Know More About Golf Swing

The fundamentals of golf, as I see it, fall into four natural groupings: those that relate 1) to the grip, 2) to the stance and posture, 3) to the first part of the swing (from address to the top of the backswing) and 4) to the second part of the swing (from the start of the downswing to the finish of the follow-through).

The first point about backswing I want to emphasize is this: if his body, legs and arms are properly positioned and poised to begin with, any golfer with average equipment can learn to execute the proper movements. This is why you must build on a correct grip and stance, for the golf swing is an accumulative thing. All the actions are linked together.

For instance, when your grip is correct you will have the proper live tension in the muscles which run along the inside of the arms all the way to the armpit. These are the arm muscles you want to work with-they tie in with the muscles of the body that should be used in the golf swing.

With practice, these movements will all blend harmoniously together and fuse into one smooth over-all movement. A bad swing is tiring drudgery. A good swing is a physical pleasure.

When a good golfer is going through his waggle, to the uninitiated eye it sometimes looks as if he were simply getting the fidgets out of his system or finding a surer foothold with his spikes.

He is, as I have described, doing something far more purposeful than that. He is adjusting to the shot, establishing his coordination in the process. He is, in effect, conducting an instinctive roll call of the parts of the body he will be using, alerting them and refreshing their memory of the movements they will be making during the swing.

Throughout these lessons we have placed special emphasis on the fact that the golf swing is, in principle, a continuous chain of actions. Like the component parts of the engine of an automobile, the component parts of the swing fuse together and work together in a purposeful sequence. As each component performs its part of the operation, it sets up the proper operation of the other components with which it is connected. I bring this up at this particular point, for if golfer clearly grasps the interrelationship of the hands, arms, shoulders and hips, he will play good golf-he cannot help but play good golf.