6 Swing Thoughts that Work

Whether driving, chipping or putting, you can play your best golf with one of these keys in mind

- NICK FALDO

I'VE ALWAYS BEEN one of those golfers who needs a swing key to play well. I don’t like to rely on feel. To my mind, the good feeling is the result of sound mechanics and, later, confidence. Think about it; if all you have to consider when you’re over the ball is one simple swing key, you can block out negative images. You can forget the water in front of the green or the big bunker on the right. When you get to that stage, every shot becomes the same, at least in your mind. And isn’t that what the swing is all about: the reduction of variables so that you can focus on just one key thought. Remember, the less complicated anything is, the easier it is to repeat. On the following pages, I’ve outlined some of the swing keys that have worked for me over the years. They helped me, so there’s no reason they shouldn’t do the same for you.

SWING THOUGHT SET YOUR WRISTS, THEN TURN TO THE TOPDavid Leadbetter, my teacher, has always stressed setting the wrists early in the backswing. The theory is that you want the hands and wrists to finish their work early, so the bigger muscles in your body can complete the backswing.

As you can see here (le ), by the time my le arm is close to horizontal, my wrists are fully hinged. From there, all I basically have to do is turn my shoulders and I’ll be in the perfect position at the top of the backswing.

Contrast that with this position (right). I see this a lot in amateurs. In a misguided attempt to create width on the backswing, they restrain any setting of the wrists. The result is that there is no harmony between the arms and body. They’re working independently.