Finish your backswing and your follow-through

Ramblings about golf, yoga and life

The power comes from the swing.

The psychological key to developing a good swing is to find principles that are incontrovertible, that must be that way according to the laws of physics and geometry, and applies to any type of swing (e.g. golf, tennis, baseball). For example, that the backswing and the follow-through are sequential, meaning one (the follow-through) follows the other (the backswing). You finish the backswing then you move forward towards the follow-through.

Sounds logical, but this is actually hard to verify.

Where does the backswing end and the forward swing begin? Is there a precise moment in time when this occurs? Or do different parts of the body and the club switch at different times? Maybe the best way is to think of the energy of the swing shifting from neutral, to back, to front as a kind of a wave, building, cresting and breaking, and rebuilding.

Let us now ponder the importance of the golfer being aware of the movement back and forward and the way in which one ends and the other begins. He thinks about the swing, then begins, coiling back and moving the clubhead on a slow long climb. Finally the club reaches its zenith, hanging weightless for a second, while the intention shifts from back to front and then…moves forward, allowing the built-up energy to release in a fluid motion, peaking at the point of impact with the ball, then gradually diminishing and again reaching a zenith, this time a split second pause at the top of the follow-through, where all is balanced. That is where the zen of golf is found. In the pauses, the balance and the movement.

Now if we talk about Yoga we can substitute the words inhale and exhale for backswing and follow-through. We may find that at the end of the inhale there is a slight pause before the exhale begins and the same is true at the end of the exhale before the next inhale. There is a balance point there that we can learn to be aware of.

That is the objective of the Yoga technique called Pranayama, a system of breath control, part of which involves learning to pause, gradually for longer and longer periods, between the in and out breaths (i.e. full of air or empty). The theory is that being able to comfortably retain a longer and longer pause in our awareness allows us to deeply relax, one of the keys for achieving a sense of flow, and in yoga an actual energy flow. Pranayama is seen in Yoga as a foundation for more powerful meditation.

Let’s try to keep it simple for the purposes of this discussion and say that Pranayama teaches control of the movement of the breath, leading to profound mental experiences, accomplished primarily through awareness of the breath and the spaces between breaths.

The same is obviously true in practicing the yoga postures. Yoga movements and postures are net zero in the sense that the centre of gravity and the ease of breath are maintained. The person takes the asana to its logical conclusion and reaching that point — the zenith, pauses for a few breaths to enjoy it, then gathers their energy up and moves to the next posture. The movement of the asana and of the entire practice session is fluid, wavelike, strong and enjoyable.

So a bit of good advice for the golfswing, yoga and for life is to pause and notice, then let it rip!