Jul
23
2007

The Importance of the Takeaway

Posted by Double Eagle in Ball Striking Tips, My Progress

Yesterday, while discussing my faulty release at impact, I mentioned another tip that I got that put me back on track.

As I was practicing with a little bit lighter grip pressure, the head pro at my course was walking up and down the range and I had a conversation with him where I whined for a while about my swing issues of late and how I got a tip that was getting me back on track.

I went back to hitting balls with much improvement (though not complete). I was content. He wandered over after a few minutes and said, “Mike, do you mind if I give you one small tip?” Of course I welcome advice so I eagerly accepted the offer.

He told me that he had been watching me for a few minutes and noticed an issue with my takeaway. He had seen me rolling my hands open to start the swing.

I was somewhat surprised to hear this. This is something I tended to do for a long time, but I though I had banished that demon years ago. To me, I can’t perceive that problem during my swing, even if I try.

Early on, I learned the importance of the toe of the club pointing to the sky during the first part of the back swing when the shaft of the club is parallel to the ground. I think I eventually started to consciously roll my hands open on the takeaway to achieve that proper “checkpoint” in the swing.

Now, I’m stuck with this ingrained flaw that I have to work on.

When this happens, the tendency is to get the arms stuck behind the body on the down swing. That can cause a few things to happen. You can come over the top in an effort to square the club face, causing a slice (or pull). Or, you can come excessively from the inside, causing a block where the ball shoots out to the right of the target.

He had me consciously try to keep the club head moving down the line and square for the first eight to ten inches of the back swing. Then when I reach that first checkpoint in the swing where the club is parallel to the ground, the toe of the club points straight up, but more importantly, my arms are more out in front of me.

As soon as I did that, it was like flipping a switch.

That, plus my grip pressure fix had me hitting crisp, pure shots. I was able to turn the ball both ways again. I need a few more range sessions to groove the changes a little more, but I’m extremely enthusiastic.

The main point I want to convey is that you should pay attention to your takeaway. Keep the club head moving down the line and relatively square for the first eight to ten inches. Don’t let the club get outside the target line, and don’t let your arms get too far inside the target line, behind your body.

It seems like such a simple part of the swing, but each segment of the swing builds on the last. If we have bad posture it’s hard to have a good takeaway and if we have a bad takeaway it’s hard to get to the top correctly and if…well, you get it.

That doesn’t mean that everyone has to do it one correct way. It just means that if we have to build a solid foundation to allow the next piece of the puzzle to fall into place. And the takeaway is part of the foundation for what comes after.

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There are currently 8 responses to “The Importance of the Takeaway”

  1. 1

    HappyRock said:

    Got any pictures of this one, I am having a tough time visualizing the toe of the club pointing straight up?

    Posted on July 23rd, 2007 at 11:58 am

  2. 2

    Double Eagle said:

    I’ll see if I can dig something up, but in the meantime, think about the leading edge of the club face (the bottom edge of the face, that lays on the ground at address, and that you use to determine whether your club face is pointing at the target). At the checkpoint, that line should be perfectly perpendicular to the ground (i.e. pointing straight up in the air).

    Posted on July 23rd, 2007 at 12:16 pm

  3. 3

    Double Eagle said:

    Here’s a photo of Tiger Woods in that position:
    http://www.viewimages.com/Search.aspx?mid=74128903&epmid=2

    The leading edge of the club face is pointing straight up. This is also referred to as the toe of the club pointing straight up.

    If the club face were pointing more toward the ground, it would be considered closed and if it were pointing toward the sky it would be considered open. With the toe straight up, the face points in the direction you’re facing (sort of) and is considered square.

    Posted on July 23rd, 2007 at 12:24 pm

  4. 4

    AruntheACE said:

    The photos gave a better visualization.. Thanks…

    Posted on July 24th, 2007 at 12:49 pm

  5. 5

    Greg Bartz said:

    When you find a fix like lighter grip pressure or proper takeaway, do you think it would be a good idea to go back to the pre-fix for the purpose of awareness and feedback?

    What I mean is, go back to a tighter grip (or open takeaway) and see that you can recreate the problem you had, paying special attention to physical clues that can help you get a good feel for the difference?

    For example when I started playing, I would try to recreate a slice to try to get the feel for it because I knew that a nice fade was somewhere between a slice and a straight shot.

    Posted on July 24th, 2007 at 4:13 pm

  6. 6

    Double Eagle said:

    Interesting thought, Greg. I think it would be a nice experiment on the range when I first “flipped the switch”. Then I could prove without a doubt that I had found the fix.

    I get what you’re saying about recreating a slice to find the middle ground and get a controlled fade. The only problem is that getting “stuck” on the down swing or swinging with tension in my hands are not what I’d want to be doing to purposely fade the ball. While those things could lead to a fade, they also lead to a terrible amount of inconsistency.

    I suppose there’s an element of fear in there too. It’s like I was getting attacked by a swarm of bees and got away. I’m too scared to poke the hive with a stick to prove to myself that I had solved my bee problem. That’s kind of a dumb way to look at it, but I’d feel more comfortable trying it out after I’ve fully grooved the fundamentals again.

    I think I’ll try it for two or three shots at the range tomorrow night, though, just to see. I’ll feel the tension and the hands rolling open and see what happens.

    Posted on July 24th, 2007 at 4:29 pm

  7. 7

    My Best Bad Round of Late » Life in the Rough said:

    [...] that put me on the right track. If you read regularly, you might remember me talking about having an issue with my takeaway and an issue with my grip pressure causing me to not square the club face at [...]

    Posted on July 26th, 2007 at 2:15 am

  8. 8

    Kersson said:

    Thank you for the image. I can see better now the right position about the bottom edge of the face.

    Posted on July 28th, 2007 at 7:58 am

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