20 golfdigest.com | june 2019Play Your Best Golf Digest Schools by Jim McLean
Photograph by Dom FuroreBackswing ChecklistIf these look good, you’re halfway homeP
eople say the golf
swing is all about im-
pact. But it’s what you
do before impact that deter-
mines if the strike will be any
good. Getting into a solid posi-
tion at the top lets you swing
freely on the way down. You
don’t have to fight your way
back into position.
Let’s look at three things in
my backswing here. First, I’ve
stayed in my forward tilt toward
the ball. My left shoulder is
lower than my right. I’ve simply
rotated around my spine, so my
height hasn’t changed from ad-
dress. Maintaining this tilt gives
me a great chance to return the
club precisely to the ball.
Second, my left wrist is flat.
The left wrist controls the club-
face. If my wrist was cupped
(bent back), the face would be
open. That turns the down-
swing into a recovery mission,
where you have to try to shut
the face or else swing way left
to make room for a slice.
Finally, my back leg is
braced and supporting most
of my weight. This is a big one
because from here, I have the
leverage to drive toward the
target and push off the ground.
If the back leg is in a weak
position, chances are the up-
per body will take over coming
down—and that’s a killer.
Nail these positions, and the
downswing is a lot simpler.mclean is based at The Biltmore
in Coral Gables, Fla.how to test your swing▶ i’m a position teacher.
Why? For most golfers, the
swing is too complex without
breaking it down into posi-
tions. Watch my new program
“The Four-Corner Swing” in
the Golf Digest Schools video
library. I’ll show you the spots
in the swing that matter most
and how to evaluate them. For
more on my new videos, go to
golfdigest.com/allaccess.