It’s not uncommon to see tour players work on their takeaway. The theory is that, if you get off to a good start, you’re on the right road.
I like to think your takeaway is all about setting the club in motion for the flow of your swing.
I see a lot of people on the practice area really working hard on this part of their swing. People can follow and understand pictures of the set-up as there are static positions and this picture tells the whole story - but when things start moving, pictures can be misleading.
Try and think of your takeaway as a start of a race between the clubhead, your hands, and shoulders. The finish is the top of your backswing. The strange thing about this ‘race’, however, is that it has to finish in a three-way tie: they all need to reach the top of the backswing at the same time.
If they do, it’s called synchronicity and that coils your swing up beautifully for the downswing.
The race, however, is unfair as the clubhead has the furthest distance to travel compared to the hands then the shoulders.
So to compensate, the clubhead gets a head start. I like to think about starting my swing by moving the toe of the clubhead back from the ball first.
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Scott Clark is the Director of Golf at Prestonfield Golf Club. For lessons, call Scott on 0131 667 8597. Follow him on Twitter @ScottClarkPGA.
