One Piece Takeaway In Your Golf Swing - Part 2

"Understand how your posture affects your swing mechanics."

The One-Piece Takeaway Movement

You have positioned yourself at your golf ball, set up in a comfortable posture, and you are now ready for your first movement to take your golf club away from your ball.

The start of your first move is to draw your right shoulder and armpit area back towards your right heel --- in a straight line. The completion of this move will place you in a position which features:

• The front of your shoulders closely in line with your right foot.
  
• Your shoulder blades facing the green or fairway area where your ball will land.
  
• During this single movement action you are to maintain your posture angles.
  
• You must also maintain the position of your arms to your body and of your hands to your forearms.
  
• There must NOT be any sideways movements of your arms to help you turn.
  
• There must NOT be any turning of the hands.
  
• There must NOT be any "flipping" or "hinging" of the hands at your wrists during the early part of this movement.

An often used instruction to start the takeaway is to initiate the movement with your left arm and left side. Little thought is given to your right side.

Your right side has to move backwards, out of the way, for your left side to arc comfortably down and under your chin.

And, guess what?

Correctly pulling your right shoulder area back to your right heel will comfortably draw your left shoulder under your chin without any difficult pushing activity.

So, how do you pull your right side backwards as indicated above?

First, a practice exercise:

1. Stand up right. (Do this in front of a mirror if you can.)
   
2. Put your hands on your shoulders to prevent arm movement.
   
3. Firm your whole body.
   
4. Pull your right shoulder straight back to be above your right heel.
   
5. You must feel the weight of your body about half way between your right hip joint and your tailbone.
   
6. The front of both shoulders should be above your right foot.

Did you notice what muscle carried out this movement? No! OK, repeat the movement following the above instructions. As soon as you begin the movement try to identify what muscle is pulling your shoulder and armpit area backwards.

Still can't quite figure out which muscle it is?

It is the part of your large back muscle where it passes over your right kidney area. At least you will feel more tension at this spot of your back muscle.

Your back muscle is very powerful --- when it is stretched out and then tightened aggressively. The effort needed by this muscle to draw your right shoulder backwards is not very much.

In my lessons, I use an arbitrary number like one twentieth of its power. This is the only conscious movement you need to do the "one piece takeaway".

In the pictures and videos on my website you can see how my upper body responds to the one movement described above.

The One-Piece Takeaway Movement In Posture

1. Set up in your usual posture when addressing the golf ball.
2. Place your hands on the front of your shoulders.
3. Firm your whole body.
4. Be aware that your spine is now angled forward.
5. Pull your right shoulder straight back to be above your right heel.
6. But, since your spine is angled forward your right shoulder also arcs upwards as it moves backwards.
7. Feel your left shoulder arcing forward and under your chin area.
8. As above, your arms must not move out of position to your body to assist the turn movement.
9. You must feel the weight of your body about half way between your right hip joint and your tailbone.

This turn in posture must feel comfortable. You should not feel any pinching and stretching in your sides or backbone areas.

Summary
Remember, the more movements you use or allow in your takeaway movement then the more problems you will have trying to make all these movements work together.

You can do this. But, you will have to practice more often.

If you can learn to do the biggest part of your takeaway with one movement you make it easier to have a good golf swing with less practice.


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Copyright by Glen Osborne August 2004. All Rights Reserved

About the author:
Glen teaches his golf program for Ladysmith, BC Parks & Rec. Beginners, struggling golfers, and juniors are his specialty http://basicbodymovementforanygolfswing.com
 

Related Pages

One Piece Takeaway - The one piece takeaway movement - How to do your backswing in one continuous motion for peak impact force - Concept of retaining natural movement in your golf swing.

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

Biomechanics Part 1 - How to make a perfect golf swing every time - Improve your golf swing with these tips on using the proper grip and posture when addressing the ball.

Biomechanics Part 2 - How to improve your golf score with the correct club components when addressing the ball - Correct ball position means the club shaft should lean forward at impact.

Biomechanics Part 3 - Aim and alignment tips - For the best swing, set the clubface square or perpendicular to the target line first - Then set your feet, knees, hips, and shoulders parallel to the target line.

Biomechanics Part 4 - How to determine the length of arc on your backswing that's best for you - Which pre-shot factors to consider before every shot - Visualizing the shot and ball flight.

Biomechanics Part 5 - In depth analysis of the biomechanics of the golf swing - How to improve your backstroke - How to address the ball correctly every time.

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.
 

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