The Most Efficient Swing Takeaway Tee Drill For Golfers

It all starts here

If you have a bad takeaway, you will hit a bad shot. Most problems in the golf swing, if your set up is right, can be traced back to the takeaway. If you get your set up and takeaway right, your swing will take care of itself and you will have a great looking golf swing.

Grooving the fundamentals

A lot of professional players will spend all of their practice time grooving their takeaway. Golfers such as New Zealand player Michael Campbell does a couple of takeaway rehearsals when he standing over the ball before beginning his swing. He does this to ingrain the right move in his muscle memory.

Face angle and swing path

If you take the club away closed, you club will "shut" at the top of the backswing. On the other hand, if you open the clubface too much on the backswing, your club will be open at the top and you will likely hit a lot of slices.

The right takeaway

First, let's get our definitions right - "take" suggests using the hands and wrists to start the backswing. What you want to do, rather, is move the club away with your shoulders and your torso rather than the hands and wrists. You want the left arm to rotate slightly in and the right forearm to rotate slightly out. The butt end of the club won't have moved a long way but the club head will have moved more.

Drill a perfect takeaway

1. Place a club running diagonally across from behind your right heel to your left toe. You then want to move the club away until the point where the two clubs are over each other.
2. Place a second ball about six inches behind and slightly inside the golf ball you are going to hit. As you take your backswing, sweep the second ball away, complete your backswing and hit the shot as normal. This drill will ensure that you are keeping the club low to the ground on the backswing and not picking it up. It also guarantees that you are moving the club inside the target line.

Speed and rhythm

Make an effort to start your swing slowly. The club should gather speed gradually and many bad backswings start with the golfer "snatching" the club away from the ball.