Can you imagine how many times a golfer repeats his swing in his lifetime including practices and matches? The number will be enormous. Adapting to a perfect swing is a must for golfers, because practicing the wrong swing may cause you pain and serious injuries. You may have a question like how many ways are there to swing a club.
The answer is there are as many swings as there are golfers. Because each golfer tries to incorporate tips from experts like coaches, professional golfers and so on. Try those to implement and end up with the best that works for them.
According to expert opinions, there are some popular swing techniques that work for many golfers. For example The Square to Square swing, The Single Plane swing, The Slow Motion swing, etc. However, the square to square swing is deceptively different than the modern golf swing we will be explaining in this article.
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What Is the Square to Square (S2S) Golf Swing?
The square to square golf swing is one of the latest and popular golf swings. The term square to square is self-explanatory. The basic of this method to close or square the clubface from backswing to downswing and follow through as well.
Many golfers can square the clubface halfway in the backswing and halfway in the follow-through. The term “square to square golf swing” was initially claimed back in the 70’s and was presented by Jim Flick. Initially, the results were disastrous and Flick later apologized for promoting the swing.
The Square-to-Square(S2S) golf swing has kicked up dust in the golfing circles claiming that you will not only be hitting the golf ball straighter and further with square to square method, it’s easier to the body as well.
How is the Square to Square Swing Different from the Modern Swing?
Square to Square swing is not a timing-based swing like the other modern swing categories. You can easily master this swing; this technique doesn’t require much practice. Your club stays closer to the body and your shoulder does the moving rather than your wrists. For this minimal wrist and hips movement required.
Shoulder does the moving most. The backswing movement is another noticeable difference from modern swing going techniques. The square to square method keeps your spine and head at the top of the golf ball, so it creates a minimum to zero horizontal slides during the backswing. Once you get this movement, it will get easier and consistent to play with.
If you are looking for the simplest of the golf swing with less body movement this method could be the most effective for you. The trick to this method is to have less wrist movement. Your right elbow should be positioned at a 90-degree angle before reaching downswing.
Step By Step Instructions
The square to square golf swing consists of some steps to be followed as follows:
1. Ball Position:
Your hitting position will vary based on the club you are using. If you are using long iron your ball should be placed in the middle of your stance. The ball should be struck at the downswing with the irons.
If you are plating with woods or putter or even with wedges your ball position should be adjusted according to that.
2. Presetting Impact Position:
If you watch golf matches carefully, you will find quite a few players who tend to preset impact positions. It helps to get more accurate shots. Presetting impact position makes your backswing simple and reduces the need to do full shoulder turn at the top of backswing. The club-head remains positioned behind the ball.
3. Backswing:
The most crucial part of this method is backswing. You must keep the club-head square or closed up to at least half of the backswing. It is anatomically difficult to keep the clubface square more than halfway of the swing. Shoulders need to turn the 3rd or 4th of the complete semicircle. The video will be helpful to better understand.
4. Downswing:
Downswing is the segment when the swing takes momentum to hit the ball with accuracy. This is another crucial point when your clubface should be square throughout the impact and follow-through.
How Can You Adapt to Square to Square Swing?
Practicing is the best option to master this swing technique. The trick of this swing is to have a parallel shoulder to the target line. This could be the reason you may face difficulties to adapt with this at your earlier stages. There are several drills and exercises that can help you adapt to the swing technique.
Slap for Square: You can practice this drill at home or at the golf course, with or without club. For right-handers bring the right hand back like your backswing, then bring it down and hit your left hand.
Both hands should meet in front of a square impact. Then push the left hand as your follow-through. Repeat this until you get comfortable with the movement and then try the same using the club in your hand.
Impact Bag: An impact bag is a good alternative to practice this swing if you don’t have access to the golf course or wish to practice at home. Impact bag is a small, padded bag that allows for fill swing and provides instant feedback about shoulder alignment at impact. Practicing with the bag will ensure the shoulders are square at impact and have a solid contact.
Benefits of S2S Swing Method
The square to square swing method diminishes your dependency on timing. And this is because your golf club remains square for a longer time. The technique gets easier with consistency.
The square to square swing is easier for professional golfers as well as for those who are new to golf. Most importantly you won’t get body pain with this method. And it gets better and better with time spent with it.
In a nutshell, the benefits can be highlighted as follows:
- Reduces dependency on timing
- Easy to adapt
- Gets better output with time
- No body pain while repeating few times
Final Thoughts on S2S Golf Swing
Modern Swings mostly depend on timing the shot and are potentially prone to injuries. So if you have any physical restrictions then you are most likely to injure yourself.
But on the other hand square to square golf swing doesn’t stress on full swing, instead, it requires a 3/4th turn that results in less injury possibility but still provides you a strong grip on the golf club.
The game of golf is gaining popularity day by day and so the square to square swing method for its efficiency and safety.
