I can't go with you on this idea of the up/down vs. around movement of the shoulders, at least on the backswing side. If you bow over too much in your address posture, the shoulders must work like a rocking chair ... up and down. If you stand too erect at address, your shoulders will turn too flat.
From a correct posture, you should turn more than rock ... http://craftsmithgolf.com/Posture.htm . The left shoulder should move backwards more than downward. The sequence of the backswing is also important. The hands should lead the shoulders AND the shaft in the "one piece takeaway". To be clear, the one piece takeaway is characterized by the clubhead, handle and chest all moving as a single unit. This straight line relationship you establish at takeaway will be recreated in the early followthru. These three parts obviously move different distances and at different speeds, but they move as a single unit.
The power for the takeaway comes from the the hands moving the handle. In this role, the wrists must be firm, not floppy ... soft fingers, firm wrists. There should be a straight line relationship from the center of your chest, through the hands down to the clubhead until the hands pass your back knee. I prefer to see a player using BOTH hands to move the handle back. The left hand pushes and the right hand pulls. Using both hands produces counterbalancing forces acting on the handle. This reduces the tendency to roll the hands either over or under the shaft and to move the club on either an inside or outside swingpath.
The hands are the prime mover of the club on the backswing up to the 3/4 upswing position. The sequence of the backswing movement is hands, shoulders, hips ... the reverse of the foreward swing sequence. I strongly believe in a delayed wrist cock up to this 3/4 backswing position. There are multiple benefits to using a delayed wrist cock ... full weight transfer, full shoulder turn, no overswing etal. There are 5 checkpoints for the upswing position ... nose on the ball, weight transferred onto the back foot, shoulders fully turned, right elbow pointing down and connected grip.
The tranisition consists of three movements ... cock, bump and drop. The foreswing consists of hold and throw. While this may sound complicated, it really amounts to nothing more than learning refinements to your basic whole swing motion and to adapting your motion to your individual needs. In simple terms, swing the handle up over your back shoulder and then sling it down, thru and up over your front shoulder.
My focus is on the movement and position of the handle. The handle is your ONLY point of control over the club and your strongest point of feel for what's going on in the swing. What the handle is doing is an excellent teacher!
Edited 11/3/2009 9:19:00 PM by guru4u
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