Golf Downswing: Back Facing the Target

A popular tip for the starting the golf downswing is to feel as if you are keeping your back pointing at the target. However this tip can be taken to the extreme and actually cause more hsr, thsn good.

To avoid this problem, let me talk to you more in depth about this tip.

First of all, it should be stated upfront that your back only stays directed on the target for a very short period of time in the golf downswing. That is why this tip is only for initializing your downward golf swing.

In fact, by the time that your hands have dropped to just below shoulder height, your back has turned from the target. So the beginning period of the downward swing referred to for the back to the target tip is the time while your hands are well above the shoulder.

Thus, this tip is mainly to prevent a person for coming over the top. Over the top normally refers to coming over the top of your downward plane. However, for all intent and purposes, this is the same as saying over the top of the shoulder.

If you don’t have this problem you don’t need to incorporate the back to the target advice as a swing thought or drill.

Holding your back to the target too long will actually cause a swing fault that is the opposite of over the top. Namely, it will create a golf swing that is too flat or under the proper downswing plane.

Lastly, the back facing the target tip only works for those who actually turn the back all the way to the target on the backswing. You can’t maintain a position on the downswing that you never achieve on the backswing.

So for those with a limited shoulder turn on the backswing the “gravity arm drop swing thought” spoke of in the main golf downswing article is a better swing thought and/or drill to practice.