Instruction – Drills for an Effortless Backswing
A good backswing looks simple and effortless, although in reality there are many moving parts. The good news is each part of the backswing is simple with repetition. What is the purpose of the backswing? The purpose of the backswing is to get your club and body in a good position at the top of your backswing to make your downswing more efficient and consistent at impact. The better your backswing is, the more natural and simpler your downswing will be.
The keys to hip rotation on the backswing is to make sure your hips are rotating instead of sliding laterally. One of my favorite drills to master this move is to place an alignment stick vertically in the ground one to two inches away from your trail hip next to the heel of your trail foot. From here, rotate your hips without hitting the stick. If you notice when you rotate, you bump the stick; this means you are sliding away from your target on the backswing. If you notice the gap increases significantly, then you are swaying toward the target on your backswing.
What is the correct sequence of the backswing? The shoulder and hips begin your takeaway. To take the club back, rotate your shoulder and hip together. Once your shoulders and hips start to turn moving the clubhead back, hinge your wrist. Once you have added your wrist hinge, allow your forearms to rotate naturally, keeping the club on plane; from here, use your arms to take the club to the top of your backswing.
A drill I like to have students do to work on this sequence is grip down on the club all the way to the shaft. From here, place the shaft against your lead hip and rotate your shoulders and hips back where the club moves to your trail foot. From here, hinge your wrist, having the butt end of the grip point inside the golf ball.
Proper wrist hinge is another very important factor in the backswing. Your wrist always hinges in an upward and downward angle. One way to illustrate the proper way to hinge your wrist is to isolate the action. Get in your golf setup; from here, hinge your wrist upward, lifting the clubhead off the ground until your shaft is parallel to the ground. This is the proper way to hinge your wrist in the backswing. When looking at the illustration, imitate the right illustration; the left picture is wrong.
I love this tray drill, because it really helps focus on getting into the right position at the top of the backswing without getting too technical. Having the right position for the right hand at the top of the backswing helps guide the left wrist into the correct position at the top, as well. You can do this drill with a club or without a club. Get into your golf setup. From here, rotate your lead shoulder, taking your trail hand to the top of the backswing. When you get to the top of your backswing, picture holding a tray in your trail hand, not allowing anything to spill off the tray. Do this drill for five minutes a day at home to have more consistency on the course.
