Golf swing takeaway is an underlying act that occurs when a golfer starts his golf swing. Simply put, it’s initiated at the time the golf swing itself is set up, and it completes itself at the time the club becomes parallel with the ground. An accomplished golfer will invariably tell you this to be the very beginning of their backswing. And it’s also the time when they think about starting their downswing. It’s in this “heartbeat” that they begin thinking about the transition into their follow through position.
You’ll notice right away that there is a missing link in the timing between the start of your downswing and the commencement of your follow through. What I am talking about is that there is a gap of roughly two seconds between the time your right elbow reaches the bottom of your backswing and the time your right wrist extends fully to the right side of your body. When we refer to full extension, by our definition, we are talking about wrapping your entire arm around your body, but instead of pointing it towards the skies, as we would when we are swinging a golf club. So, when you have your right elbow halfway out of your backswing, what is going on? At this juncture, your pivot point – your right wrist being at or slightly behind the ball – has not yet occurred.
So what occurs at this juncture? This is where the golf swing takeaway begins. The golf swing after all is just the start of the swing sequence. If for some reason, the ball does not come into the area where the golfer wants it to go after impact, it’s because the golf swing has not completed its full extension. In other words: if the ball does not make it to your intended target after impact, then you are out of time, out of position and need to make a change in how you approach your shot.
The first thing you must do is get your left arm to “come off” the left shoulder. As the golf swing progresses, the weight of the golfer and his left arm, together with his hands, naturally come off the left shoulder. If you do not get your left arm to come off of the left shoulder, your left shoulder will remain attached to your body. If you do happen to have your left shoulder detach from your body, your golf swing takeaway will not take place and you will be either out of position, or in an awkward position at impact.
Therefore, to continue on with our golf swing takeaway explanation, once you have your left arm and hand coming off of your shoulders, what you must do is “wrap” or “towel” them out. Once this has happened, you now have one more vital part of your golf swing setup in order to work correctly. You must have your right foot placed correctly, but also have it placed so that it is perpendicular to your target. In other words, your right foot and left heel (if you are a right-handed golfer) should be pointing straight down the middle of your target strip.
The next important part of your golf swing takeaway drill is to be able to “see” your setup position at impact. To do this, begin by looking at your setup position from a distance, with your hands and arms halfway between your eyes. Look at how your shoulders, hips, knees, feet and shoulders line up with each other. (You can use a mirror to help you see how they look.)
Then you will want to start practicing hitting balls in the direction of your target. You will need to move your right arm from a neutral position between your hands and your eyes all the way up to about waist length. From here, the ball can be struck using your shoulders as you would a golf club. Your left arm and hands should point toward your target. Finally, your body should be positioned in a straight line between your left shoulder and your right elbow.
Now that you understand the basics of how to perform the takeaway drill properly, you can begin practicing a proper golf swing with a golf swing device. To do this, take a driver or a putter and place it between two trees. Place a tee in the center of this triangle formed by the two trees. When you practice this technique, you should aim to create a triangle with both the height and the width of the tee and the distance between your shoulders and your target as equal factors. You can then practice swinging the ball as normal, just be sure that your setup is correct and that your hands and arms are lined up correctly with each other before hitting the ball.