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Every golf player knows it from experience. Tensing up during play courts disaster. Your golf swing should be easy and fluid. But just how do you develop that kind of free swing?
The real pivotal centre of the stroke isn’t the hands wrist or head. It’s the point exactly between the two shoulders. All of the muscles of the body are below that pivotal centre in action and putting energy in propelling the club forward.
Now let’s address the muscles that are controlling the head. If you keep your head still, you can preserve the pivotal centre constant in relation to the ball. Balance is paramount and if your arms are straight, the elbows are bent and you hit the ball at the toe of the club instead of the centre of the face, this will give you the correct distance.
When you come back to the ball, there’s more power transferred to the arms by the shoulders and back when the arms are extended than when they are bent. So you have more narrowly a fixed guide for guiding the club and the club shaft when the club shaft and the left arm are in line.
When making the swing most players spend too much time on their address thinking about this angle and that angle. What results is they move their heads and stiffen their muscles. Where’s the freedom in this swing? You will be a better golf player the second you find the muscles getting tense at any point in the stroke find a way to loosen up because the tension will destroy your accuracy and reduce the power of your swing.
It’s an advantage to you to keep your arms well in toward the body, because it’s easier to control the amount of play you will allow the arms in the downward stroke if you’re
coming down inside the ball than if you’re going beyond it. So you’ll only have to yield a little to reach the ball. But if you’re going beyond the ball you have to overcome the centrifugal force) (force which tends to pull the club outward) when pulling in the hands. So it’s a good idea to keep your arms in toward the body.
Let the centrifugal force carry your club out in the downward swing until it reaches the ball. Then you can put all your energy in to propelling the club. You won’t need much effort to guide it.
Also, make sure that you don’t reach for the ball in the address because that will stiffen your muscles.
Beginners usually swing too short. Because the amount of centrifugal force is so great, the beginner will involuntarily pull in his hands because he’s scared he’ll go beyond the ball.
If your hands and arms were in motion in the address it would be necessary to have them reaching for the ball. But since they’re still, the idea should be to obtain the easiest and most comfortable position so that as the player reaches the top of his swing his muscles won’t be tired from holding a set position. The angles at which you address the ball have little influence. It’s the way you take your gauge at the top of the swing that counts.
I also advise my students to keep their arms close to the body and both of them straight. The club shaft and left arm should be in line and kept parallel to the right leg. This will give you firmer control of the club with your left arm or guiding arm than if your left arm was bent.
If you practice these tips, your swing should become more fluid and free. Above all, relax. Breathe deeply. Approaching the game with a fun spirit encourages freedom of movement!
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