The swing of the future: I guarantee this technique will make your shots longer and straighter than they are now

Golf Digest, June, 2004 by Rob Akins, Ron Kaspriske

Most instructors will tell you the swing of the new golfer-athlete is one that synchronizes the swinging of the hands and arms with the turning motion of the body.

That's all fine and good. But after years of studying the swing, I've found one more critical element. I call it the spine-tilt thrust, and it happens right at impact. I'm convinced that adding this move to the arm swing and body turn will help you hit the ball consistently straight and far--especially under pressure.

To say that power in the golf swing comes from generating clubhead speed by swinging faster tells only part of the story. The other part--and to me, the most important--is knowing how to apply the mass of your body to the hit. Put another way: Which would you rather be struck by, a Ping Pong ball traveling 200 miles per hour or a bowling ball traveling 20 mph? Your driver weighs less than a pound. If it strikes the golf ball by itself, that ball isn't going anywhere. But if you get your body behind the hit, you have a driver that can weigh as much as you do. The spine-tilt thrust not only helps you effectively apply your body weight to your driver at impact, it will allow you to multiply that weight.

I'll show you how to combine the elements needed for a powerful and accurate swing. We'll start with the backswing, move onto the downswing and finish with the good stuff: the spine-tilt thrust at impact. You will no longer have to worry about manipulating your hands to square the face at impact, nor will you have to swing out of your shoes to hit the ball farther. And when the match is on the line, you can be assured that this golf swing holds up.

Akins, one of Golf Digest's 50 Greatest Teachers as ranked by his peers, teaches at Ridgeway Country Club, near Memphis. He works with David Toms and Loren Roberts, among other PGA and LPGA tour players.

Back

IN THE SWING I'M TEACHING YOU, there are three keys to making a correct backswing: getting on plane, making a full turn and then, at the top, bowing your left wrist to set the clubface in a square position as you begin the downswing. I address the ball with a slightly strong grip and the ball a lot closer to my front foot than the back. From this point, follow my three-step plan for the backswing. This is a lot to digest, so try working on the elements individually before trying all three at the same time.

SWING PLANE: To check that your swing is on plane, lay a club on the ground parallel to the target. At the halfway point of the backswing, your left arm should also be parallel to that target line. Allow your forearms to rotate away from the target as you take it back.

TURN YOUR BACK TO THE TARGET: If you don't complete the backswing, you won't be able to square the clubface at impact without manipulating your hands. We don't want that. I tell students to turn away from the target until their back is facing it. That's a lot easier than trying to tell them to make a shoulder turn the same amount of degrees they turn their forearms, which is exactly what I want them to do.

Check your plane

no

Tee up a ball, and hit drives from your knees. If your swing plane is too vertical (left), you'll hit the ground and miss the ball.

yes

I'm on plane here. Notice how the butt of the clubshaft is pointing above the ball? This is key if you want to make solid contact.

What you want to see

Before you begin the downswing, you need to either bow your left wrist or thrust your right palm toward the sky. They both accomplish the same thing--presetting the clubface in a square position for impact so you don't have to do it with your hands during the downswing. Not having to worry about timing the squaring of the clubface is what makes this a choke-proof swing. Take a peek to confirm your hands look like this.

Down swing

BRING BOTH ARMS INTO THE BODY as you start the downswing. The right elbow juts into the hip, and the left biceps squeeze the chest. Then make a turn with the body as hard as you can back toward the target. Now, as the club approaches impact, you're swinging with the mass of your body behind the hit. Because you already squared the clubface at the top of the backswing, you don't have to worry about releasing the hands before impact. Hold this position (right).

YOUR SHAFT MUST POINT OUTSIDE THE BALL: One thing I discovered in creating this swing was that, contrary to what most teachers think, the butt end of the golf club should point outside the ball sometime during the downswing (big photo) and backswing (inset). David Toms' swing always does this, as do the swings of almost every good player I've ever checked on the video monitor, from Ben Hogan's to Sergio Garcia's to Tiger Woods'. You can't connect the arms to the body if the shaft is pointed inside the ball. Here, David is on plane and in great position to strike the ball. When you make practice swings, stop when you reach this position to check where the butt of the club is pointing. Outside the ball is correct.

Case study:

Why David Toms hits it so straight