Effect of body’s position on swing plane

The action created by the body during the swing affects the plane of the golf swing thereby influencing the direction of the balls flight

Updated At : 06:17 AM Feb 10, 2015 IST

Jesse Grewal

The action created by the body during the swing affects the plane of the golf swing, thereby influencing the direction of the balls flight. During the natural action of the golf swing or in any athletic move whether it is throwing a ball or playing a racket game, the upper body creates the winding action during the backswing and the lower body initiates the forward swing.

Place an alignment stick or a shaft through the belt loops of your trouser. Hold a shaft across your shoulders. During the takeaway, the shoulders should initiate the backswing. The shoulders would have turned approximately 45 degrees with the hips having turned very little (picture 1). At the top of the backswing the shoulders would have turned 90 degrees and the hips half of that (picture 2). If the hips turn to early on the backswing, the club would tend to go inside causing a flat plane. If the hips do not turn at all the swing could get more upright and the shoulders may not be able to turn fully. Both can cause an incorrect downswing plane.

At the start of the downswing, the lower body initiates the turn. The hips turn to return to their position at address while the shoulders should still be a little shut (picture 3). This trailing action of the shoulders brings the club from a slightly inside plane which is desired if one wants to hit a draw or a straight shot. For a fade the club should come on slightly out-to-in path in which case the upper body or shoulders unwind a little earlier causing the club to be thrown outwards earlier in the downswing. As the upper body begins to accelerate the unwinding action of the shoulders, make them catch up with the hips (picture 4) and pass them in a full finish. If the hips unwind too quickly during the backswing, the upper body is unable to unwind causing the club to drop inside leading to an in-to-out swing. This causes pushed shots or hooks. If the hips do not initiate the downswing and the shoulders fire too early, the plane would be out-to-in leading to pulled shots or slices.

(Grewal has coached several national champions and professionals apart from being coach of the Indian golf team for the Eisenhower Cup (World Cup) in 2008. He is currently the Director of National Golf Academy of India and CGA Hero Honda Golf Academy. If you have any queries get in touch with him at parexcellence@tribunemail.com)

Effect of body’s position on swing plane

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