Begin the set up by standing tall and erect, with the feet
at least shoulder width apart and parallel to the target line. ( If your stance is too narrow, the lower part of your
body will sway too easily.)
The right foot should be slightly angled to the right at
about five degrees from the straight position.
However the left foot should be angled to the left at approximately
forty five degrees.
From this position introduce a very slight bend in the legs and simultaneously allow the upper body to lean slightly
forward.
( Just stand tall, with a very slight bend at the knees
- you must not bend over too much.)
Once you have completed this action, you must then form
the muscles of the lower body into a taut condition thus
creating a solid base on which to rotate the upper body
unit.
The next important step is to set the sideways angle
of the upper body so that it is slightly tilted to the right,
thus ensuring that the right shoulder is lower than the
left shoulder.
(This allows the right hand to comfortably
grip the club whilst still maintaining a slight bend in
the right arm.)
This slight tilt of the upper body will also assist
in setting the head so that the left eye is well behind the ball position.
However once these upper body angles have been set,
which includes the sideway tilt, these upper body angles must be maintained throughout the complete golf swing
movement.
Next, allow the shoulders to slump before pulling the
arms close together then make the chest, the shoulders
and the upper back muscles into a taut condition, thus forming
a very compact upper body unit.
(See "Formation
of Upper Body Unit" below)
Next, pull the elbows tight against the body and make the
muscles of the forearms into a firm condition.
(To set the arms in the correct position, allow the
elbows to move slightly away from the body but still keeping
the upper arms touching the chest cavity.)
( Holding the forearms in a very firm condition will ensure
that the shoulders, the arms and the golf club move away
from the address position as a complete one piece unit.)
Finally, the hands must be set slightly to the left of the centre of your body.
so that when you look at the ball the club head and the
hands are to the left of the centre of your body.
( The hands must remain in this forward position, relative to the club head, throughout the down swing/follow through movement.
This will ensure that the hands pull the club head through the contact whilst the club face is held square to the target line.)
Place the club head behind the ball whilst ensuring that
your left eye behind the ball.
To hit the ball straight, set the feet, hips, shoulders
and the head Parallel to the target line and with the face of the club
square to the target line.
If you are addressing the ball correctly it will feel
as if you have adopted a slightly open stance, you have
not but that it how it should feel.
Tip.
If you dropped a plumb line from the left eye directly
to the ground, the point where the indicator touches the
ground should be just behind the
ball position.
You will also note that the hands and the club head are
also to the left of the position where the plumb bob is
directly over.
Therefore during the down swing movement you must keep
the head firmly held in this position so that the left eye
remains just behind the ball position, and importantly whilst
the head is firmly held in this position -- you must allow
the hands to pass the original address
position before the ball is struck.
Formation of the Upper Body Unit
After you have set the upper body at the correct angles,
the elbows must drawn as close together as is physically
possible and the muscles of the chest, the shoulder and
the upper back must be formed into a taut condition.
(Once the upper body has been set in this compact condition,
it is absolutely vital that the upper body unit remains
in this very compact condition throughout the complete golf
swing movement.)
Holding the upper body unit in this compact condition is
very difficult to achieve at first, especially as the club
head is about to strike the ball, but with concentration
the upper body unit can be held in this condition throughout
the complete golf swing movement.
When you have completed the set up routine, you must
then focus on keeping the right shoulder/right upper arm
as the focal point, so that as the compact upper body unit
rotate into the back swing movement the golf club is pulled
to the end of the back swing movement.
Head Position.
It is absolutely vital that the head does not move away
from the position it is set at the address position at any
point in the golf swing movement -- you have to learn how
to transfer the weight of your body first of all onto the
right foot as you perform the back swing, and then onto
the left foot as you perform the down swing movement without
allowing the head to sway away from the original address
position.
It can be done, you simply have to concentrate on the
task.
Alignment of the Forearms
It is vital that the forearms are set in the correct
position at the address position, because this is the position
that the forearms will automatically return as you perform
the down swing movement.
To set the correct position is a simple task.
The important thing is that when you grip the golf club,
you must ensure that both palms are square to the target
line - or to explain it another way, the right palm is squarely
facing the target point and the back of the left hand is
also squarely facing the target point -- This ensures that
both forearms are in a neutral position -i.e., square to
target line.
For example, at the address position, if you were holding
the golf club with a strong grip, both forearms would be
partially rotated in a clockwise motion prior to beginning
the back swing movement.
Similarly, at the address position, if you were holding
the golf club with a weak grip, both forearms would be partially
rotated in an anti-clockwise motion prior to beginning the
back swing movement.
Therefore because the forearms automatically return
to the neutral position at the point of contact, by setting
the forearms in a neutral position at the address position
you will dramatically increase your chances of hitting the
ball in the direction that you are aiming.
Golf Grip.
It is important to have
the correct grip, so either before you set the upper body
position or after, a correct grip must be seen a priority
to playing good golf therefore you
have to find the correct balance between a strong grip and
a weak grip -- anything extreme with the gripping of the
golf club will create their own problems.
Strong Grip
Although you can get by with a strong
grip, when you come under pressure to hit a straight
shot, it will inevitably cause you to hook the ball.
Weak Grip
Similarly if you have a weak grip, although most of
the time you can get away with a weak grip, when you come
under pressure to hit a straight shot, it will inevitably
cause you to slice the ball.
Therefore you have to find a compromise between the
two extreme positions.
Set up of the lower body.
The muscles of the legs,
the thighs and the buttocks must held in a firm condition
and the right leg must remain
in a permanently rigid but slightly bent condition during
the back swing movement and in addition, the heels of both
feet must remain firmly on the ground throughout the back
swing movement and finally, the hips will rotate away from the frontal facing position but they
must not sway away from the original address position at
all.
Stand with the buttocks sticking out to the rear, and
with the back straight, but the legs must remain slightly
bent.
These actions will ensure that the lower part of the
body puts up the maximum resistance to the rotational movement
of the shoulders as the back swing movement is performed.
Alignment of the Feet
It order to set up the feet so that the toes are Parallel
to the Target Line, place a golf club on the ground
so that the golf club is running parallel to the target
line and then simply use the golf club on the ground as
a guide to the feet placement but the angle of each foot
is different.
Your left foot should be slightly angled to the right at
about five degrees from the straight position, however the
left foot should be angled to the left at approximately
forty five degrees from the straight position.
Alignment of the club face.
1) Place the club on the ground behind the ball and
adjust the club face so that it is square to the target area.
2) Leaving the club in the same place, align the shoulders,
hips, the feet and the head in accordance with my instructions.
3) Forget totally about which direction that the ball
will go and concentrate solely on hitting the ball in accordance
with my instructions.
Position of the ball.
When playing the driver, the ball must always be positioned
adjacent to the left heel so that the ball is positioned
at the bottom
of the swing arc.
With all of the other clubs, the ball gradual move back
in the stance in very small steps until you reach the sand iron where the ball should be placed half way between the centre of your stance and the left heel.
