Learning golf – 3 The Full Swing

By Lucia Blash on September 11, 2008 2:10 PM |

Tagged with:

As any golfer will tell you, if you want to climb the corporate career ladder or clinch a business deal then knowing how to handle a Big Bertha or being able to sink a 40ft putt can help, writes Lucia Blash.

The fairway has long been the place where promotions have been secured and business deals struck. But what if you’ve never picked up a club or set foot on a golf course. How do you get started?

Director of golf at Canary Wharf's Citybunker Pete Fuller reckons he can take anyone and turn them from a beginner into a confident and competent player.

In his Wharf column, Learning Golf, the PGA pro will pass on his knowledge through a step-by-step guide.

In this lesson, the Pro takes the beginner through the stages of the Full Swing.

Our goal is to build a strong, repeating full swing. Before approaching any shot, take a deep breath and relax.

Check points. Take the club back to the waist high position learned in Lesson One and stop. Then have a look at your positions, and make sure your five check points are correct.

Focus. To complete the full swing from here, look back at the ball and focus your eyes on the back of it.

Then slowly take the club to the top of the backswing by simultaneously breaking the wrists, letting the left arm rise and turning the left shoulder.

Check points. At the top of your backswing your check points are.

1. Position the left shoulder under the chin.

2.Your back should be facing the target.

3. Your weight should almost be fully loaded on the inside of the right knee and foot.

4. The left arm should be straight.

5. The club shaft should make its way up over the right shoulder.

Downswing. As you start the downswing, you must drive the club down with the arms, remembering to make a descending blow on the ball.

Mirror image. The follow-through should be a mirror image of the backswing, so extend the club straight through on the target line after impact.

Turn through to your finish with the club held high over your left shoulder.

The weight should now be fully on the left side, with the front of the body facing the parallel line (the inside train track from Lesson One).

Repetition. When you practise this drill be deliberate and slow, breaking the swing down in to two parts.

Repeat this practise drill 10 times. Then make three full swings without stopping. This should be rhythmical, have an even tempo with a smooth acceleration on the follow through.

As you complete the full swing without stopping say to yourself “right side, left side�?. This will help with your rhythm.