Golf Swing Biomechanics - Part 1

"Understanding the biomechanics of your golf swing."

Biomechanics of Golf Swing Overview:

• Learn what YOUR neutral grip is (Part 1)
• The CORRECT ball position for every club (Part 2)
• The CORRECT swing shape (Part 3)
• How far back YOU can take the club (Part 4)
• How to play within YOUR style. (Part 5)

You will have many options to choose from and we'll show you how to find the ones that will work for you. Once you have all of your "components" you won't need to experiment any longer!
 

SWING BIOMECHANICS: WHERE TO START - GRIP AND POSTURE

While this may be obvious to some you would be surprised by the number of people that work on their swing without starting with their grip.

There is a neutral grip for any golfer! That grip is where YOUR arm hangs down from the shoulder socket and the angle of YOUR target side hand.

It makes no difference whether you use an overlapping, interlocking, and ten-finger (baseball) grip. What IS critical is the angle the club lies in your hand.

To find YOUR neutral grip, first take your address position, but without a club, and let both arms hang downward from the shoulder sockets with NO TENSION.

Most golfers will find that their target side arm hangs somewhere between the middle of the target side thigh to the inside of the thigh, depending on the width of stance and/or the width of the chest.

As you look down at your target side hand pay attention to the angle it hangs. Some of you will see two knuckles of the hand, some will see three, and some may even see four. It doesn't matter how many you see!

Whatever the number, this is YOUR bodies way of telling you its natural tendency and that is the neutral angle for YOUR grip! When you place your target side hand on the club it should be at the same angle you just saw.

The club then runs diagonally from between the first and second joint of the index finger to the base of the pinkie finger. Close the fingers and then close the hand with the heel pad on top of the shaft with the thumb to the backside of the shaft.

This supplies pressure from the heel pad downward and the last three fingers exert pressure upward. Then take the lifeline of the trailing hand, located between the thumb and heel pads, and place it on the thumb of the target side hand.

The lifeline against the thumb exerts the pressure here; the right forefinger should be separated, in a "triggering position", but with no pressure. It is important to understand that the forefinger and target side thumb both be on the same side and angle of the shaft for the best support.

The trailing thumb should be on the target side of the shaft. You never want the thumbs to exert any pressure. Finally, in order for the hands to work together, they must be parallel to each other.

GOLF SWING BIOMECHANICS: POSTURE

Regardless of the player's level of golf anyone can get into a posture that looks as good as any Tour Player, it takes no athletic ability to get into a proper posture!

For full swing shots, other than a Driver, the inside of the heels should be as wide as the outside of the hips (for a Driver the inside of the heels as wide as the outside of the shoulders).

Push the hips sockets back and up so that the pelvis is at an angle, not horizontal to the ground. As you push the hips back, and up, this will lower the chest and place the weight toward the back of the arch of the foot.

Simply unlock your knees, you'll feel a little pressure above the kneecaps, and let the arms hang limply downward from the shoulder socket.

There should be NO TENSION in the arms or shoulders. Some players like to tilt their upper bodies slightly away from target as the final set-up adjustment.

Because your trailing hand is lower than the target side hand this is acceptable, just don't overdo it.

Now you have YOUR grip and posture.

Click here for Golf Swing Biomechanics - Part 2

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Chuck Evans, G.S.E.D.
www.chuckevansgolf.com chuck@chuckevansgolf.com

P.S. Visit our website for more information on how to become the best player YOU can be.

About the author: Chuck Evans is one of only 31 Teachers in the world to hold the designation of "Doctorate in Golf Stroke Engineering", he is one of the most highly sought after instructors in the world not only by players but other teachers as well and is known as the Teacher of Teachers. His DVD, "60 Days To Game Improvement" has sold in excess of 10,000 copies and his new eBook, "How To Build YOUR Golf Swing" is in the library of amateurs and Teaching Professional alike.
 

Related Pages

Three Golf Swing Secrets - The three most important parts of the golf swing - Discover three secrets that will make you a better golfer - Flat left wrist, straight plane line, and lagging clubhead.

Perfect Posture - Understand how your posture affects your swing mechanics - Quick tips for improving your swing by improving your posture - Knees, back, and shoulders.

Perfect Posture Part 2 - The correct posture for holding a golf club - The quick posture setup to use during your round - How to adjust your posture for different clubs.

One Piece Takeaway Part 2 - The one-piece takeaway movement - Improve your posture and improve your swing - Practice exercises for developing the right golf swing posture.

How To Fix Your Shank - Advice on how to correct your swing to avoid shanking the ball - What a shanked shot is and how to fix your shank - Easy practice method to keep your club vertical at impact.

Alignment Tips - Alignment: The Most Important Lesson in Golf - How to properly square up before you address the ball - Tips on proper alignment of your swing.

Articles - A complete list of all our golfing tips.
 

Golf News

Travel Picks: Top 10 new golf courses in 2008 (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
The Castle Course at St. Andrews in Scotland was named as the top new golf course of 2008 by Travel + Leisure Golf magazine, which described it as one of the most ambitious designs that would keep golfers talking.

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Some 70 PGA Professionals, including many of The PGA of America's premier golf instructors, will be among the featured instructors at Play Golf America Day, Dec. 3, at the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla. There is no admission charge.