By Gary Plato with Al Barkow
In the range of 60 to 70% of golfers’ faults begin before they ever swing the club. That was the assessment of Lucious Bateman, a legendary Bay Area teaching professional and NCGA Hall of Famer from whom much of my knowledge of how to play the game of golf was gained.
As Lucious put it, cause-and-effect is at the very core of hitting good or poor golf shots. When you do something negative in setting up to hit the ball it will almost invariably result in unsatisfactory results. And of course, the opposite is the case. It's the opposite we are after here.
Get a Grip
Where does a good pre-shot set up begin? With the grip you take on the club. It must be absolutely secure in order to swing the club effectively; that stands for golfers at all levels. The key to this is having the club handle tucked under the fatty part of the left hand for right-handed golfers; it’s more or less like putting the club in a vice. (See Image 1)
Whatever connection you make with the hands, be it an interlocking grip in which the little finger of the right hand fits in between the forefinger and middle finger of the left, the Vardon grip, in which the little finger of the right hand rests atop the crotch of the left, or with all ten fingers on the handle (baseball grip), the vees formed by the forefinger and thumb of the right and left hands should point to the right shoulder. (left shoulder for lefthanders)
There can be slight – very slight – variations. Individuals who by their nature have fast-acting hands can cause the clubhead to point to the left at impact and produce a right-to- left ball flight - a hook. A slight adjustment must be made. In this case, the left hand should be turned slightly more to the left in what is called the “weak” position. If your hands are naturally less active you can turn the left hand a touch more to the right – a strong position. In each case, these adjustments are meant to square the clubface to the target when the ball is struck. These adjustments are modest, but make a difference in the flight of your shots.
Set Up for Success
The second element in the pre-swing routine is the set-up to the ball – the stance. For a full swing, the outside of your heels should align with the outer edge of your shoulders. In other words, your stance is not too wide, or too narrow. You will then have good balance during the swing and be able to make natural full turns of your shoulders and hips in the back- and- forth action. At the same time, and to further assist in making those good turns, each foot should angle slightly – the left foot to the left, the right foot to the right. Toes that point too much to the left assist the body’s turn in the downswing, but restrict the length of the backswing. And if the toes point too much to the right at address you will assist the length of your backswing but will restrict the length of your swing’s finish. These positions in the setup are often overlooked.
A close partner of the width of stance and angle of the feet at address is alignment to the target, which includes where you play the ball in relation to your feet.
It is important that you stand aligned to your target. That is, from your feet up to your shoulders you want to be very slightly to the left of the target itself. Think of it as railroad tracks. Ball-to-target is one track, and your feet the parallel the other track.
The now very common use of alignment rods when on the practice range is the best way to get the correct position. Actually, you do well to use two rods. One is directed at the target itself, the other is set at a 90- degree angle across it, which is used to indicate where the ball is positioned in relation to your feet and the length of the club being used.
The ball position in relation to your feet moves from the center of the stance for the wedge to 6-iron, then to halfway between the center of the stance to the left heel for 5-iron through the hybrids, and finally a positioning of the ball on a line off the left heel for the driver, 3- and 4-metal woods.
The hands remain in the same position for all clubs, which is the left hand positioned on the inside of the left thigh; or, slightly ahead of the ball. This never changes; your hands are never behind the ball at address, because you don’t want them in that position when making contact in the downswing. Using this setup allows you to swing the same way – on the same path – regardless of the club you are using.
The Swing
Finally, “The Swing.” The most critical part of the backswing is the first 6-to-12 inches. This sets the correct path and if it is correct your club will position itself correctly at the top of your backswing. Your arms and club at address form the letter Y. That Y should remain together until the hands pass the right hip. Once that happens the wrists will break naturally, causing the club at the top of the backswing to point in the direction of the intended target. Where the club is pointed at the top of the backswing is where it will swing the most freely. If this is done correctly the hands, right shoulder and the target are in a straight line.
The real magic of Lucious Bateman’s teaching was the ¾ length, controlled backswing. You will have the best chance of hitting the ball solidly, in the center of the clubface, and you will not lose distance.
Once you reach the top of the backswing, the first move down is critical; the first 6 to 12 inches with the arms and hands sets the path of the downswing. If done correctly this allows you to swing correctly through to your target. The arms trigger the body motion and the swing will move in the direction of the target with the weight transferring automatically to your left side to a complete finish.
The magic of Lucious Bateman was great communication and keeping the golf swing simple. He realized that everyone is different, hence you cannot make everyone swing the same way. Common sense tells us that a 6’6” player cannot swing like a 5’6” player. Now throw in muscle tone, flexibility, weight, etc. and you can see why this simple method worked so well for thousands of golfers over many decades.
Swing naturally with great fundamentals that begin with a sound setup to the ball.
Bio: Gary Plato, born in Alameda in 1942, has been a teaching professional since 1967, eventually becoming head professional at San Jose CC in 1970, a post he held for 19 years. He has been a major force in the development of NCPGA programs, its president, in 1978, and elected to the NCPGA Hall of Fame, in 2019.