The natural swing: the initial form
Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse
This is the second in a series of articles on the Natural Swing. The first article provided golf tips on the fundamental principles of the swing. In this article, we look at initial swing form and provide a short golf lesson on setup.
Golf instruction sessions say that impeccable starting form offers the best chance of making a proper swing. It sets the tone for the swing, promotes feelings of simplicity, freedom, and balance, and ensures a positive outcome, if done right. If we don’t get it right, we’ll feel cowed and inhibited, and probably land a less than perfect punch, like a slice, hook, or worse. The setup of any golf swing is entirely within our control, one of the few things in the game that is.
The goal of the initial shape of the natural swing is the same as that of any other golf swing. The initial form should prepare you to make an aggressive move while staying balanced. Ideally, it should be a graceful, athletic movement with purpose and direction. In the natural swing, initial form focuses on things like target awareness, grip, stance, alignment, and the location of the ball in relation to the body.
Target Awareness: Target awareness is critical to the natural swing. Golf with the natural swing is not a game of reaction, in which we respond to a thrown ball. It is a location game, in which we react to a target. The idea is to plant the image of that goal firmly in mind. Having a clear image of the goal stimulates you. It gives you purpose, direction and intention. In addition, he stops thinking about the ball and puts it where it should be: in the goal. Target awareness fixes key factors such as distance, trajectory, curvature, and direction in your mind. The more vividly we see the target, the more intensely we will react to it. And the more successful we will be in hitting it.
Grip: The natural grip is not unlike the one we would use to do many tasks, one that positions us correctly towards our target, if we have kept our focus on the target. We form the natural grip so that the palms are opposing, as in the prayer, palm to palm. This grip allows us to perform a simple and natural movement, without compensatory movements or extra gestures, and without contorting the hands.
The natural grip is not much different from your normal grip, except for the left hand. In the natural grip, the club runs diagonally across the palms of the left hand (right hand for lefties). Place the last three fingers of the left hand around the butt of the club with the index finger pressing against the thumb. This position creates a sense of control and power in the left hand. The right hand fits over the left. The little finger fits over the index and forefinger of the left hand. The right hand grip is mainly in the fingers. Correct grip pressure occurs naturally when you assume correct form. The relationship between the hands should not change during the swing.
The Posture: The key to natural stance is to line up as if we were shooting straight. Since we’re planning to hit the ball directly, there’s no reason to align to the left (right for lefties) of the line of flight. However, the left foot is in a slightly different position than the target. It is set at least 25 degrees open to the target, if not more. The degree of opening varies according to the flexibility of the golfer. The key here is balance.
Also, you place your left foot slightly to the outside of your left shoulder, so that you can end up with your weight on your left foot. Balance is again the key. Most golfers turn to the outside of their left foot at the end of the swing, creating a slight imbalance at the end. But with the natural swing you’re moving forward, so you should end up flat on your left foot, with your weight distributed evenly across the foot.
Alignment: Ideally, we want to be square to the target. But everyone is different. And we are not ideally built. So everyone’s perfect lineup for hitting the ball straight is slightly different, an important factor in natural swing. Therefore, we must find our own correct alignment position, one that must be square for the swing. For the most part though, being square means being slightly to the left of the target. This is the only position of the natural square, even if it is not mathematically precise. Use the practice range to find your perfect square position, and ask a friend to provide feedback on your efforts.
Ball Position: The ball position in the natural swing flows logically from the way we get into starting position. We place the ball just forward of the middle stance for a standard five iron shot. The ball should be just behind the inside of the left heel. The width of the stance will vary depending on the length of the stick. The longer the stick, the wider the stance. Move the right foot only as we prepare, closer or further from the left foot depending on the club we have in our hands. Therefore, the position of the left foot in relation to the ball is always the same, which guarantees a constant position of the ball.
The difference between the starting shape of the normal swing and that of the natural swing is subtle, but significant. In essence, there are three key settings:
(1) placing the left foot open, to maintain balance and direction;
(2) alignment with the target, which will be slightly different for everyone while staying square to the target;
(3) the constant position of the ball in relation to the left foot.
Also, you need to assess your early form every time you get close to the ball. The key to correctly setting up any swing, as I advocate in my golf lessons and golf tips, is to do it using the same routine over and over again. Do that, and you’ll be well on your way to lowering your golf handicap.