why it's called a golf swing.

If you've been playing Golf for a while you'll know how important
relaxation is during the swing.  It is not just one of the five swing principles,
it is without question the most important swing principal.  It's probably also
safe to say it's the least understood of the five principles.  I'm going to give
you an exercise so your understanding will be crystal clear.

For your body to be able to make a good, effective swing you must be relaxed
physically and mentally.  And that's a broad statement that will absolutely
mean something different to everyone.  It's a true statement but meaningless.  
What I want you to learn in this lesson is specifics on what to relax and how to relax.

First, what to relax.  Should your whole body be relaxed?  Yes.  Does that mean
your whole body should be like Jell-O?  No.  When the swimmers are on the block
during a meet and ready to dive in the water, what physical things are they doing?  
They are shaking their arms and legs to relax all their muscles.  Have you ever
seen them do this?

In an effective golf swing the legs do all the work.  We want them relaxed and
ready to do all the work.  But it's the shoulders that want to help make the club
go fast and accurate.  That's the muscle group that wrecks the swing for 99% of
golfers.  That's what this lesson will address.

First let me say you can do this!  I get lots of questions that ask, “How in the
heck can I make a golf swing with relaxed shoulders?  How does a backswing
start with relaxed shoulders?”

I'm going to let the cat out of the bag, right now!  This simple exercise will answer
all those questions and give you the sense of relaxation that you want during your
entire golf swing.  When you finish reading about this exercise I want you to stand
up and do it.  I want you to completely understand shoulder relaxation and prove
to yourself that you can make a golf swing with shoulder relaxation.

The exercise: stand tall with your feet spread shoulder width.  Flex your knees
slightly, and then bend forward enough to allow your arms to hang freely.  Your
arms should be hanging completely free.  Your arms are trying to come out of your
shoulders, because your shoulder muscles are so relaxed.  Now, use your body to
cause your arms to be swung or flung.  That's a backswing.  Don't let your arms to
any of the work!  Start with a small swing and build up to a full swing.

You may be tempted to help move your arms with your shoulders.  Don't do it!  Your
body and legs must be in control and they make your arms swing freely.  Now you
understand why it's called a golf Swing.  The legs make the arms swing.  The legs
are absolutely in control.  It's OK to let your arms be out of your control.  Actually,
it's a necessity.

When you can successfully do this exercise in your living room, you next want to do
it with a golf club (no ball) in your backyard.  With a 7-iron in hand, make the same
small swing with total shoulder relaxation.  Make just a small careless swing until
you're comfortable with it.  Only then make a little bit bigger swing until you get to
a full swing with your shoulders completely relaxed.

It's a great exercise .  When you physically and
mentally understand this relaxation principal through this exercise, you will hit shots
that you only dreamed of hitting.

How To Break 80

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1) The Correct Takeaway

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Poor takeaways cause bad shots. In fact, they cause nearly as many bad shots as poor set-ups do, probably more. But practice and a special drill eliminate this major swing fault for good.

Many weekend players take the club away with their arms only, while their lower body lags. This "disconnect" throws the rest of the swing off, forcing you to compensate in other segments of the swing. If you can't, your shot goes awry.

The key to a good takeaway is taking the club back with your hands, arms, and body unified, starting the swing off properly. For most golfers the tendency is to start the backswing with the arms so it is helpful to imagine the backswing being "kickstarted" by the shoulders rather than the arms to get them rotating properly. The drill below ingrains the correct takeaway in your swing. You may have read or heard of this drill by other names, but I call it the:

Belly Button Drill
Select a club from your bag. Put the butt end of the club against your belly button and extend your arms down the shaft. Grip the shaft as you normally would grip the handle of the club. Now make your back swing, retaining the right angle formed by the shaft and your body intact. This keeps the club, your arms, and your body moving together.

Once you get to about one-third of the way through your swing, the club naturally separates from your torso, at which point you should point the butt end of the club at the ball. At the top of the backswing, the club should start pointing at an imaginary line running parallel to the target line. It should still be pointing at the line at the top of the swing

This drill creates the feel of a one-piece takeaway. Once you've ingrained that feeling, you'll hit fewer bad shots, even if you only play once a week.

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2) Hitting Long Iron Shots That Stick and Won't Roll

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Ever hit an approach shot with a long iron only to have it hit the green and skip past the hole? Being able to hold a green with your long iron approach shots, or any other shot for that matter, is a must, if you want to break 80, 90, or even 100.

A key to holding a green with a long iron approach shot is backspin. It works best as a "stopper" when the green is somewhat soft and contains some moisture. When a green is hard, dry, and slick, however, the ball often skips forward a long way on landing, even when spinning heavily, so check out the green before hitting your approach shot.

Here are 5 other keys to hitting shots that hold the green:

Play the ball a little farther forward

Position the hands even with the ball

Open the clubface slightly

Swing under with the body

Release the hands freely through impact

Holding the green starts at address. Position the ball a little farther forward in relation to your feet, and place your hands even with, or slightly behind, the ball. Open the clubface slightly to take advantage of the club's loft. All of this puts your head a little farther back than normally, which is where you want it to be.

Swing the club pretty much as normal, although maybe a little more upright, if you really want to deaden the ball on landing with a touch of fade spin. Swing under, not around, your body, releasing the clubhead freely with your hands but without the right hand climbing over the left until well beyond impact. When I say swing "under" I mean that your swing plane is going to be a tad more upright than flat or "around."

Next time you're at the practice range, pick out a shot and then try hitting it with a few shots. After hitting six shots, try doing the same thing with another club. Keep working on this until you have it down pat.

This technique works well with long irons and short irons, which are somewhat easier to hit when it comes to approach shots that hold the green. Regardless of the club, holding the green with your approach shots is critical if you really want to slash your golf handicap.

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3) Correcting "Pulled" Shots
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Pulling the ball is a common swing fault. It comes from swinging the club on an out-to-in swing path. If it's closed (or square), you'll pull. If it's open, you'll slice. To eliminate pulling, first swing the club on an in-to-out swing path and second, change the position of the clubface through impact.

Here are some suggestions on how to make these changes.

Strengthen your grip

Close your body alignment

Close the clubface slightly

Straighten your right arm early

Encourage your right arm to cross over at impact

You can eliminate pulling by trying one, all, or a combination of the 5 tips. It's often a case of trial and error but the cure is here somewhere. Good Luck.

Hit Them Straight,
JJ