# Backswing and Downswing · Golf Level 3: Pre-Intermediate

Golf · Level 3: Pre-Intermediate · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/golf/level-3/backswing-and-downswing/)

Backswing and Downswing in Golf (Level 3: Pre-Intermediate) on Insporta: 40 sourced facts behind 4 tests. Covers: the takeaway and the plane; and more.

The moving parts of a full swing: the takeaway and the plane, the turn at the top, the order of the downswing, and tempo.

## Test 1: The takeaway and the plane

- Moving together keeps the club on line early on. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- The toe of the club points up at this stage. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Ben Hogan pictured it as a sheet of glass. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- From his book Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf (1957). (Source: Ben Hogan, Five Lessons (1957))
- The hips should turn, not slide. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- It leaves the weight on the trail side at impact. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- A swing is a turn, not a straight push back. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- The takeaway is the first move away from the ball. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Coaches often freeze the swing at each of these to check it. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- The club works round this tilted plane in a good swing. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))

## Test 2: The top of the swing

- Roughly a quarter turn, back to the target. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- The hips turn about half as much as the shoulders. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- The term was made popular by coach Jim McLean. (Source: Jim McLean, The X-Factor Swing (1997))
- Many good swings stop near here; some are shorter. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Pointing left of the target is called 'laid off'. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- It loads the trail leg for the move down. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Many coaches prefer a shorter, controlled backswing. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- The club travels farthest, the hips least. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Back with the turn, then through to the target. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- The gap between the two turns is what the downswing unwinds. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))

## Test 3: The downswing

- The body unwinds from the ground up. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Pelvis, chest, arms, then the club in a good swing. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Holding the angle stores speed for impact. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Early release wastes speed before the ball. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- It sends the path out to in and is a common slice cause. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- The trail foot is up on its toe. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- It crowds the arms and changes the strike. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Each part speeds up and slows down, passing speed to the next. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- The finish is held in balance. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Keeping it stores speed for impact. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))

## Test 4: Tempo and rhythm

- Tempo can be quick or slow; it should stay steady. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Good timing puts every part in place at impact. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- This 3-to-1 ratio was measured on many tour players. (Source: John Novosel, Tour Tempo (2004))
- Hurrying the change of direction is a classic fault. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Swinging too hard with feet together tips the player over. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- A smooth transition is the heart of good timing. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Ernie Els is famous for an unhurried, smooth tempo. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Same ratio, different total time. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- Speed rises, rhythm stays. (Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides))
- The backswing takes about three times as long. (Source: John Novosel, Tour Tempo (2004))

Sources: PGA coaching and general teaching guides, launch-monitor teaching material on ball flight, named books where a phrase is theirs, and the Equipment Rules and Rules of Golf where a number is set there; original questions authored, nothing reproduced.

Take the tests: https://insporta.app/try?utm_source=book&utm_medium=referral