Six Simple Steps to Improve Your Golf Swing Mechanics

The golf swing is made up of various parts which we put together into one big movement - the swing. Great golf swing mechanics are essential if you want to build a really great and consistent swing. If you spend some time working on your swing mechanics you will see a real improvement in your swing.

In this article I'm going to break your golf swing down into parts and then I'm going to work on each part of your golf swing mechanics, so that you build a great swing. I want to give you a good understanding of what position you and your club should be in throughout the swing.

Step One: Address

At address you should have the correct grip, posture and stance. It's important that you are correctly aligned. Firstly your clubhead should be square behind the ball and aimed directly at your target. Secondly your body, so your hips, shoulders and your feet should all be parallel to your target line - the imaginary line which runs from your ball to your target.

Step Two: Takeaway

On the takeaway you want to ensure that you bring the club back very smoothly. In order to do this the takeaway needs to begin by rotating the body and moving the arms back. This should be a nice simultaneous "one piece" takeaway. Begin to transfer your weight to your back foot as you start this rotation. It's important that you don't start the takeaway with the arms, if you do it will cause you to 'pick the club up' sharply rather than 'sweeping' it back.

Step Three: Middle of the Backswing

As you bring the club back your left arm (lead arm) should remain straight whilst your right arm begins to bend at the elbow. The mid point of the backswing should be around when the clubs shaft is parallel to the ground, at this point the toe of the clubface should be at about 12 o'clock pointing directly up towards the sky. This ensures that you have a square clubface position.

Step Four: Top of the Backswing

From the mid-point of the backswing the body should continue its rotation back and continue to transfer your weight onto your back foot. On the backswing the hips complete their rotation before the shoulders. The shoulders continue their rotation around your spine until your back faces the target at the top of the backswing. At this position your left shoulder is almost where your right shoulder was at address.

At the top of the backswing 75% of your weight should be on your back foot and 25% should be on the front foot. At the top of the backswing the shaft of the club should be parallel to the ground and point at your target. The clubface should be toe-down.

Step Five: Downswing

On the downswing, rotation begins with your hips and legs, followed by the shoulders, this slight separation between the upper body and the lower body as you start the downswing creates torque which is great for boosting your swing power. The lower body - the hips and legs, should begin the downswing. The downswing is all about shifting that weight from the back foot to your front foot, towards your target.