My latest fundamentals

It's very annoying trying to log on to one's blog posts; perhaps the technology is too much for this luddite.

Anyway, here are my latest golf swing thoughts.

Back to basics - square set up with the shoulders, good neutral grip, good balance and weight distribution, etc.- is the way to go. Forget the tips (eg. strong grip), which are usually compensations that cover up faults in the golf swing. I've tried them all, and some even work for a while, but the effects and effectiveness are not sustainable.

Keep the left wrist flat, or as flat as possible on the backswing. This might be classed as a tip or trick, but it is simply a guard against breaking the left (for right-handers) wrist in an attempt to take a longer backswing. To be really flat requires a neutral to weakish grip. The benefit, apart from encouraging a compact swing, is to encourage the right elbow to stay in fairly close to the side, most importantly on the downswing, so that an inside-out swing path is encouraged.

It is essential for me to think of pausing ever so slightly at the top of the backswing, not so much as to create a two part swing, with a consequent loss of rhythm, but to try to avoid rushing the transition into the downswing. A rushed transition is usually not good at all.

It is very important to get the weight onto the front foot at impact (particularly with all iron shots) and this is best achieved by not swaying (at all if possible) during the swing. I don't think it's necessary to consciously transfer weight on the backswing because the arms take care of that, but it is important to get the weight forward on the downswing. Keeping the left foot down on the backswing is a good principle for maintaining balance and is another guard against over-swinging.

Finally, if the intention is to hit draws, which seems to be my tendency at present, it is important not to grip the club too tightly. A tight grip limits the fluidity and speed of the swing and also has a tendency to encourage fades. If a fade is required, that's a different story.

These keys or fundamentals are still in the testing phase. I know it can be argued that there are other keys or fundamentals, but I think the above are the really, really important ones - for me anyway.