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Start Swing with a Slow One-Piece Golf Takeaway for Swing Control
The golf swing is a chain reaction; if started correctly with a good takeaway, swinging the club into the correct plane for consistent hitting is almost automatic.
But starting the swing off with the wrong move and hitting good shots becomes more and more complicated. Learn to start the swing off slowly by practicing the move in slow motion to groove the correct swing path away from the ball.
Slow Motion Practice Drill for Takeaway
A rushed jerky start to the swing makes it very difficult to hit good shots. Most pros consider the takeaway to be crucial and consequently spend much of their practice time developing drills to help feel the correct start to the swing.
Try the following drill and learn how to swing the club away from the ball in slow motion.
- Grip down the shaft on iron, so the butt of the club sticks into your stomach. This secures the club to the body and promotes the correct one-piece takeaway, where the body, arms, hands, and club all move together at the beginning of the swing.
- With the club in your tummy and the butt always pointing to your spine, practice swinging away from the ball as slowly as you can to let the muscles have the most feedback. Do not swing back further back than two feet, as this is where the hands would start to hinge.
- Practice this as much as you can until you feel you can achieve the same takeaway when holding the club normally.
- This is an essential golf swing drill to practice, so try to incorporate the drill into your normal warm-up at the range.
Drill to Help Control the Takeaway
- Try this drill which makes the golfers swing slowly away from the ball.
- Take up your golf stance but instead of having a ball in the normal place, put it behind the golf club as though you were hitting a left-handed shot.
- When ready, make a swing starting with a slow-motion takeaway. As you move the club away, the ball at the back of the club should be swept gracefully away on an inside swing path.
- From halfway back as the wrists hinge, the ball should be rolled away slightly behind the golfer to reflect the inside swing path created by turning the body.
- With a jerky takeaway, the ball would speed off straight along the target line rather than correctly on the inside.
- Learn to turn smoothly and slowly by practicing the takeaway in slow motion, so the club has the best chance of automatically swinging onto the correct swing plane. The slower a golfer swings the club away from the ball, the more control they will have during the swing.
