Fatal flaw         Easy-chair slouch.
Awful results     Slice, scuff, smother, shank, pull, hook, top, or sky.
Magic move     Steel-spring tension with straight left wrist.
Checkpoints     Two knuckles of left hand visible, one knuckle of right; 45-degree angle for club face; shoulder tap for plane.

At the end of the last chapter we had taken you through the first movement of the backswing, the early back­ward wrist break with the thumb press. That set the hands and wrists and the face of the club in the proper positions, locked them in, as it were. It also brought the hands waist high.

The next movement is the one that takes us to the top of the swing. This is a vital position, and when it is reached the next fatal flaw makes its appearance.

It might be well to first take a general look at the top of the backswing. Actually there is no absolute top, in the sense that everything which has been moving in one upward and backward direction reaches its limit at the same time and starts forward and down together. All the parts of the swinging system—the club, hands, arms, body, and legs-do not reach their backward limits at the same time. They reach them in a steady progression, from the ground up. The knees get there first, followed by the hips, then the shoulders, the arms, the hands, and finally the club head.

There is quite a time gap, too, between the extension limits of the first three parts and the last three. There is a similar lag in the time they start down, too. Swings of the top professionals vary somewhat, of course, but sequence pictures never fail to show that the knees, hips, and shoulders reach the end of their backward movements well before the arms, hands, and club head. The same pictures invariably show the knees and hips moving into the downswing before the upper part of the body. In fact, the knees and hips are actually moving into the downswing before the club head has gone all the way back.

This, however, is something you do not have to worry about or even think of. Since it is a reflex action, it will take place without your knowledge.

When we speak of the top of the backswing here, we mean the top of the swing for the hands.

The Fatal Flaw

You have just seen, in the previous chapter, how the swing can be thrown off and a bad position reached at the top by an early body-twist with a late upward wrist break. A swing that starts out pretty well can also be ruined as it nears the top. It happens repeatedly in the common, orthodox swing and it can happen with the swing we are giving you. Nobody is immune to it. It is a position we call the easy-chair slouch.

It happens this way. As the swing goes up toward the top, the whole swinging system gets tighter and a definite tension develops. This is felt mostly in the upper part of the body, the shoulders, the left arm, and the left hand. It is not a comfortable feeling. To ease it the player subconsciously checks the shoulder turn, lets the left hand bend backward as the wrist collapses, and loosens the left-hand grip. He's heard a thousand times that he should be loose and relaxed and comfortable, so he's going to be. Often, he even bends his left arm (Fig. 20).

Instantly every good, sound element of the swing disap­pears. The restriction of the shoulder turn and the collapse of the left wrist permit the player to bring the club up in­stead of back and around. The bending back of the left hand puts the left wrist under the shaft at the top and opens the face of the club. The relaxed left-hand grip lets the club drop down into an overswing. The arc of the swing is narrowed and the plane is elevated.

Figs. 20A, 20B. The open-face take-away (described in Chapter 4) that leads to so much trouble. In A the player has taken the club away from the ball with very little break, has rolled the face open, and is taking the club around his body. In B it is going around and low, and the player is getting a tight, uncomfortable feeling.

The right elbow comes up, and generally more weight settles on the left leg, as the player pivots instead of moving his weight, and settles him­self into a more comfortable position—the easy-chair slouch (Fig. 21).

Just about every available handicap has now been pro­duced to prevent a good downswing. The awful result is a succession of horrible shots which almost defy description. The ball can fly anywhere. Most often it will slice. But it can also be pulled, smothered, hooked, scuffed, topped, skied, or shanked.

The slice will come from two actions: the open face and the outside-in swing that this fellow cannot help but deliver. If he manages to get the face square to the path the club is following, the shot will be a pull. If he gets the face a little closed, he will hook. If he gets it hooded, he will smother the ball. Some players will even turn the face com­pletely over so that they make contact with the ball partly on the top of the club head, where white ball marks will show. They will pop the ball up, or sky it. Since their weight transference is almost sure to be bad, with most of it behind the ball at impact, they can either hit behind the ball or, just missing the ground at the bottom of the swing arc, top the ball as the swing begins to rise. And if their outside-in swing gets far enough outside, they will shank.

Figs. 22A, 22B. The correct backswing. In A the backward wrist break is well under way and the club face is square. In B the position is getting tighter as the club is brought around and up, the wrist position has been retained, and the club face kept square.

The only bad shot this fellow will not make, is a push—a straight ball to the right of the target. That shot can only come with an inside-out swing, and our horrible example will never have that, with the position he was in at the top.

With bad shots coming almost inevitably and a good shot a complete accident, our player here is going to pile up strokes at a rapid rate. He will not only get fives and sixes on many holes, he will get a few eights and nines. Yet, when he finally comes in with his 102, he will blame everything but the fatal flaw which was responsible. He will never realize (unless his pro tells him) what he was doing.

The Magic Move

The move that avoids the easy-chair slouch and gets you to the. top correctly is simply a purposeful shoulder turn with a firm retention of the wrist position gained by the back­ward break.

When the backward break was completed, you remember, the hands were only waist high; the break must be completed that early. Arms and club, at that point, have worked up a little momentum. Let the shoulder turn then pick up the momentum and let it swing the hands to the top. Remember that the shoulders are the motivating force (Fig. 22).

The top of the swing, for the hands, is at a level just about even with the top of the head. If you make sure the shoulders turn a full 90 degrees, the hands will reach that level.

A point which must be stressed here is that the shoulders must turn on the backswing, not rock. As the hands are brought up and around, the shoulders will tilt somewhat, with the right eventually becoming higher than the left. But one of the worst things that can happen is for the left shoul­der to duck. When this occurs the club goes off the plane it should follow. It comes up. And when it comes up the hand position gained by the wrist break is lost. The left wrist goes under the shaft and the face of the club opens.

Many players, we find in teaching, will duck the left shoulder and think they are turning it. They substitute the duck for the turn. When they do, they get themselves in a perfect position at the top to come down across the ball from the outside—even to shank it.

The magic move here is not an action. It is a position—the right position at the top. That position is measured in several ways: by the weight on the right leg, by the shoulder turn, by the unmoved head, but most of all by the tightness of the coil, the hand-and-wrist position, the face of the club, and the plane of the swing.

Most important is the firm retention of the hand-and-wrist position gained by the backward wrist break. If it is held, it almost forces you into the right position at the top. This is one of its greatest values (Fig. 23).

Holding that wrist position requires effort, though, be­cause as the windup proceeds, the tension and the stretching increase and your strong instinct is to relieve it. You must not relieve it.

A good backward wrist break feels stiff and awkward. That is the feeling you must continue to have as the swing goes to the top. If you don't do anything to ease it, to fall into the easy-chair slouch, such as collapsing the left wrist, duck­ing the left shoulder, or opening the left hand, the swing will continue in the plane we want it, which is a little on the flat side. In this plane, if the club is to get back to a position horizontal with the ground, the shoulders must turn fully. There is no other way to get it there.

If this is done properly—just a stubborn retention of the wrist break and a full turn of the shoulders—you will reach the top in a stretched, spring-steel tight position poised and ready to deliver a powerful swing at the ball. The left heel will be off the ground slightly, at least 60 per cent of the weight will be on the right leg, the hips will be turned about 45 degrees, the shoulders at least 90 degree the left arm will be straight, the grip tight, the right wrist will he under the shaft, and the clubface will be at about a 45-degree angle with the ground, maybe a little more.

With the right wrist under the shaft the right hand will be weakened by being bent back, but the left hand will be strengthened  because hand, wrist, and forearm will be in a straight line. This so-called straight-left-wrist position is im­portant because it gives strength where strength is needed.

Fig. 23. Keeping everything tight, player has reached the top in per-tect position. Note the full shoulder turn, the straight [eft arm, the unbroken left wrist, the right hand under the shaft, the club face still square. He's ready to make the right move down to the ball.

A Straight Left Wrist

One of our women pupils, and she was typical of many, used to insist when she was learning to swing, that she could not hold the club tight at the top with the straight-left-wrist po­sition. She wanted her left wrist under the shaft and claimed that was the only way she could hold the club tight.

She was wrong, of course, but she had to be convinced. So we had her hold the club in her left hand alone, in front of her, as tightly as she could. Then we bent her left hand backward and took the club away. It was easy, because with her hand bent backward, the fingers automatically opened and her grip weakened. The same thing happens when the hand is bent forward; the fist cannot be clenched tight.

But when the back of that woman's hand and her wrist were in a straight line, you could not take the club away from her without the use of a considerable amount of force.

Fig. 24. If you stop the swing here and look at your hands, you should see only two knuckles of the left hand, one of the right, and either a straight line along the back of the left hand and wrist or even a slight inward bend of the left hand, with the right hand firmly under the shaft.

Actually, one reason she wanted the left wrist under the shaft was so the club could rest in her left hand. Men have the same idea. They can open the fingers a little and the club will still be supported by the palm of the left hand and the thumb.

The strongest possible position is when the wrist and the back of the left hand are in a straight line.

How, you may wonder, can you yourself tell whether you are in the right position at the top? Without a friend to help you, you cannot tell about such things as the amount of hip and shoulder turn. But there are ways to inform your­self of others.

For instance, you can turn your head and look at your hands. If the left wrist has not collapsed you will see two. knuckles of that hand, no more than two. If you see three it will mean the left wrist has collapsed. You should also see only one knuckle of the right hand (Fig. 24).

You can check the tightness of your grip by the feel of it.

You can check how close your right arm is to your side by the old test of the balled handkerchief stuck into your right armpit. Only use a small handkerchief; anyone can hold a big one. If you can hold the small handkerchief, your arm is close enough. If it drops out, something is wrong.

The Shoulder Tap

One of the hardest things to determine, you might think, is the proper plane of the swing. Is it too flat, or is it too up­right? There is an easy way to tell. Take your swing but as you near the top, loosen the grip enough to let the club keep moving back until it hits you. If it strikes you on the point of your right shoulder, the plane is correct. If it hits you on the upper arm, the plane is too flat, and if it strikes you on the neck or anywhere between the point of the shoulder and the neck, it is too upright. We call this the shoulder-tap test (Fig. 25).

The position at the top of the backswing is important. If it is reached correctly it means you are halfway through the swing correctly. It means that now, at least, you are in a position to make a good downswing and hit a good shot. With most of our pupils we can tell pretty well, as can any pro, whether a shot will be good or bad just from their position at the top. The position is not an infallible guarantee that the shot will be either good or bad. But a good shot very often follows a good position and a bad shot a bad position. At least with a good position you are ready to hit a good shot. With a bad position you are not.

The flaws we have turned up so far, and the moves and positions we have taught you in getting to the top of the swing, have dealt mostly with the position of the club face.

Fig. 25. If we loosen our grip at the top of the swing and let the club drop until it touches us, we feel it tap us on the point of the right shoulder. The shoulder tap establishes the correct plane of the swing. If the club taps us nearer our neck, the swing is too upright. If it touches us on the arm below the shoulder point, the plane is too flat.

The grip and the stance did. So did the first move away from the ball, with the early backward wrist break and the retention of the wrist position to the top of the swing.

The magic moves so far have been mostly concerned, in a word, with direction. And direction is not only half of the long game but perhaps the "bigger" half; there's not much trouble, as a rule, straight out in front of the tee. The swing taught here, which might be called the Square Face System, produces direction. We have a pupil, an elderly but vigorous owner of a sports establishment, who played good golf for years using the old orthodox methods. He now swears by the magic moves, because, as he says, "I always hit the ball straight. Even when I miss a shot I miss it straight."

But golf is decidedly a coin with two sides. If the position of the club face at impact is one side, the speed of the club head at impact is the other. As we have moved toward the position at the top of the swing we have also gradually be­come concerned with the speed of the club head.

At the top you have been brought into a position from which you can easily bring the face of the club square to the line at impact and bring it with great speed and from the right direction. The tightness of the grip and of the whole swinging system, the plane of the swing, and the position of the weight—considerably on the right leg—have prepared you to deliver a hard, authoritative swing at the ball.

This is the value of the top-of-the-swing position. Having reached this position, you are well on your way to reducing drastically the number of bad shots you will hit. The next move, the downswing, is the payoff.

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