Most golfers never think about where their swing actually starts.
They may focus on a single aspect of their takeaway, like their hands, the club or their wrists, but Erika Larkin, a GOLF Top 100 teacher, says the real movement starts much higher up. And understanding the beginning of your swing is the key to improving your low-point control and becoming a better ball striker.
“The golf swing is a lot like a pendulum swing,” says Larkin. “When you make a smaller movement, the pendulum swings our arms and the bat together, really from a point higher in our bodies than many people imagine.”
When you start swinging your chest, Larkin says, everything moves together as one smooth, controlled pendulum. But starting your swing further down, such as at the handle, can result in wrist movement that makes it difficult to set the low point of your swing.
Make your garland
To create this swing, you first need to rethink how you approach the swing. Most amateurs imagine the club or hands as the center of the movement, which often leads to inconsistency. Instead, Larkin says to visualize the club as an extension of your sternum. This simple shift allows your arms, body and club to move together.
Start small, says Larkin. Instead of trying to integrate this new feeling into your full swing, start with a shorter, controlled movement. Remember that the movement should come from your sternum.
“Think of the extension of the club pointing up toward the midsection, sternum area of your chest and body, and try to move the pendulum as if it were swinging from that top moment,” she says.
Once you feel the pendulum in smaller swings, you can gradually expand it to longer, full swings.
“As you grow it, it doesn’t really change. It’s still moving from that higher, top point in your body,” says Larkin. “It connects your arms and the club motion and swings around you from a very stable point.”
With your pendulum anchored to the sternum, your swing should become smoother, more connected and easier to repeat, which Larkin says will translate into better control at the bottom point.
Think of it as one long, graceful pendulum: arms and club move together from the chest, wrists hinged freely, hands relaxed. It’s a subtle shift in the way you think about your swing, but one that can immediately improve timing, consistency and power.
Sometimes swinging smarter really is that simple.
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