Straight Back, Straight Thru...44
Sounds Good, Works Bad
There are many “tips” golfers share with one another. Perhaps the most reasonable and most ruinous is “straight back, straight thru”. What is implied is that the clubface should remain perpendicular to the target line on the backswing and the forward swing. The result of this is most often a clubface that is closed hitting shots low left or open sending the ball high right. The odds are akin to winning the lottery that the clubface arrives square.
If you make a tossing motion as I am doing in the photos below, you’ll observe that your palm does not travel perpendicular to your line of toss. Instead, it travels circularly with your torso. Your palm begins parallel with your spine and stays that way on the backswing and the forward swing. The clubface (putter through driver) mirrors the palm of your hand.
While the clubface travels circularly and maintains its relationship to your spine, your forearm does track the target line. It travels backward and forward from hip high to hip high along the target line. The shaft mirrors your forearm, it travels along the target line from hip high to hip high.
Bottom Line: Does the club travel straight back and straight through? The answer is yes and no. The clubface travels circularly and is parallel to your spine. The club shaft travels along the target line from hip high to hip high.
Each Thursday we’ll bring you a helpful insight.
Swing to the Target,
Ed
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