Halfway Back: Fully “set”, club on plane
From the initial move away position (and using the line of the original shaft plane at address as a guide) the club should now be ?set? up on a slightly more vertical plane, and this is where you reap the benefit of a good grip, as the wrists are instrumental in ?cocking? or setting the club into the correct position.
The checkpoint to look for in a mirror occurs as the right arm begins to fold and the left arm reaches a position where it is snug across the chest, parallel with the ground. Be aware also that the hands should now appear to be positioned opposite the middle of the chest, while the grip end of the club should be pointing approximately at a spot just inside the ball to target line. You achieve this ?set? position by rotating the left forearm gently away from the ball and hinging the wrists a slick combination which begins in the move away, but which is accelerated as the hands pass from knee to hip height.
Looking face on, top of your right forearm should just be visible above the left, while the left elbow points down toward the ground. The right elbow is free not tucked in hard to the side of the body and you will notice that the flex is retained in the right knee. The legs are braced, fully supporting the coiling motion of the upper body.
Stand and watch a good player hit a few shots and very quickly the halfway back position in their swing stands out as the reason they swing so repetitively. It looks so simple: as the hands reach hip height the wrists have hinged to set the club on p0lane, and all that is required is a good shoulder turn to finish the job off.
Halfway Back: Things to avoid
Independent hand action ? Allowing the hands and arms to work independently of the body is one sure fire way to ruin the backswing sequence. Typical symptoms include whipping the club back inside away from the ball (which results in a very flat backswing) and picking the club up abruptly, which leads to a very steep swing plane. Either way, the coordination between, club, hand, arms and body is lost, and further manipulation will be required to get the club back on line as the swing progresses, which makes consistency very difficult.
