Modern golf instruction can be incredibly complicated. In fact, researching the swing can leave you feeling more confused than when you started.
- Turn (but not too much)
- Shift your weight (but don’t sway)
- Hit down (but don’t get steep)
- Leave your arms up (but don’t let them get stuck)
- Clear your hips (but don’t spin out)
At some point on our golf journeys most of us end up feeling like this guy…
Our intentions are good (to improve our swing), but we end up cluttering our brain and freezing over the ball. Our conscious mind is getting in the way.
But consider the following questions:
When you hammer a nail into a piece of wood do you give any consideration to how long a backswing to take?
When you chop down a tree with an axe do you think about shifting your weight or bumping your hips before the hit?
Indeed, taking that last question further, would you ever NOT clear your hips prior to swinging the axe at the tree? I hope the answer here is no, as otherwise you’ll soon be playing golf with one leg.
When you chop down a tree with an axe do you think about shifting your weight or bumping your hips before the hit?
In both tasks your body instinctively knows how to move. Why? Because your mind’s focus is on the task (hammering the nail, chopping the wood), and your body is reacting to the movement of the tool (the hammer, the axe).
What Is The “Task” In Golf?
When you take a golf shot what’s your task?
Is your task to “hit” the ball?
If you answered yes, then you’re thinking about the purpose of your golf swing incorrectly. Hit it where? In the woods? Into the ground?
In fact, your task is to send the ball to the target.
And the golf club is the tool you use to send the golf ball to the target.
So before moving onto the specifics of how to do that (and they are very simple) that’s the first mental re-adjustment you may need to make. I’ll repeat because it’s so important:
The goal of every shot in golf is not to hit the ball, it’s to send it to the target. Or in other words, your target is your target, not the golf ball.
The Simplest Golf Swing
I’m about to sum up the backswing and downswing in two sentences.
I’m paraphrasing from what is without doubt the best golf instruction book of all time, Manuel de la Torre’s “Understanding The Golf Swing”:
Backswing: Use both hands to swing the clubhead in the direction of the right shoulder
Downswing: Use both arms to swing the whole club in the direction of the target
And that, in a nutshell, is the golf swing.
Assuming a solid grip and setup (very important), if you do those two things correctly your shoulders will turn the right amount for you. Your hips will get out of the way. Your weight will shift fully to the front foot after impact.
All the good body positions you see in stills from the classic swingers will happen, and you won’t have to give them any conscious thought.
The golf swing really is (or can be) that simple.
At this point, I’m going to strongly advise you to buy the book as it really is the only one you’ll need. Manuel de la Torre explains this better than I’ll ever be able to. And he also goes into a lot of detail on grip and setup, which as I mentioned above you’ll need to work on in addition to the “swing”.
The golf swing really is (or can be) that simple.
But now I’ll go into a bit more detail on how I “feel” these moves. And also some ways the instructions (which seem incredibly simple and are) can be misinterpreted.
Feeling The Backswing As A Throw
Here’s the thing:
Everyone “feels” things in a different way, which is why I recommend buying the book for the full instruction.
But for me, I feel the backswing as a throw.
I keep my wrists extremely loose (which allows them to cock/set) and feel that the first part of my takeaway is using my hands (both of them and not the arms) to “throw” the clubhead in the direction of my right shoulder.
The throw feeling only lasts until the end of the takeaway, at which point I allow the momentum of the swing to take over and my hands and arms feel passive to the top.
If you’ve read the “low and slow” instruction, this may feel like you’re picking the club up. But you’re not. Throw the club up with loose wrists and check your position at left arm parallel in a mirror. The club will be perfectly on plane and your arms will be in front of your chest (where they should be).
During the backswing the club feels light, but I’m aware of where the clubhead is at all times. If you can’t feel the clubhead check your grip pressure as it may be too tight.
Again, it’s a throw to get the momentum, and once the club is moving I simply allow it to swing to the top. Think of starting a child on a swing. You give the swing a push to start it moving and then let it swing, you don’t push them all the way to the top.
It’s also a fairly quick motion. But that’s not a bad thing as most of us amateurs have backswings that are too slow.
During the backswing the club feels light, but I’m aware of where the clubhead is at all times. If you can’t feel the clubhead check your grip pressure as it may be too tight.
I don’t consciously think of turning my body or shoulders, but they both turn as they should. The movement has some similarities with the “no turn” part of Monte Scheinblum’s “No turn, Cast” drill (below).
Patience In Transition
Again this is my “feel” as Manuel De La Torre’s specific instruction is to start the downswing with the arms immediately.
But for me, I “feel” like I don’t start swinging my arms towards the target until the club starts getting “heavier” on the way down. It’s difficult to describe in words (again, you really should buy the book), but there’s a split second before I feel I’m ready to swing the club towards the target as fast as I can.
Effectively what’s happening here is I’m shifting slightly to my left side and shallowing the club, but it’s not something I’m consciously doing. My feeling is just to be patient in transition with the weight of the club being my trigger to use my arms to swing the club to the target.
Applying Speed At The Bottom
I’ve found that the faster I swing towards the target after transition, the better the strike.
Here’s what I’m NOT doing:
- Paying too much attention to the ball (it gets in the way)
- Attempting to manipulate the clubface
- Trying to “hold the lag”
And the last point there is an important one. As my target is not the golf ball (it’s the target) I’ll automatically “release” at the target. I’m not trying to hold onto my angles. But the focus of the swing being my target will mean my club is releasing through the ball not at it. On a still this will look like I’ve “held my lag” and give me forward shaft lean. But that’s certainly not what I’m trying to do.
Possibly one of the best ways to experience the difference between swinging at the ball (bad) and swinging to the target (good) is to try the “throwing clubs” drill. This video from Shawn Clement demonstrates how to do it.
The Clubhead And The Club
There’s a key point in Manuel De La Torre’s instruction that I missed at first. Seems crazy when the golf swing is summed up in literally two sentences, but from reading about other’s experience on this excellent GolfWRX thread it seems I am not alone.
On the backswing you swing the “clubhead” in the direction of the right shoulder, not the club.
Why is this distinction important?
Because when I was first working on this I was trying to swing the whole club over my right shoulder, which ended up with me collapsing my left arm and losing width.
When the focus is on instead swinging the clubhead over the right shoulder, you’ll keep the width of the arc, which is important for speed, power, and consistency.
One “feel” De La Torre recommends for this (and it’s one you’ve probably read before) is to keep the hands as far away from the head as possible at the top of the backswing.
It’s good advice.
So again to reiterate, on the backswing your focus is on the clubhead, not the entire club.
By using the arms to swing the whole club in the direction of the target your wrists will uncock at the optimal time to release maximum energy and speed into the ball.
On the downswing the opposite is true.
Instead of trying to swing the clubhead to the target, you want to feel like you’re swinging the whole golf club (handle, shaft, and clubhead). The purpose of this is to retain wrist angles into the downswing, although as I mentioned before you shouldn’t feel like you’re purposely holding anything, just not intentionally letting anything go either.
By using the arms to swing the whole club in the direction of the target your wrists will uncock at the optimal time to release maximum energy and speed into the ball.
The “Arms” Means The Upper Arms
For the downswing De la Torre insists that it is the arms that control the motion. However, he also specifies that arms means the upper arm from the shoulder to the elbow joint. Forearms should not be actively involved.
I’ll be honest, I have a hard time feeling this exactly, but the quality of strike would suggest I’m doing it right.
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My Own Experience With The Manuel de la Torre Method
I’m currently on my second round of adopting the Manuel de la Torre swing method.
Which sounds like a contradiction. If it works so well and is so easy to learn, why did I stop using it in the first place?
There are two reasons:
- I’m a tinkerer. I can’t help myself when I see a new tip or method from trying it out
- I have a bad back that tends to flare up once a year and keep me off the course for a few weeks. Last year it was pretty bad, but before it went I was striking the ball better than ever (with the De la Torre method). During my layoff I did too much Googling and tinkering and when I went back on the course I was trying something different.
I guess that’s really one reason. I can’t help but chase the latest shiny new swing theory.
But as mentioned I’m back on the Manuel de la Torre method and the last two and a half rounds I’ve been striking my irons in particular exceptionally well.
I say two and a half rounds as I actually switched back to it in the middle of a round where I was playing particularly badly. And it made an instant improvement to my game.
Do I still hit bad shots?
Yes. Of course I do. Golf is not a game of perfect.
But that’s because I made a bad swing. It’s not because the swing is wrong.
If you adopt the Manuel De La Torre simple golf swing your goal on every shot should be to send the golf ball to the target.
My course of action from here (or certainly what it should be) is not to change my swing. It’s to keep practicing and improving this swing so I get better at it. And over time the ratio of good shots to bad shots should steadily improve.
If you adopt the Manuel De La Torre simple golf swing your goal on every shot should be to send the golf ball to the target.
And to do that you should:
- Swing the clubhead in the direction of your right shoulder
- Swing the whole club with the arms in the direction of the target
If you hit a bad shot you didn’t do that correctly. And no other diagnosis is necessary.
If that’s not the simplest swing in golf, then I don’t know what is.
Buy “Understanding The Golf Swing” by Manuel De La Torre here, then watch the great man teaching his swing in this fantastic video.
David. Brilliant page you created here. I took lessons with Manuel when I was 14, living in San Diego. It’s the only lesson I took for about 16 years and I played wonderfully just trying to work on his concept. Then things started going off the rails, when the internet exploded and the desire to tinker took over. I have gone down several rabbit holes and then bought his book a few years ago. I think what gets in our way is not trusting how simple the golf swing is. The game itself is hard yes. But not the swing. Manuel’s book is truly the best book on golf ever created due to its simplicity.
Thanks David. I’m jealous that you had an in-person lesson with Manuel, would love to have had that opportunity while he was still with us. And yes, we’re our own worst enemies at times. One bad round and we try and rebuild our whole swing, rather than just accepting that we had a “bad day at the office”.
I have been learning Manuel’s swing for two years. In addition to his book and videos, Jon Hayes wrote a book “Learning Golf with Manuel”is excellent. for me the set up really determines the motion of the swing. Arms hang from soft shoulders without tension, weight equally distributed between both feet and doesn’t move forward until after impact, equal constant grip pressure both hands. Then swing hands over right shoulder allowing hands to finish backswing with slow transition accelerating arms forward towards the target .
Hi Cornelius, I’ve heard of that book, but haven’t checked it out yet. Agree that setup is very important. But I also find the less time I spend standing over the ball the better I hit it – i.e. take setup, trust your swing and line, and swing.
He seams so close to Shawn Clement except Shawn has a stronger grip. I have had good success with Shawn and the stronger grip but also can play with a neutral grip ala Mike Austin. I believe you have tried both Manuel and Shawn. I would love to hear what moved you closer to Manuel.
Thanks
I like Shawn’s teaching, particularly how he equates the golf swing to moves we make naturally (and his club throwing video is one of my favorites). Manuel’s swing just seemed to click for me. The only time it tends to fall apart is when I start trying to tweak it. The takeaway: don’t try and tweak it, or mix in other instruction. Follow Manny’s simple steps.
I’ve been using this method for years now and it allows me to play decent golf with pretty much zero practice even only playing a few times a year. Unfortunately for me, I learned to play golf using different methods and some habits are hard to break.
However, I did teach a friend of mine pure Manuel, straight from the book. She’s never played any sports before and is not naturally athletic, but she now has a much better swing than I do!
Funnily enough, I only just realised the bit about the “club head” in the backswing. I also read it as the whole club. Strange how you can misinterpret even the simplest of instructions!
Yes, crazy isn’t it. Instruction couldn’t be more straightforward, but still I/many of us manage to read it wrong.
Good morning from Ky David…
what a refreshing blog (right term? Old man not up to snuff on all computer lingo).
Hadn’t read 1/3 of the page, ordered book immediately from myself to myself for Fathers Day.
The comment that most caught my attention was “Your weight will shift FULLY to the front foot after impact.” Without all the mumbo jumbo I’ve often wondered how the body was to remain in a good impact position while swinging through the ball AND shifting weight forward the whole time. Perhaps the book will clear that up for me, as weight shift is one of the areas where I seem to be my own worst enemy.
Thanks for the great article…I’ve read many and IMO yours ranks at the top of the list!
jdb
Hi Jeffrey, thanks for the feedback, and yes thinking about “shifting your weight” often leads to sliding rather than turning. Modern instruction tends to talk more of “pressure shift” rather than “weight shift”. The book goes into a lot of detail (although the core of the simple instruction remains the same). Good luck!
When asked to describe his golf swing, Sam Snead said ‘I wind up my body…pause…and unwind my body, and that, in a nutshell, is my golf swing’. Bobby Jones said ‘ the backswing is started by a push off your left foot and the downswing is started by a push off your right foot’, According to this article, Torre said; ‘Backswing: Use both hands to swing the clubhead in the direction of the right shoulder Downswing: Use both arms to swing the whole club in the direction of the target. Sorry guys, but if Torre says to use your hands first, he’s wrong.
Counterpoint: Hogan said to start the backswing with the hands. I agree that it’s a wind of the body, but how you “feel” that will be different for everyone. And the point with Manny’s swing is that your body will/should react in the way it’s supposed to.
Manuel said use both hands to start the backswing but everything moves at once. And he’s not saying to just swing the hands. You use the hands to swing the club head over the shoulder. Many people misinterpret what he says by just focusing on swinging the hands.
Disagree, boss. Any educated golfer can quote you 10 completely different physical acts which legends of the sport have claimed is ‘key’ to starting their downswing(s). Ever read the Little Red Book?
De La Torre provides a simple, effective swing thought that many people can relate to: swing and let your body support the swing instead of vice-versa. It’s genius.
Convince me that in a downswing that takes less than 1 second to execute, anyone but a supremely gifted PGA pro can remember to keep ‘right elbow at 48 degrees to right foot, whilst dropping the hands, whilst sliding 72% of your weight to your left instep, whilst lifting your left shoulder to hit against a stiff left side, whilst unwinding the hips, whilst relaxing, whilst keeping your eye on the ball, whilst pointing your left knee to the target, whilst holding lag, whilst not spinning out, whilst letting your hands turn over thru impact, whilst (optionally) a hinge release, whilst thinking about extending thru the target line’.
I love Manuel’s teaching and it has served me well. There is no simpler concept than Manuel’s yet many want to over analyze it and overcook things. You will hit some bad shots even with this method but that isn’t a reflection on the method. It’s just the nature of the game.
Would like to have anyone’s thoughts on this. On the downswing..how can anyone
think ( both at the same time ) to swing the club with arms and in the direction of the target. You are either thinking about the arms OR the target on the downswing but not both at the same time.
Hi James, good question, but I think you’re overthinking (pun kind of intended). Say you want to pick up a cup. Can you move your hand (and arm) in the direction of the cup (the target)? Of course you can. That’s an oversimplified example of the same concept really.
A great source of instruction for the Manuel de la Torre swing method is Brett Freeman with Freebird Golf. Check it out.
Charlie
Thanks Charlie, will check him out!
I love this swing concept and I’ve been working through it. One difficulty I’m having is when I swing the club back at the top of my swing my left wrist cups instead of flexing naturally like I’ve seen in others that have applied this technique. How do I swing the club back and have the lead wrist flex naturally instead of cupping?
Possible your wrists are too rigid, try loosening them off a bit and letting the weight of the club (and gravity) do the work setting your wrists.
Was improving slowly since starting up golf again in May this year. But had an extra bad outing Friday. I then found Manuel. I have the book on order (plus Earnest Jones’ book) and am hitting short shots now quite easily. This is how I’m rebuilding my game. Wish I’d found it in the 80s when I started. I learned Hogan’s style and hit a million balls to keep it working. I still love hitting balls, but I’m ready for more scoring and less range time. Thanks to everyone who promotes this style. I cannot wait to help beginners and those who want to try the simplest swing possible.
I have recently watched Manuel’s video teaching a class and bought the book.
I am a stiff 65yr old 5.3 HCap and I have so much nonsense in my skull I needed a golf reboot.
The De La Torre concept allowed me the mental freedom to reset my swing with an absence of technicalities.
Did I trust it initially… nope.
So I went to a Trackman equipped golf studio with a friend who knows my game inside out… I told him I’m trying something new.. a different concept.
He immediately saw my swing was smoother, effortless looking , balanced and the strikes were very consistent.
The Trackman data confirmed 100% that face and path were optimal, club and ball speed 3-4mph faster than previous sessions, proof positive that this works for me.
glad to hear Manuel’s method is working for you Mike
How many rabbit holes and commercials of Hank Haney fixing your “Slice” in 5 easy swings?….
This is the first time in 12 year’s that I improved my ball contact and…direction and distance. It’s so simple and so intuitive that the PGA swing seems…… ridiculous. No complicated process, no get right arm in the slot, no conscious weight transfer, no firing of the hips, no keeping the left arm ridgid, the head immobilized or any unnatural movement. It’s perfect and it’s simple and if your “that guy” who must analyze every aspect of a golf swing….this is not for you. If this swing befuddled you, if your looking to connect kinetic energy, cosmic energy and love trying to calculate the perfect swing plane? Move on…..
Great comment Michael, and exactly what this swing is all about.
I live in Milwaukee and on many occasions watched Manuel on the lesson tee at Milwaukee Country club. Never had a lesson with him but have played a lot with friends who learned the golf swing from him as juniors. Every one of them is a consistent and effortless ball striker. I’ve taken lessons from two pros who were tutored by Manuel and they made me a believer.