While walking around the PGA Show I ran into a subscriber who asked me a question about the takeaway. He said that he had a problem starting his takeaway with a slight sway off the ball. The longer the club the worse the sway was and the more he laid the club off. His question was, 'Would concentrating on rotating the forearms and the clubface toe up into the mitt help stop the takeaway sway?'
Absolutely! Takeaway sway happens when the body slides laterally toward the back foot to start the back swing. The sequencing of starting the backswing is correct but the move is not. The square of the torso, from the hips to the shoulders, must move first. They must turn a little, not sway or slide straight back toward the back foot to load the weight over and onto the rear foot and leg.
The other problem that arises when the takeaway is a slide and not a turn is that the hands and club are left behind a little until the arms connected to the torso finally start pulling the hands and then the club. By the time the hands start pulling the club and the head moves, the club is lagging way behind and the forward wrist is bending. About the time the hands reach the back leg, the brain has figured out that the club shaft, still lagging the hands and low to the ground, must be lifted for the backswing to continue. The forearms and hands now pull and flip the club up and above the hands. The problem is that this flip usually flips too much, over rotating the forearms. The weight and momentum of the club sends the club past vertical, 12:00 o'clock, to laid off and heavy and around 10:00 o'clock.
The PPGS takeaway starts with the back side of the torso, from the shoulder to the hips, turning a little. The center of gravity of the body is a point at the base of the spine which is basically in the hips.
Think and picture the body as three boxes. The bottom box is from both feet across and up to the knees. The center box is from the knees across and up to the hips, and the top box is from the hips to the shoulders. The hips are the top of the middle box as well as the bottom of the top box. This connection of the center box, the core of the body to the middle and top box, is what keeps the synchronization of the swing motion connected.
Now that we have described the three box principle of the body, we need to add one more geometric figure to the picture: a triangle. The shoulders and arms to the hands holding the golf club form the triangle.
The key to the takeaway being smooth, in sync and with proper rotation and lift, is to make sure that at the split second the top box starts turning, the triangle also starts moving as well as the club. The feeling of this all together synchronized movement of the square and triangle is that the club head 'MUST' move first. And the club head must move first with the TOE leading and turning toe up as the arms and hands lift the club head into the catcher's mitt, toe up. This synchronized square and triangle movement is also referred to as 'The One Piece Takeaway.'
The one piece takeaway with the feeling of the club leading is critical to a successful and consistent takeaway and swing up to the top of the backswing. The rotation of the forearms and the lifting of the club into the mitt, toe up, sets up the lifting of the club up the tree to the top of the backswing.
The torso turn and rotation ends when the club is parallel to the ground over the toe line. From there it is all the arms lifting the club up the tree to vertical, 12:00 o'clock and light. At this point, you will feel a definite and abrupt snap up or sweeping up motion when the arms really start lifting the club up vertical above the hands. All this vertical lift is done in one simple, smooth, flowing and controlled motion.
Sway or slide the hips and you drag the club away and that will lay the club off. The square and triangle turn, with the feeling of the club head moving first, is the key to a consistent one piece takeaway to a vertical, 12:00 o'clock light club at the top of the backswing.
The Surge!