How do you start your back swing.... ?

leonards

OK, don't laugh.

How do you start you back swing ? By this I mean what part of your body moves first. Is it you hands and then arms, or hands and arms together as one... I ask because I'm a high handicapper... I kind of freeze over the ball as I'm trying to work out in my head how to start the swing. I have a thing where I lift my right heel (right handed golfer) up and then down a little, just before I start my back swing. It seems to be the only way I can tell my body to start the backswing... And then my hands move back a tiny bit before my arms move.... should I try and stop this and keep my two feet firmly planted to the ground before my backswing ?

I’m a v. nervous golfer...

GreeBo

I push my hands away from the ball and my body, but back down the target line.

TRS30

Rotate your core and your arms, hands etc will follow. Try to keep your hands in middle of your core till it can turn no more and then keep the arms moving to the top of your back swing.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, this is what I do to keep my body and arms connected.

Uncle Ben

TRS30 wrote: »

Rotate your core and your arms, hands etc will follow. Try to keep your hands in middle of your core till it can turn no more and then keep the arms moving to the top of your back swing.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, this is what I do to keep my body and arms connected.

I ain't a low handicapper but I'm sure it was Ben Hogan who said-'Hands-Arms-Shoulders-Hips on backswing & Hips-Shoulders-Arms & Hands on follow through.

If you read any of his books you'll notice how much time he spends on explaining the correct grip. Its the start and finish of all the shots.

matt-dublin

I just try to rotate my shoulders. Turning my shoulders back along the path I want the ball to take making sure my left shoulder is under my chin before starting the downswing with my left shoulder

TRS30

Uncle Ben wrote: »

I ain't a low handicapper but I'm sure it was Ben Hogan who said-'Hands-Arms-Shoulders-Hips on backswing & Hips-Shoulders-Arms & Hands on follow through.

If you read any of his books you'll notice how much time he spends on explaining the correct grip. Its the start and finish of all the shots.

There are many different ways to swing a golf club.

Oilbeefhooked!

leonards wrote: »

OK, don't laugh.

How do you start you back swing ? By this I mean what part of your body moves first. Is it you hands and then arms, or hands and arms together as one... I ask because I'm a high handicapper... I kind of freeze over the ball as I'm trying to work out in my head how to start the swing. I have a thing where I lift my right heel (right handed golfer) up and then down a little, just before I start my back swing. It seems to be the only way I can tell my body to start the backswing... And then my hands move back a tiny bit before my arms move.... should I try and stop this and keep my two feet firmly planted to the ground before my backswing ?

I’m a v. nervous golfer...

I think you may be confusing ,starting the backswing and a swing trigger!
2 different things imo

For starting the backswing - As previously stated I think it is about staying connected and trying to maintain a one piece takeaway (turning the core, ie concentrating on just rotating your big trunk muscles around your spine as an axis) if you achieve this the shoulders, arms, and hands should automatically
reach a decent position at the top of your backswing.

However the right heel lift you described is more of a swing trigger.imo.
This is basically something every golfer needs to start the swing .
It is basically a GO sign , to tell the body to begin the backswing.
Most people have one, and it could be a lift of a heel, an ankle/knee movement,a kick of the head, a small lift of the hands, even a blink of the eyes , mine personally is a small forward press with the hands - but everyone needs to have some small repetitive idiosyncrasy ,that is your own way of saying to yourself"we have lift off"
only then do You begin the backswing rotation.
It means your not starting the backswing from a frozen/static position which is not a good thing and can cause tension to build up in the hands and arms.

So in a nutshell, i dont think your lift of the heel is a bad thing as long,
as its just a small movement and you do the same thing every single swing,,
and you feel it is your own starting pistol and it keeps you loose to begin the swing.

Hope this makes sense
:eek:

Nozebleed

for me personally i find you have to be relaxed,light grip,draw the club back slowly no dramatic movements that will throw your balance off..when you start the downswing increase speed..eyes on the ball from start to finish. i dont think about what body part moves first or anything..you should really just focus on the ball..you can over analyze too easily. balance is the key..so long as your movements are smooth on the backswing.

Rikand

that right heel motion should be good anyways as it will promote a transfer of weight onto your right hand side as you swing back. The big trick is to do the same motion with your left foot when you reach the top and are about to begin your downswing

scubapro

Check out Mark Crossfield on youtube, he is highly rated with boardies and alot of other forums. He has a large quantity of videos dealing with all aspects of the swing, swing faults and fixes as well as speciality shots etc, you will find plenty of drills for the backswing which if you repeat often enough your muscle memory takes over and the move becomes ingrained. Idealy though you should only work on one thing at a time until you have that move ingrained before you start working on something else.

onlyfinewine

leonards wrote: »

OK, don't laugh.

How do you start you back swing ? By this I mean what part of your body moves first. Is it you hands and then arms, or hands and arms together as one... I ask because I'm a high handicapper... I kind of freeze over the ball as I'm trying to work out in my head how to start the swing. I have a thing where I lift my right heel (right handed golfer) up and then down a little, just before I start my back swing. It seems to be the only way I can tell my body to start the backswing... And then my hands move back a tiny bit before my arms move.... should I try and stop this and keep my two feet firmly planted to the ground before my backswing ?

I’m a v. nervous golfer...

Funnily enough the perceived wisdom has been to remain in a kind of athletic motion prior to starting the backswing rather than freezing in a position and having to start moving from scratch again.
Many types of movements such as moving your feet or right knee or hips or a forward press of the hands or a little waggle to keep you hands and arms loose or combinations of them are all recommended. Jack Nicklaus started his backswing by cocking his chin to the right, Gary Player by kicking in the right knee and Arnold Palmer with a slight forward press, so no one thing is the only correct way to go.
I suggest that as you already have a swing trigger that you try a few other movements if you are not happy and then settle on what works best for you,make up your own routine and stick with that all the time.

In relation to the technical questions you ask I would suggest that as you are a high handicapper you give thought to getting a lesson which should help you to clear your mind and work on something positive which will arise at the lesson. Too many options and thoughts while you are swinging only cause "paralysis by analysis" and removes the enjoyment from the experience.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do and enjoy your golf.