How to Improve Your Backswing Rotation
By Steve Silverman
Learning how to swing the golf club is something golfers work on and continue to fine tune as the years go by. The backswing is the movement at the start of the swing and a golfer with a good backswing is likely to hit the ball with balance, power and accuracy.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
To produce a good swing in general and an excellent backswing in particular, the golfer needs to be flexible. Exercises will help achieve that flexibility. One of the best exercises to do on the tee is to take your 5-iron, put it behind your neck and lock it into place by putting your hands on top of it. Twist to the right three times and then bring it back to center before twisting to the left three times.
Set up to address the ball with your feet shoulder-width apart. If your feet are narrower than that, it will be difficult to rotate your hips fully as you bring the club back.
Tee the ball up fairly high. The average tee is 3/4 of an inch high. Tee the ball up as close to that level as possible or get an oversized tee -- 1 1/2 inches -- and tee it up at least an inch. The higher you tee the ball, the more hip rotation you will be able to get to produce more distance and accuracy.
Rotate your hips to the right to start your swing. As you rotate your hips, bring your hands back until they are shoulder height. That move with your hands will help you rotate your hips as far as you can and assure maximum club head speed at impact.
Rotate your hips in the opposite direction to get your downswing started. Do this once you have your hips and hands in the correct position after your backswing, triggering the rest of your swing by rolling your hips to the left.
Tips & Warnings
Work on your backswing -- also called the takeaway -- when you practice at the driving range.
About The Author
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.
