Golf - Different Strokes for Different Folks

You can swing the golf club effectively in many ways. For example, there are long swings and short swings. Imagine that you backed into a giant clock. Your head is just below the center of the clock. If at the top of your swing your hands are at 9 o'clock and the clubhead is at 3 o'clock, you're in the standard position for the top of your backswing. The shaft is parallel to the ground.

At the top of John Daly's swing, which is a long swing, his hands are at 12 o'clock, and the clubhead is approaching 5 o'clock. (Does your chiropractor have a toll-free number?) Other swings have a shorter arc. John Cook succeeded on the PGA Tour with a short swing. His hands only go to 8 o'clock, and the clubhead goes to 1 o'clock. Adam Scott stops short of parallel because he feels that his swing gets too loose if he goes farther. Physical constraints dictate the fullness and length of your swing; the distance the club travels is unimportant.

Golf swings differ in other ways, too.

Some players swing the club more around their bodies — the way you'd swing a baseball bat. Others place more emphasis on the role of their hands and arms in the generation of clubhead speed. Still others place that same emphasis on turning the body.

Physique and flexibility play a major role in how you swing a golf club. If you're short, you'll have a flatter swing — more around your body — because your back is closer to perpendicular at address (the motionless position as you stand ready to hit the ball). If you're tall, you must either use longer clubs or bend more from the waist at address so that your swing is more upright. Most tall players develop upright swings.

The left arm always swings about 90 degrees to the angle of the spine. Stand straight up and put your left arm straight out, away from your body. Now start bending at the waist. See how your arm lowers? It's staying 90 degrees to your back as you bend down. I wish I'd taken more geometry in school!