Backswing Sequence: What Leads the Way for You?

[mvmac]

What feel or feels have worked for you to start your backswing? What do you feel "leads" the way?

What feels haven't worked for you?

If something works for you (more than one round ) then there really isn't any wrong answer here. I'll point out that the poll questions asks, "What do you feel leads the way in your backswing?". Players can sometimes mix up discussions or explanations of what happens in the golf swing with what they need to be feeling. You can have two golfers performing the same drill and feel completely different things. The backswing may also not be a priority for you so you can vote "Nothing".

For myself, I've always responded best to feeling things more with my right side than my left. For the past couple years my backswing feel has been to turn my right hip up and around. I like to picture that I have a chair behind me angled at 45 degrees and I just turn my right hip/glute along that chair. This is a good one for me because it keeps me turning all the way to A4, something that is a priority for me.

In high school and through most of college I remember the feeling/image of the right shoulder turning back on itself, leading it to turn in a circle (from overhead).

Feels that haven't worked for me were left sided dominant, like "pushing" the club away with the left shoulder or left hand or left shoulder down.

[saevel25]

I voted my Upper Body.

I like the feel of just turning my upper body staying in my spine title. Then letting the arms raise upward.

To me it's a very slight movement feel. It almost feels more like a trigger action. Slight turn then lift. I do like to feel like I turn more just so I don't get into the habit of dragging my hands back and inside too much and too early.

[DaveP043]

Is this some kind of Newport Cup trick, to get me thinking about things I usually don't think about? I honestly don't think much about the backswing, other than having a feeling of winding up each of the angles or levers (hips/ground, shoulders/hips, etc) to a comfortable tension.

[mvmac]

Is this some kind of Newport Cup trick, to get me thinking about things I usually don't think about?

[jbishop15]

I voted Lower Body.

I tend to feel the left hip going up and forward.

[pstvev]

When I am swinging/playing well, I feel absolutely nothing starting my backswing.

Occasionally during practice, such as when trying to fix a hook or a slice, I will feel with my hands and lower arms.

Usually this feeling is about bringing my hands back on a better plane, whether that be a feeling of "reaching out" or "reaching back" or "reaching in".

[DrvFrShow]

When I'm practicing I'm making sure my shoulders turn and I maintain the triangle while I rotate my upper body. When I'm playing, I don't think about it. I'm visualizing the shot.

[DaveP043]

The more I think about it, I find the question very interesting.  When I practice, I do  have a couple of specific thoughts in mind.  The first is to hinge my wrists/fold the right arm relatively early.  This helps me combat the swing faults I learned as a teenager, when I would extend too far without hinging/folding, and flop the club at the top of the backswing.  The other thought is about where I want my hands to be at the top, relatively around or behind my right (back) shoulder.  When I get too high, I tend to come over the top.  However, when I'm on the course trying to play golf, I try to think as little as possible about the mechanics.  That's why I answered "Nothing".

[anthony]

Left shoulder down and back.

[jbishop15]

I voted Lower Body.  I tend to feel the left hip going up and forward.

I totally misread this; I thought it was DOWNSWING. Regardless, I still do use my lower body, but it's a feeling of right hip behind me, combined with the wrists cocking upwards, to start my backswing sequence.

[waltice1]

I like to feel my right shoulder work back around my neck.  I have a visual in my head that my right shoulder blade is pulling towards my left hip at the top of the swing.

[nevets88]

I'm paranoid that I suck the clubhead in too much and I still do to some extent.

Basically, left shoulder over right foot, more upper body dominant, try and keep the extremities out of it as much as possible. Basically, move as few smaller body parts as possible.

[iacas]

I feel my chest pointing to the ground as I turn while staying in flexion. So I voted upper body.

[WUTiger]

I rotate the shoulders back, which is accompanied by a rearward rotation of the forearms. When things click, this is what I have at the top: my right elbow is comfortably touching my side, so I can rotate under on the downswing. This prevents overswinging on the backswing - reaching for a little extra with the hands past shoulder rotation - which would lead to an over-the-top move.

When I fail to rotate properly, I slide my hips and shoulders and get some wild shots.

[billchao]

I voted arms/hands, but my backswing is still a work in progress. New backswing feel doesn't change my takeaway feel, so it's still the same.

[SavvySwede]

Back of the left shoulder is the focal point for me.

[boogielicious]

I voted upper body. I worked on a feel from my Evolvr lessons last year of the right shoulder stretching up and back to eliminate a dip I was doing at A4. It worked. It was also mentioned in the 5SK videos to help keep a centered turn.

[vangator]

Upper body. Right shoulder back and up followed by raising my arms. I keep my right arm tucked, which, when I get lazy causes some pronounced inside out swings and hooks. Eliminates the right side of the fairway tough. :)