Do you remember drawing circles with a compass in your geometry class? I will bet you never thought that would come in handy in the real world. Picture this if you will, the golf swing is the marker and your body is the stationery point of the compass drawing a circle and the ball is in the way of your circle.  Work on the following routine to form a circle around your center and you will begin to swing the club more consistently.

•  The first thing to remember is that you will stay between your feet at all times throughout the swing. This means no rocking to the outside of your back foot and no lunging through with your upper body to the outside of your front foot.  This will create something other than the perfect circle.

•  To begin to get the feeling of the circle, grip the club as you normally would and place the club straight out in front of you. The toe of the club should be pointing up to the sky. Your feet should be shoulder width apart. Your upper body is positioned exactly in the middle of your stance.

•  Keeping your arms straight, begin the take away motion of the swing by allowing the club, your arms and the shoulders to turn away from the target.  Your lower body must remain very quiet at this point. In the backswing, the toe of the club remains pointing toward the sky. Observe the path the club travels into the backswing. It is traveling on an arc away from the target.

•  With the club now in the backswing, start the forward motion with your lower body acting as the catalyst to return the club forward on the same arc pattern as the backswing. Remember that your body does not lunge through it only rotates. You are the pivot point for the swing back around. Observe how the club swings forward and around you completing the circle. Remember the toe of the club will still point to the sky. Repeat this motion numerous times until the motion becomes effortless.

•  Now that you have mastered the circle standing straight up, it is time to get into your proper golf swing posture. Everything else described above remains the same. The difference on this swing will be the fact that you will feel like your left shoulder will travel down to the ground and on the forward swing the right shoulder will travel under your chin going through. Visualize standing inside a large Hoola-Hoop. You may have seen this type of training aid at your local golf course. The bottom end of the hoop is at the golf ball and the top of the hoop has been angled through your neck. Once again, your body is the stable point of the circle. Swing the club back on the circle with your club, arms and shoulders. Your lower body remains quiet going back. Then on the forward motion along the circle, allow the lower body to move through first, the right shoulder lagging way behind so the club can swing through on the same path going through as it did on the backswing. Remember, your body is the stabilizer and everything swings around that point. Your body only rotates. When you finish the swing, your entire body should be in perfect balance and still between your feet.  

Repeat this swinging motion just as you did standing straight up until you have a clear picture in your mind of the swing circle. You will begin to have a better swinging motion that will return more consistent shots during your round. Did you notice that I never mentioned the golf ball throughout the entire tip except to say the ball is in the way of you swinging on your circle? That is because the importance of the swing is higher on the priority list than the ball. As I have mentioned in the past, if you swing the club on the proper path the ball will just get in the way and fly to your target.

As always, if you need assistance with this tip or any other golf tip, feel free to email me at gellisdog@cox.net.

In the meantime, be sure to tune in to the Bunker to Bunker Golf Show every Saturday morning from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station or on the internet at www.arizonasports.com for more tips and updates on all of the week’s golfing news in the Valley and around the world. Join Greg, Jim Hill, and Marty Monaghan for a comprehensive look at the golf world for the week.