The Natural Swing: Completing the Swing

This is the fourth in a series of articles on the Natural Swing. The previous articles provided golf tips on the swing's fundamental principles, its starting form, and its backswing. Here, we examine the completion of the swing, providing a short golf lesson on what advocates of the Natural Swing call the "unloading" of the swing, and the finishing form.

Proponents of the Natural Swing conceive of the backswing as a "loading" motion. This idea differentiates it from the traditional swing. Unlike that, which divides the activity into discrete parts, the Natural Swing sees the swing as a loading and an unloading of energy, a seamless moving from one phase to another. The term loading, according to the Naturalists, implies energy and commitment, as well as something vigorous and energizing.

With the Natural Swing, the backswing gathers and stores energy, accomplished by transferring your weight to your back foot while rotating the body around your trunk. While you seem to complete these motions in unison, you actually start them by shifting your weight to your back foot. The upper body and shoulders follow, without a sense of urgency. The motion feels relaxed and comfortable. And the "picking up" of the club, which often ruins balance and compromises arc and plane, disappears.

The Downswing Motion
The Naturalists conceive of the loading (backswing) and unloading (downswing) of the swing as one motion. But we divide it into parts for instructional purposes. For the Naturalists, you begin the unloading of the power stored in your swing before completing the loading phase.

In transferring your weight during the loading phase, your front foot may or may not have come off the ground to a slight degree, depending on your flexibility. Now. as the golfer transfers weight to the downloading phase, the left foot returns to the ground, taking the weight off the body. Following the stabilization of the front foot is the front knee, hips, shoulders, arms, hands, and clubhead.

As the stabilization occurs, a natural event takes place without any effort on your part. The clubhead lags behind your feet and body-a natural reaction to centrifugal force. We call this clubhead delay or clubhead lag. It's an involuntary result to the force putting the clubhead in motion.

Your right arm straightens during the unloading phase from its folded position during loading. Your weight transfer to the finished from while in balance and with full extension ensures that this occurs. You are allowing the arc of the swing to be maximized. Again, this happens naturally, without you having to think about it or do anything.

At Impact and Beyond
Other good things happen naturally as a result of the transfer of weight. First, the wrists are put into a maximum cocked position. At impact, the arms are full extended. The hands and arms return to their natural position, square to the target line. And the right elbow for right-handers-left elbow for left-handers-returns to a fully extend position.

Beyond impact, the front elbow folds midway to the finishing position while the back elbow extends forward. Eventually, the back elbow folds at completion of the swing, setting you up for the finishing form.

The unloading motion is a responsive act to what has come before. It's a natural result of what you originally began in the loading phase. If what you've done there is correct, the unloading motion and its individual actions will be correct. It's a matter of trust.

The Finishing Form
If there's one point at which the traditional swing and the Natural Swing intersect, it's at the finishing form. Both swings emphasize the importance of the finishing form, which includes four key elements:

* Natural height
* Facing the target
* Position of wrists/hands
* In balance

The finishing form is one in which you face the target at your natural, full height. Your body faces the target. There's a natural flex in your knees, and your back foot, having shifted forward due to the weight transfer to your front foot, has come up. Your wrists and hands are in front of and close to your chest. Above all, you are in balance.

In addition, both swings emphasize the importance of evaluating your swing after it's completed. Are you in balance? Are you at your natural height? Are you facing the target? How you finish, as I've pointed out in my golf tips, is a key indicator of the quality of your swing. If you finish with the correct form, chances are good you've had a quality swing, whether you've used the traditional swing or the Natural Swing.

This article completes the discussion on the basics of the Natural Swing, which sees the swing is seen as a result of naturally occurring body motions. In our last article we will examine some of the misconceptions of the swing as seen from the perspective of the Natural Swing.


Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse