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Caddy Chat
The essence of the takeaway (continued
The wrists must not roll in the takeaway
We have now got the club moving back from the ball on a correct line. This will automatically place us in the swing plane that we desire.
Now we must look at another takeaway error which seriously affects accuracy. It’s the matter of wrist rolling.
The vast majority of players roll their wrists open or closed during the takeaway, thus altering the alignment of the face of the club to the ball. The club face was square at address and it must remain square throughout the swing. Then, when it is returned to the ball at impact it will still be square or at right angles to the intended line of flight.
So let us start with a guiding principle. It is this:
During the takeaway, the club face must be at right angles to the swing path at all times. By the "club face" I mean the leading edge of the club.
By observing this simple rule, wrist rolling can be avoided.
At the halfway stage of the backswing the club face will be vertical if no wrist rolling has taken place.
Clockwise roll will place the club face "open" at this stage.
Anti-clockwise roll will place the club in a "shut" position; that is, looking at the ground.
From the correct "square" position at the halfway stage, the left hand and arm will swing to the top, placing the face at the correct angle at the top of the swing.
The other two positions (open and closed) will result in an incorrect club face angle at the top and unless some correction is made in the downswing the blade will also be mis-aligned at impact, and inaccuracy is bound to be the result.
An Incorrect Takeaway - the causes and effects
There are two pieces of golfing advice, which, in my experience, are guaranteed to ruin the takeaway. They are: "hold the club-head low to the ground in the takeaway" and "take the club-head, hands, arms and shoulders back in one piece".
We have already seen that the takeaway is not "one-piece". The hands and arms start the movement. Then the shoulders begin to turn to allow the swing to continue to the top. This implies a genuine swing of the left hand and arm.
In the "one-piece" takeaway the club, hands and arms are being set in motion by turning the shoulders. This is what I call the "body propelling the hands and the arms". This is not a swing at all. It is a stiff, locked movement, which actually destroys totally the swing of the left hand and arm. It leads to a lot of errors, as we shall see in the next edition.
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