Starting the Swing

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By Ben Blalock

  • 13 Likes
  • 5 Replies
  1. Ben Blalock

    Ben Blalock

    Team Titleist Golfers,

    If you've been following along with my posts this summer, you know that everything I've covered up to this point has to do with pre-swing fundamentals. If you've seen ALL of those videos and read all of the posts, you're ready to take a look at this one.

    As your swing starts, so does the "timer"... How long do you have until impact? Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 seconds! How much can you think of during that period of time. How many stimuli can you detect, identify and react to? Not many - so be sure your system is primed with the type of intent that will allow your subconscious to solve the task of moving the ball from one point to another with ease.

    Here, we're taking a look at how the swing begins. Is there wristcock, or is it a "one-piece" takeaway? Do we roll/pronate the forearms, bend the trail elbow, keep the lead elbow straight, all of these? If the answer is all of them, in what order must they occur. And what about the lower body? Are we shifting weight, pivoting, rotating/tilting hips? Man, there's a lot going on - can you keep track of it all?

    Consider the club for a moment. Consider the shape of the motion that you need to move it through. Can you move it through that shape? I'm betting that you can. You may not make as long or as fast a swing as someone like Justin Thomas, but I promise you, you can find consistency and effectiveness if you start considering things differently.

    Thanks for reading and watching, please let me know if you have any questions!

    -BB

  2. Jim S

    Jim S
    East Point, GA

    Thanks Ben for the advice.I have tried your advice and it works. You have a good way of saying things and how to implement them into your swing. Thanks again.
  3. Ben Blalock

    Ben Blalock

    Thanks Jim!

    I’m glad to hear that the advice is helping, thanks for the kind words.

    Keep at it,

    -BB
  4. DON F

    DON F
    AURORA, CO

    Military
    I agree with you on this very much. One other reason to lift the club off the ground before starting the back swing is that you get a much smoother start to your swing as the club will NOT be forced to DRAG on the ground at the start of your swing. This makes for a smoother swing and that means a better and more consistent swing. And we all could benefit from that.
  5. Nick M.

    Nick M.
    Indiana

    Good stuff, Ben! Thanks for the advice. Visualizing the shape of the arc on the takeaway makes a lot of sense. I've been working a lot on smoothing out the tempo on the back swing, making a good turn and dropping the club versus making that awful over the top move. I can definitely see where starting the back swing with the club hovering instead of sitting on the ground helps slow up the takeaway. Keep up the good work.
  6. Orlando Ojeda

    Orlando Ojeda
    Cumming, GA

    Wow Ben is it that simple with all the irons
    How much force do you apply

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