Timing
Question: I constantly encounter references to ‘timing’, but never a clear explanation of it. What is timing?
Answer: Expressed as simply as possible, the golf swing, to use one of my favourite teaching phrases, consists of ‘two turns and a swish’; that is, a rotational coiling and uncoiling of the body combined with an up-and-down swinging of the hands, arms and the club, as both units are supported by the feet and legs.
When the pace and rhythm of the hand and arm action so synchronize with the body action that the club impacts the ball squarely and at optimum speed, the swing and/or the shot is said to have been perfectly ‘timed’.
What that really means, of course, in non-golfing language, is that the ‘turns’ and the ‘swish’ have been perfectly coordinated.
Attempting to co-ordinate their ‘turns’ and ‘swish’ perfectly is the chief reason tournament professionals practise so much, and their ability to do so is the factor most separating them from handicap players.
Here’s how to identify and fix two chief ‘timing’ problems you’ll encounter, assuming that your grip, set-up and swing mechanics are sound.
Shots sliced, topped to the left, or ‘thinned’
Cause: your body is unwinding faster than your hands and arms are swinging the club down, thus preventing the radius formed by your left arm and the clubshaft at address from being fully restored at impact. This excessively ‘late’ hit leaves the clubface open, hence the slice, or delivers the bottom of the clubhead to the upper part of the ball in the case of the topped and ‘thinned’ shots.
Cure: be sure that you have not weakened your grip or are opening your shoulders at address. Then deliver the clubhead ‘in time’ by focusing on swinging your hands and arms down from the top of the backswing, which will automatically slow your body rotation. Apply this medicine on the ‘soft’ shots as well as those calling for full power.
Shots hooked, topped to the right, or hit heavy or ‘fat’
Cause: you are ‘restoring the radius’ too soon by swinging your hands and arms down faster than your body is unwinding, causing the clubhead to have closed if it reaches the ball cleanly (draw or hook), or to be travelling upward by the time it reaches the ball (top), or to contact the ground before arriving at the ball (heavy or ‘fat’).
Cure: check that you have not ‘strengthened’ your grip or are misaiming the clubface at address. Then deliver the clubhead ‘in time’ by focusing on unwinding your hips through the ball from the top of the backswing, which will automatically slow down your hand and arm action.
Head matters
Question: ‘Keep your head down,’ says my partner every time I miss a shot. ‘Keep your head still,’ say most top players and teachers. Is this as important as everyone makes out?
Answer: ‘Keep your head down and you’ll keep me in business forever’ has been one of my favourite sayings through all the years I’ve been teaching golf. The reason is that keeping the head down, to the point where the chin sits on or close to the chest, forces a tilting rather than a rotating or coiling action of the shoulders in the backswing, leading to all manner of ugly moves – and even uglier shots.
Trying to keep the head still is better than attempting to keep it down – just as long as doing so doesn’t inhibit the free and fluid upward and downward swinging of the hands and arms or rotation of the body away from and then towards the target.
For most golfers, the best thought is to keep the head steady enough to permit both of the above actions with the least possible change in the axis of the body, as represented by the upper part of the spine, during its coiling and uncoiling.
Swivelling the chin away from the target just before or as you start back, in the manner of Sam Snead or Jack Nicklaus and many other top golfers, promotes freedom and fluidity of motion while keeping the axis steady.
Straight or cupped under?
Question: What position should the left wrist be in at the top of the backswing?
Answer: I am often asked, mainly by good players, what I think to be the best position at the top of the backswing; whether to have the left wrist straight, or whether to have it cupped under the shaft.
Let me begin by making it quite clear that I think it of no importance – provided the position used fits the rest of the swing. Great players have used both positions. It is largely a question of which is the most natural to the person concerned. Some individuals can indeed vary this position at will, but others are stuck with what they do naturally.
The left-hand grip has a definite bearing on what position the hands will be in at the top of the backswing. If the left hand is put well over – i.e., showing three knuckles at address – it is more likely that the left wrist will cup under the shaft at the top of the backswing; this is so because the left thumb is more out of the way and the hand is more over the shaft, so that the wrist is more free to break across the back of the hand.
This type of grip pretty well necessitates this top-of-the-backswing position, too, in order to keep the blade open enough. Put very generally, a three-knuckle grip will tend itself to shut the blade of the club, but will be balanced by a complete underneath wrist-cock at the top of the backswing, which will tend to reopen the blade.
A grip, on the contrary, which has a left hand showing only one knuckle at address, will tend to stiffen the wrist-cock at the top, since the left wrist will cock against the left thumb – thus producing a straight left wrist at the top of the backswing. This type of grip does not necessitate the cupping of the left wrist, since the clubface will be open enough naturally.
A strong left-hand grip (centre) requires a cupping of the wrist at the top (right) to square the clubface. A weak grip requires no such action (left).
Generalizing, then: in the orthodox type of backswing we have two distinct patterns. One with the left hand showing only one knuckle at address, usually producing a straight left wrist at the top of the backswing; and the other with the left hand much further over at address, necessitating a cupped left wrist at the top of the backswing.
Should you be the type of player who suffers by presenting the clubface to the ball incorrectly, don’t be afraid to experiment with your grip and with the resultant wrist action. Normally, if the left-hand grip is moved to the left and the wrist action stays the same, then the clubface will be more open at the top – other things being equal – than it would if the left hand were further over the grip at address.
At times, however, a left hand placed a little further over the shaft, and thus producing a fuller cocking of the left wrist at the top of the backswing, can produce a more open-clubfaced swing. This is often the case with players who feel the only way to open the clubface is to show no knuckles at address with the left hand; from this position the left wrist usually goes very flat and locks at the top of the backswing; so that, in spite of the grip, the clubface will be too shut.
Great players have, of course, used many combinations of grip and wrist action. From no-knuckle grips and a cupping of the left wrist at the top of the backswing – which has produced a very open-clubfaced position requiring lots of wrist flick and roll in the hitting area – on the one hand, to four-knuckle grips and no cupping of the left wrist at the top of the backswing – which of course produces a very shut-faced position, requiring all push in the hitting area, and corresponding body action to make this possible.
The intelligent player decides what is needed, what is most natural for him to do, and therefore which is easiest to change. For example, if you naturally flick and roll in the hitting area, this will need an open-faced top-of-the-backswing position. On the other hand you may have been trying to flick and roll to get the blade square if it has been too open.
This is where a change of grip, and therefore of your top-of-the-backswing position, may be the answer.
Conversely you may be a ‘pusher’ in the hitting area; in this case the face will not need to be as open, but make sure you are not just pushing the ball only because the clubface is too shut at the top to allow you to do otherwise!
I have tried to show how one must balance the grip with where one arrives at the top of the backswing, and in the hitting area. If something is wrong, try to decide which of these things would be easiest to change, to get the desired result.
Some years ago the great Ben Hogan described his personal ‘secret’ as a cupping of the left wrist at the top of the backswing; thus, I venture to say, he opened his clubface more than it had ever been before, enabling him to get away from the tendency towards hooking the ball, which had always dogged him before. Obviously, it was by experimenting that he found that little thing out. If you’re not too happy with your own game, do try and do likewise: experiment.
The Arm Swing
Question: What role do the arms play in the golf swing, relative to other parts of the body?
Answer: The arms must be swung freely to play good golf, but never to the point where their motion gets out of sync with the coiling motion of the body in the backswing and its uncoiling in the downswing.
During the backswing the arms swing up as the body rotates away from the target, then during the downswing the arms swing down as the body rotates towards the target.
Some good golfers feel that their bodies coil in response to the swinging of their arms, while others feel that their arm swinging is generated by the coiling of the body. Either feeling is fine, just so long as it produces complete co-ordination of the two actions – that is, does not cause one to lag behind or get ahead of the other at any point during the swing.
To witness how freely the arms of a really fine golfer swing the club to the ball, stand facing him and watch the space between his hands and right shoulder during the downswing (refer once more to the illustration on page 63). You will hardly believe how fast it widens. Now watch that friend of yours with the larger handicap and the even larger slice. Because he spins his whole upper body mass into the shot before he swings his arms downward, the space opens much more slowly.
Leg and Hip Action
Question: How much should I use my legs and hips, and what should they do?
Answer: During the backswing you should use your legs and hips to resist the rotation of your upper body, but only to the degree that you are still able to set the club at the top on a plane and in a direction that produces correct impact.
Get the balance right and your leg and hip action during the downswing will, more often than not, happen correctly and automatically. That’s because setting the club correctly at the top promotes delivering it to the ball from inside to straight along the target line, which in turn promotes clearing the left side to make room for the hands and arms to swing through correctly.
Highly skilled golfers are able to restrict their lower-half backswing motion to, at most, a slight raising of the left heel, a pulling of the left knee inward towards the still-flexed right knee, and a tugging of the hips through about half as much rotation as the shoulders, while still positioning the club for correct impact.
Less gifted players usually cannot swing the club on the plane, and in the direction that returns it correctly to the ball, without ‘giving’ more in their legs and hips in response to their upward swinging arms and rotating shoulders. However, there must always be some resistance from below the waist, in order for the player to be able to swing the club rather than himself.
The simplest and usually the best ‘feels’ for producing sound leg action among the majority of golfers are of simultaneously rotating the shoulders and swinging the club up in the backswing, then of rotating the hips as the arms swing the club down and through the ball.
Hitting shots heavy
Question: Why do I hit the ground before the ball so often?
Answer: There are two common causes of this depressing disease. Among both good and bad players alike, it can often be nothing more complicated than bad posture at address, leading to loss of balance during the swing. The golfer stands to the ball in such a way – usually crouching or reaching for it – that his weight is pulled forward on to his toes. Inevitably the momentum of the downswing throws him even farther forward, with the result that he either ‘falls into’ the shot, or is forced to dip his head and shoulders to get the clubhead to meet the ball. To avoid such a destructive fault is just one more reason why we must always start the swing from the correct set-up, remembering particularly in this case that the back must be reasonably straight.
The most common cause of fluffing, or hitting heavy, among reasonably accomplished players is poor coordination of body and hand action in the downswing. It is the opposite of the topper’s problem – a tendency to hit too early with the hands and wrists, before the hips have cleared a way for them to swing past the body and out towards the target.
As most slicers are prone to topping, so most hookers are liable to fluff occasional shots. What happens is that the fluffer lengthens his swing radius by letting the clubhead catch up with and pass his hands before they have arrived back at the ball. In other words, the arc the clubhead is describing as it approaches impact is too wide – the hit is too ‘early’ with the hands and arms. It is, indeed, to avoid catching the ground that ladies – most of whom must hit early to get the clubhead moving at maximum speed by impact – instinctively rise on their toes during the downswing.
For many golfers, however, the cure for this fault is definitely not to be found in ballet dancing. The fluffer’s basic problem is to better coordinate his downswing left-hip movement with his arm and hand action – even to the point, for a time, of deliberately restricting his wrist action – deliberately hitting ‘later’ with the hands and wrists.
Question: Why do I hit across from out-to-in on so many shots?
Answer: By far the most probable reason is a chain-reaction of set-up errors ingrained since you first took up the game by constantly delivering the clubface looking to the right of its direction of travel, as follows (you may want to refer again to the illustration on ‘ball flight’ at the start of the book):
Sadly, most people who ‘play’ golf this way are convinced their problem lies in the way they swing the club. The truth is that it is caused almost entirely by faulty gripping, clubface aiming, ball positioning, body alignment, and posture. Learn to set up correctly. If you will thereafter concentrate only on swinging your arms ‘down’ from the top of the backswing, I think you will find golf more enjoyable than you ever believed possible.
An in-to-out path
Question: I’m a pretty good player, but tend to miss a lot of shots by swinging too much from in-to-out. Why?
Answer: As with the out-to-in swingers, most in-to-outers ingrain a chain reaction of set-up errors by habitually delivering the clubface looking to the left of its direction of travel, as follows (once again, you may want to refer back to the illustration on ‘ball flight’ at the start of the book):
As with out-to-inners, golfers who have ingrained an in-to-out clubhead path as a response to shots constantly finishing left are inclined to look for the solution in a different way of swinging the club. The truth once again is that the solution lies mostly in improving their set-up to the ball.
First, take the time and trouble to correct your grip, your clubface aim, your ball position, your body alignment, and your posture. Then concentrate during the downswing simply on turning your hips ‘out of the way’ to allow your arms to swing freely past your body, thus enabling you to hit the ball to the target rather than swing the club to the ball.
Question: You read and hear a lot about one top player using this ‘method’ and another using some other ‘method’. Are there really different methods of swinging and, if so, which is the best?
Answer: Let me first remind you of an important statement:
‘The golf swing has only one purpose: to deliver the head of the club to the ball correctly. How that is done is immaterial, so long as the method used permits correct impact to be achieved over and over again.’
Having said that – and while the precise mechanics of the best players’ swings do and will forever remain somewhat individualistic – it does seem to me that, over the past decade or two, a greater consensus has been reached about more areas of golf technique than ever before.
A prime example is the now almost universally accepted importance of the set-up in determining how the club is delivered to the ball at impact. Another example is how much the positioning of the ball on the ground relative to the player influences the ‘shape’ – i.e., the plane and direction – of his swing.
My 50 or so years of teaching tells me that the concept of ‘plane’ has long been and remains the most confusing element of swing technique or ‘methodology’.
Back in the mists of time, golfers of the feathery and gutty ball and wooden shaft eras found swinging the club fairly ‘flatly’ or ‘around themselves’ to be the most effective way of raising the missile into the air as well as propelling it forward. Then, as the rubber-cored ball and steel shaft promoted shorter and firmer swings, they also gave rise to the notion that swinging straighter – i.e., with the clubhead remaining closer to the target line or moving more ‘uprightly’ – would make the ball fly straighter.
Today, few top players or teachers would argue with the premise that the body must rotate at a shallower or ‘flatter’ angle than the arms swing up and down, for the club to be consistently delivered to the ball with its face square to the target while travelling momentarily directly along the target line and at the correct angle of attack.
The reason, of course, is that attempting to swing excessively ‘straight’ generates in most people a ‘rocking and blocking’ action of the shoulders – a tilting rather than a rotational motion – that produces all kinds of mishits by forcing the hands, wrists, and arms to work independently of what the rest of the body is doing.
In the end, each of us at this game has to discover what works best for himself as an individual by hard experience – by plain trial and error within a framework of tried and tested fundamentals.
In that regard, I believe we are at a stage in the evolution of the golf swing where combining rotation of the body with upward and downward swinging of the arms has become the universally accepted framework for that often frustrating but ever fascinating exercise.
Golf at its simplest!
Question: What’s the simplest way to become a good golfer?
Answer: To play this game really well, you must first understand and accept that you will never hit a golf ball exactly as you wish every time you swing. No one ever has and no one ever will. Two of the greatest golfers in history, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus, regarded a round in which they hit four or five shots precisely as they intended an exceptionally fine one in terms of ball striking.
Nevertheless, your chances of minimizing the amount you miss by – the key to scoring at golf – are definitely improved by trying to hit every shot perfectly. Here, then, as simply as I can express it, is the process that most easily and frequently produces perfect golf shots: