Golf Tips - The Back Swing

John: Okay both of you I think this is the week you have been waiting for. You know what we are going to do today? Backswing, yes ma'am we are going to do the backswing. Didn't put it in the earlier for the simple reason, that I don't think it's possible to do, for a beginner. Okay, I am certain that had you been taking individual lessons, with me here, and not just for this series. You would have found, the same thing from fourth or fifth lesson, we don't do the back swing until that point. And the main reason for this, is that the backswing normally, if it's done early in the teaching, in my opinion is bad, because what we are worried so much about, all this that is going on here. We don't find the ball. So you have already learned to find the ball, you are getting about an 80% success rate, hitting the ball. So now I think I can teach you the backswing without it complicating the fact, of trying to find the ball, okay. This is how we are going to attempt it, it's really very simple. First of all, is a muscular thing, arms well relaxed from your shoulders, okay. Because in that moment you are going to be turning, you are going to be turning like this, so that your left shoulder is completely down facing the golf ball, that's right. Now to achieve this and to make a full backswing, you must not have any stiffness between your arms and your shoulders, okay Ruth? Ruth: Okay. John: Good so watch me now. My arms are out in front, we will get down to all the little details, about the perfect stance, a little later. But for the moment, they are out like this, here is your little half swing, that you have been doing, just here, now watch. Up go the arms and shoulders turning unison, and we arrive at a position which is just over the right shoulder okay, no more. The left arm always straight, never, never stick. First lesson, normally people trying to keep their left arm straight, and what happens? They get in all sorts of terrible trouble. But you have already learned this, you have been doing this. So, yes, Ruth, left arm does stay straight, but listen not stiff, okay, not stiff because look what would happen. Watch my arm, you see I am a little bit double jointed here, and if I get my arms stiff, I would have a terrible position. Very good. Now, with regards what you asked me about the wrists, it is a little heavier at the top. But just let, the club bend the wrist automatically. Never try and purposely cock the wrists here, don't do that not necessary, okay. You watch, swing that nice and relaxed, turn and the weight of the club, bends the wrist and put them in the right position, okay. Now there's something I must tell you also. about the backswing, because it's very, very important and that is the plane of the swing. Here, we have the line of the feet, okay. There's the line of the feet, like this, an imaginary line going here. Okay, now if I am to make a good swing plane, this is what happens. We swing back like this, until half way point, my club is exactly, watch me now, the same line is my feet. That's a wonderful reference point, that's the idea, okay. Now look how easy it's going to be, I keep turning, keep turning with that nice freedom in my shoulders. The wrist will bend quite automatically, by the weight of the club, and I am going to arrive in a situation where the club is practically in the direction, that I want to go, okay. It's really very simple, if we would have done this in the first lessons, there's no way, you would arrived here, you would have been in all sorts of strange positions like this you know. But today it's going to be easy, so watch me one more time, okay. Swing plane, we want to copy this line, not here that's the outside line, not here that's the inside line. But absolutely, perfect plane here. Now we turn, turn the shoulders, let the wrist break naturally, we are over the right shoulder here, and look the club down the line there, okay. Alright Remy, I would like you to try it now. Ruth will watch, okay. Remember that backswing first, and perhaps if you make a little practice swing first, alright without the ball just to get the feeling of it. Nice wide arc up, that's good, fine, good, and again, keep the club wide, up, stop there, stop there, okay look bending over a little bit more and the club out here; out you come, a little bit more, that's it. Try and keep your hands a good distance, from your shoulders and that's all you need. Remy: Yes. John: Not like this one okay, like that. So if we start from there alright, you watch how easy it is, with that -- now, hold the club please, hold the club, good from here, wide no, keep holding on, that's good. Okay now back you come, and you simply think about keeping the hands nice and wide, long away from your shoulders, and that will help keep the arm straight. If you concentrate on just the arm; it will have a negative effect. Think of keeping your hands away from you; yeah look at that, that's beautiful. It's almost a perfect backswing, and we are just joking. Okay off, you go, that's it, alright, why don't you try one, it doesn't matter if you miss it. Nice easy swing, wide swing now, back you go, I think he is going to get it, nice, oh! Yeah well, done well, done, good, I was talking to Ruth and I didn't think you would make it. That was good, okay, now one more, nice wide swing. But relax, come on you are suppose to enjoy these lessons with me, come on, relax, back, back, wide. Look, come here for a second -- look at the -- this is the position you are, I see you are bending, can you see you are bending? Alright, now when you swing back, you must not loose that angle, swing back, got the idea, that's it, and you swing out there. But you don't come up here, because if you come up there, you are going to go over the top of the ball. When you swing you don't loose the angle. Okay, you are going, now it is difficult to find them all again, because you have gone out. You have now got to go to down to somewhere. So when we turn remember, I need to roll, well it's moving your back then your head, because the head couldn't move, but it's more on the back. So look from this angle it's -- I am still bending over, then I am going to find my ball. Okay, good that's building up into a nice little golf swing now. Now we are going to have to spend most of the afternoon practicing here, on this. Just practice one more shot, will you? Remy: Yeah. John: So you see we are getting into a backswing now, which is not really too difficult, for them. We have only spend about 5-10 minutes on it, and already, I have just heard that shot so, I didn't even see it, but the noise was good, so we are winning.