3 Golf Takeaway Mistakes That Ruin Your Swing Before It Really Starts

The takeaway is one of the most important parts of the golf swing. When you get it right, everything that follows becomes easier. But most golfers overdo it. They try to do too much and end up in a bad position before the swing even really begins.

Here are three common takeaway mistakes that can ruin your swing before it has a fair chance to start.

The instant wrist hinge

Some golfers start their swing by snapping their wrists back immediately. It’s an abrupt change that tends to create the following issues:

• An open clubface
• Disconnection between hands and chest
• A narrow, unstable backswing

This early wrist hinge often happens without any chest movement. The arms are already outrunning the body and you’ve lost the ability for natural body rotation and movement.

It’s better to start wide and get the chest and arms moving in sync. The hinge happens gradually, usually around waist height, and keeps everything moving together. You’ll have more width in your swing and better structure.

Dragging the club too far inside

The “low and inside” takeaway is a classic amateur move. It often stems from misapplying the one-piece takeaway concept or rotating the body too much while letting the arms follow behind.

When you take the club too far inside early in the swing,

• The club gets trapped behind the body
• The face often ends up too open
• You’re forced to re-route on the downswing, leading to over-the-top contact or toe strikes

Golfers who take the club too far inside tend to have too flat a swing. The idea here is that you are working the club too far around with no upward movement.

In the takeaway, the club should feel like it’s lifting slightly, not dragging behind you. Let the hands and arms move away from the ball while staying in front of your chest and avoid letting the clubhead disappear behind your legs too early.

Lack of coordination between the body and the arms

This one is incredibly common. Golfers will move the arms without engaging the body or freeze the body while the arms take over. Either way, the swing starts disconnected and puts you out of sync before you even finish the backswing.

To fix this, feel the arms move in front of the chest with both sides of the body staying active.

The lead side needs to clear to allow the trail arm to load properly. Practicing with a towel or resistance band can help reinforce this connected motion.

Final thoughts

One of the best parts of working on your takeaway is that you can incorporate what you feel and learn into your pre-shot routine. Take this with you on the course and use your new takeaway feel as a trigger to start a great golf swing.