The most often asked questioni receive is"how do i become more consistent?" Even the best are still striving formore consistancy, AND SO in relative terms it is a universal quest that challenges all levels of golfers.
To achieve a consistent outcome the golfers will need to successfully carry out the fundamental principles of the set up “Pre-swing procedures” and that of the “In-swing principles” consistently as well to be successful in their quest for greater consistency in their ball flight. In terms of making good contact and getting the desired ball flight for all the situations that the golfers faces short or long shots. The golf swing is a balancing act of all parts of your body trying to produce a desirable result; we can influence this result as well as the consistency of the results by simply starting with the proper “Set-up” position and then the aim is to train the body and arms to work in the correct direction.
So whether you are a New Golfer wanting to know how to get started or an experienced playerwho is sufferinga major or minor slump, then the ideal way to start
dealing with either situation is to start with a proper set-up angle and work on a quarter-swing back and through. In going forward from there, there are four important subjects to be learned, which will ensure the foundation for a consistent full swing without developing flaws (that tend to multiply as the swing gets bigger).
There are FOUR ingredients to better ball striking: They are; Body AngleSwing RadiusTurnWeight Transfer
In this article I will discuss the subject of the“Body Angle” Ben Hoganonce said the secret to a good golf swing lay in the “first two feet of thebackswing…get it wrong and the problems multiply”. Mr. Hogan was right. How you swing back
the club dictates how the rest of the swing works, as it moves through a series of actions and reactions. For example, a poor set-up will multiply into several mistakes by the time you reach the top of your backswing. To compensate for these earlier mistakes, you then have to swing the club a certain way to actually reachimpact. Sometimes it works…but other times there are days when nothingseems to go right. Tour players and elite amateurs can overcome errors in the set-up, takeaway and backswing through hours of practice. But time is of the essence for most club golfers, and grooving a series of swing moves to compensate for poor technique is not always possible. Here’s the answer: Get to the root of your troubles. Examine how your swing begins, identify any changes that need to be made and move forward from there. As you will discover in this article, the source of a good golf swing lies in the influence of body shape on the “first two feet”. Get that right and you’ll be on your way to lower scores.
Body Angle: A good consistent swing starts from the beginning – that is, the set-up. Followed by the “first two feet” begins at address. You can’t possibly get the takeaway working properly if your body shape/ body angles are wrong at address. (And by shape I’m not suggesting you should crash diet or head to the gym, although it probably wouldn't do you any harm!!) This is an easy aspect of the swing to get right and really the only part of the golf swing that any golfer can be as good as the best in the world, simply because you are statically balanced, in other words you are not moving yet. It is also very easy to practise as you can get it right withoutthe need for clubs or balls. Consequently, there is therefore no reason why you cannot be practising something to improve your golf virtually every day either at home, in the office or when away on business trips. Body shape refers to the particular angles created in each of the body’s joints which are formed by bending and tilting the body to establish the ideal starting position. First of all the most important objective is to establish the correct positioning of the top and bottom halves of your body,because when you move into the takeaway phase of the swing the body`s starting position will directly influence how the takeaway is formed. If your body shape is poor at address, your top and bottom halves will move in different directions, from different starting positions. Ideally, you should minimize the amount of bad direction your body makes. Remember, your arms are connected to your body, so if your body is making “irregular moves” in all sorts of directions, your arms will respond by swinging in accordance to the body. A good body angle at the set-up is almost the exact image of what you should look like at impact. Establishing a correct body angle at address – one that imitates your impact position – makes the whole process of returning the club back to impact simpler. For example, if you have a poor body angle set-up, your backswing and delivery into the ball will be effected and you will find it very difficult to get into a solid impactposition, delivering power with accuracy.
But if you start in a good position, you just have to train your body to get back to this position on impact. It is a simple theory and it can be simple in practice through just that – practice. To get your body shape in the correct position at address, adopt a Reverse “K” shape A reverse “K” body shape sees more angle in the right side (if right-handed), while the left side has no bend. If you have a little bit of bend in your right side your spine angle will also be spot-on. This will form the basis of a solid swing, if it is maintained from the start to the finish of your swing.
Many club golfers set up in reverse, with bend in the front forming a “K” on the wrong side of their body (pic). This creates its own problems (mentioned in a previous newsletter).
Looking from behind, the bends also need to be in the right place.
Not too much flex in the legs, bend from the hips with your head up, and let your arms hang . Hanging arms will always swing the club at the correct radius. If your arms are set too high or too low, you will start the club going back on the wrong plane, which continues through the swing. If your shape is not right at the start you’ll have to blend your move back and your body turn together, which is really difficult to do successfully. That’s why so many people have trouble with turning and shifting weight – they move back and then try to turn. Then they move back towards impact and try to turn into the follow-through…in the end it just gets blended into a swing mix of back-and-around and up-and-down.Some talented Tour players can get away with this because they have grooved compensatory moves into their swing through hundreds of hours of beating balls on the practice tee. These moves, which usually happen late in the downswing, help these players get back in the right position. But if you START with good body shape you’ve got more chance of getting the swing working well earlier, and there will be no need to make up for a poor start with compensatory moves later in the swing.
Body Angle: A good swing starts from the beginning – that is, the set-up. Leaving all the information you have received about gripping the club, ball position and the position of your head, body and arms aside, try to get your body angle and posture correct.
This is an easy aspect of the swing to get right because there is only one right way to do it and it is easy to practice without clubs or balls. Consequently, you can even do it at home.
A good body angle is almost the exact image of what you should look like at impact.
Establishing a correct body angle at address – one that imitates your impact position – make s the whole process of returning the club back to impact simpler. For example, if you have a poor body angle set-up, your backswing and delivery into the ball will be effected and you will find it very difficult to get into a solid impact position, delivering power with accuracy.
But if you start in a good position, you just have to train your body to get back to this position on impact. It is a simple theory and it can be simple in practice through just that – practice.
DRILL: The ideal body angle at address is simple to achieve. Move through these steps – using a full length mirror – to get your address body angle just right:
1. Put your hands in the air, now outstretch them and imagine your arms are the wings of a plane.
2. Check your posture with your arms still outstretched. Keep the flex in your knees and tilt forward from your waist so your weight is over the balls of your feet. Remember keep your lower back straight but not rigid.
3. Now drop your right “wing” (left for left-handers) about 15 to 20 centimetres. Your straight left arm will now be about 15 to 20 centimetres higher than its original position.
4. Drop your arms down in front of you and take your grip. Note the right shoulder and hip are lower than that of the leftside and the head is behind where the ball would be positioned.
If your new body angle looks like this, you are ready to use a club to ingrain this correct feeling at address.
Great players are able to achieve a similar position at impact to the one they had at address. This is because they do not change their body angle throughout the swing, even though they are turning or pivoting their body. Keeping the same body angle during the swing makes their task a whole lot easier.
Work through the steps to get your body angle right before taking a club then make a series of quarter or waist high swings. The idea here is to swing the club back and forth with your arms – with good rhythm – whilst maintaining the same body angle you started with. Work on this a least once a week and achieving and maintaining a good body angle for every shot will become second nature. (NB: don’t believe for one second that your body is not supposed to move during this golf swing. It definitely is – but your body angledoes not change).