The takeaway

[hafnia]

Loads of instruction out there on the takeaway - one piece, handle drag, early hinge etc.

 

something I've never understood is "why". Probably ignorance or lack of understanding if it has been written elsewhere. 

 

today I was in the nets working on my swing, feeling the arms hinging in front of me and doing the sledgehammer drill that I have from @MonteScheinblum broomforce download.  It resonates with arm swing illusion and Pete cowens teaching using the axe drill. 
 

for some reason I neglected to do a takeaway and found myself hinging and turning from address - with 8 iron it was ok - 5 iron.... fat shots galore. 
 

I then started a one piece takeaway by turning my belly till my hands were by my thigh and then I lifted and hinged.... contact way way better.

 

apologies if this is very basic but I honestly think it's a part of the swing I do not naturally grasp as to why it's needed.  I'm guessing it's width maybe but I will await a better explanation - and can a swing be functional without a takeaway? 

[TheDeanAbides]

Your feels are not real. Also, without video this is largely meaningless.

[hafnia]

25 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Your feels are not real. Also, without video this is largely meaningless.

Talking about the theory around the takeaway. 
 

example being moe Norman aligning club a good 8 inches behind ball to remove the takeaway. What is the purpose of the take away? 

[TheDeanAbides]

50 minutes ago, hafnia said:

Talking about the theory around the takeaway. 
 

example being moe Norman aligning club a good 8 inches behind ball to remove the takeaway. What is the purpose of the take away? 

The purpose of the takeaway is to, um, take away the club from the ball. It's single most important and easy to screw up step until you get to P4.5. 

 

Moe didn't remove the takeaway at all. He is not  a guy to copy. 

[getitdaily]

Purpose of the takeaway is to set the stage for the rest of the swing. It's not the end-all, be-all of the swing (transition is more important) but getting it right just helps the rest of the swing not have to be overly compensated.

[GoGoErky]

1 hour ago, hafnia said:

Loads of instruction out there on the takeaway - one piece, handle drag, early hinge etc.

 

something I've never understood is "why". Probably ignorance or lack of understanding if it has been written elsewhere. 

 

today I was in the nets working on my swing, feeling the arms hinging in front of me and doing the sledgehammer drill that I have from @MonteScheinblum broomforce download.  It resonates with arm swing illusion and Pete cowens teaching using the axe drill. 
 

for some reason I neglected to do a takeaway and found myself hinging and turning from address - with 8 iron it was ok - 5 iron.... fat shots galore. 
 

I then started a one piece takeaway by turning my belly till my hands were by my thigh and then I lifted and hinged.... contact way way better.

 

apologies if this is very basic but I honestly think it's a part of the swing I do not naturally grasp as to why it's needed.  I'm guessing it's width maybe but I will await a better explanation - and can a swing be functional without a takeaway? 

Late wrist hinge affects proper sequencing.

 

the takeaway is important because as the clubs gets inside or outside the hands to much then there are more

compensations needed. Too far inside and we see a lot of over the top moves. Too far out and we see a lot of arm lift and not a lot of depth.

 

Club on the toe line and inline with the hands makes getting to p3 in a better position easier. From p3 to p4 it’s just completing the turn.

 

Of things are off at p3 getting to a god p4 then it becomes harder and makes a good transition harder. Transition is the most important prt of the swing

 

[sundaypins]

4 hours ago, getitdaily said:

Purpose of the takeaway is to set the stage for the rest of the swing. It's not the end-all, be-all of the swing (transition is more important) but getting it right just helps the rest of the swing not have to be overly compensated.

 

+1

 

5 hours ago, hafnia said:

Talking about the theory around the takeaway. 

 

More than one theory to choose from.  Desirable post impact conditions can generally determine how to proceed in the back swing. 

[hafnia]

Had a spell in the nets. Managed to identify an issue that creeps in to my takeaway - right forearm roll. So even when I think I'm doing a one piece takeaway - the right forearm will often roll.... far too easy. 

 

for me I need to feel like the right arm resists the natural tendency to rotate clockwise.  Could not hit a ball, then I started the takeaway with a focus on keeping the inside of the forearm facing target as long as possible, when I fold the right elbow the inside of forearm faces the ball.  Huge difference. 

[Nickc]

50 minutes ago, hafnia said:

Had a spell in the nets. Managed to identify an issue that creeps in to my takeaway - right forearm roll. So even when I think I'm doing a one piece takeaway - the right forearm will often roll.... far too easy. 

 

for me I need to feel like the right arm resists the natural tendency to rotate clockwise.  Could not hit a ball, then I started the takeaway with a focus on keeping the inside of the forearm facing target as long as possible, when I fold the right elbow the inside of forearm faces the ball.  Huge difference. 

Re the forearms and indeed upper arms I follow the procedure used by Bryson at setup.

Lead upper arm internally rotated (so elbow facing  target- wards)) and lower arm externally rotated and for the trail arm essentially the reverse - upper arm externally rotated (so arm pit facing forward)  and lower arm internally rotated.

Bryson explains it better.

 

See setup at about 2.43 mark.

[CoachWhitty]

I find that most golfers I work with could see great improvement if they focused a little more on the takeaway and worry a little less in the downswing and follow through.  

 

1.  I am giving a little grace when I say downswing and follow through as I see many players at the local course actually become fixated on one thing..."I gotta hit the ball!".  The ones I work with often jump the gun to hit the ball and typically quit on the shot after impact.

 

2.  More related to your question of the takeaway.  A good takeaway sets the stage for good transitional flow...

 

3.  It establishes the individual's largest arc (without swaying off the ball), potentially raising the odds of reaching one's maximum power.

 

4.  It puts a player in a good position to deliver stored power down and through the ball.

 

5.  Focusing on the takeaway can help many with their timing, as opposed to getting excited and rushing to get to the hitting action.

 

I appreciate your topic!

[sundaypins]

On 6/22/2025 at 7:20 AM, hafnia said:

I then started a one piece takeaway by turning my belly till my hands were by my thigh and then I lifted and hinged.... contact way way better.

 

On 6/22/2025 at 5:12 PM, hafnia said:

Had a spell in the nets. Managed to identify an issue that creeps in to my takeaway - right forearm roll. So even when I think I'm doing a one piece takeaway - the right forearm will often roll.... far too easy. ..for me I need to feel like the right arm resists the natural tendency to rotate clockwise.  . 

 

Sounds like you're on a good awareness and improvement track, keep going.   Talk about theory, have you heard the one about the entire swing is nothing more than our address position in motion around us.    How silly is that.  Here's Olin Dutra's contribution to takeaway madness. 

 

 

 

 

[Riga]

On 6/22/2025 at 8:48 AM, TheDeanAbides said:

The purpose of the takeaway is to, um, take away the club from the ball. It's single most important and easy to screw up step until you get to P4.5. 

 

Moe didn't remove the takeaway at all. He is not  a guy to copy. 

 

You sure bout that?  I wouldn’t suggest copying Moe’s diet but I would suggest adapting your style to suit your body and ignoring the people who don’t know much about it.

 

Riga

[TheDeanAbides]

4 minutes ago, Riga said:

 

You sure bout that?  I wouldn’t suggest copying Moe’s diet but I would suggest adapting your style to suit your body and ignoring the people who don’t know much about it.

 

Riga

That's not the Moe people copy, though. Young Moe had a much more conventional swing - a genuinely great swing. 

[prouse25]

On 6/22/2025 at 8:48 AM, TheDeanAbides said:

The purpose of the takeaway is to, um, take away the club from the ball. It's single most important and easy to screw up step until you get to P4.5. 

 

Moe didn't remove the takeaway at all. He is not  a guy to copy. 

I am not sure I completely agree with you.  Jack famously said that the first 12 inches of the takeaway are the most important part (or something close to this). Moe didn’t remove the takeaway - he essentially ensured that the first 8 to 12 inches were the same for all his swings. He got the club head, shoulder, hands, and body weight in the position he wanted 12 inches into the swing.  
 

there definitely are parts of Moe’s swing / philosophy that can be valuable to understand and possibly implement. 

[argee1977]

From what i've learnt over the years, the purpose of the takeaway is to get the club starting on a swing arc that suits your swing. From the original comment, changing your takeaway and backswing will always cause issues with the downswing, until you match them up over time, i suffer from an inside takeaway, always have, but in my transition i loop it slightly, then come down on the correct arc, when i practice fixing my inside takeaway, i hit a lot of shanks, because i am not in the usual position at the top, and of course, when practicing one area, you are focused on that, rather than the whole swing.

 

If your swing works, without any issues, then don't change it, having a pretty swing is nice, but functional is how you get around the course, so if you have a functional swing and mess with it, expect to have issues until you're able to balance it out, it's why big changes like this tend to be done over winter by most folk.

[sundaypins]

On 6/22/2025 at 8:48 AM, TheDeanAbides said:

The purpose of the takeaway is to, um, take away the club from the ball. It's single most important and easy to screw up step until you get to P4.5. 

 

14 hours ago, prouse25 said:

I am not sure I completely agree with you.  

 

Good players might say the purpose of the takeaway is bringing momentum to the club.  

[TheDeanAbides]

24 minutes ago, sundaypins said:

 

 

Good players might say the purpose of the takeaway is bringing momentum to the club.  

Good players might say that the purpose of the takeaway is to correctly sequence the swing. 

[NosajNeelik]

1 hour ago, sundaypins said:

 

 

Good players might say the purpose of the takeaway is bringing momentum to the club.  

I’ve never heard anyone use these terms to describe the takeaway. Bring momentum? 

[RayPlan]

1 hour ago, sundaypins said:

 

 

Good players might say the purpose of the takeaway is bringing momentum to the club.  

Good players might say cucumbers taste better pickled

[Hawkeye77]

42 minutes ago, NosajNeelik said:

I’ve never heard anyone use these terms to describe the takeaway. Bring momentum? 

 

Your bag doesn't have that special pocket with the magnetic closure where you keep your momentum? It's not getting to your clubs unless you take it out and bring it.  😉 It's like my 5th swing thought, "being momentum, check."

[NosajNeelik]

32 minutes ago, Hawkeye77 said:

 

Your bag doesn't have that special pocket with the magnetic closure where you keep your momentum? It's not getting to your clubs unless you take it out and bring it.  😉 It's like my 5th swing thought, "being momentum, check."

Yes but that’s where I bring my rangefinder 

[Nels55]

27 minutes ago, NosajNeelik said:

Yes but that’s where I bring my rangefinder 

I find it important to bring my range finder to my eye with proper momentum. 

[TheDeanAbides]

1 hour ago, Nels55 said:

I find it important to bring my range finder to my eye with proper momentum. 

I hope your takeaway is synced.

[iacas]

6 hours ago, sundaypins said:

Good players might say the purpose of the takeaway is bringing momentum to the club.  

 

They might say that, but I think it's unlikely or rare.

 

It gives momentum to the club, sure, but it's momentum in the wrong direction from what we need to hit the ball. And, of course, good golfers almost immediately begin slowing it down, working in the opposite direction of the momentum they put into the club.

 

So, yeah, that'd be a curious thing to say. At the top, the club has next to no momentum.

[PedronNiall]

6 hours ago, sundaypins said:

 

 

Good players might say the purpose of the takeaway is bringing momentum to the club.  

 

 

[RayPlan]

3 hours ago, Nels55 said:

I find it important to bring my range finder to my eye with proper momentum. 

Get too rambunctious with that and you're liable to give yourself a real shiner!

 

 

[Brokensticks]

9 hours ago, sundaypins said:

 

 

Good players might say the purpose of the takeaway is bringing momentum to the club.  

Ive heard that from players as feels for chasing speed.
 

Bryson when training for it and Drew C naming two. On a video with former TXG Ian is using a training tool with a magnet at the end and you really had to whip it back for the weight to come off from the magnet. 

[Riga]

On 7/25/2025 at 6:12 AM, TheDeanAbides said:

That's not the Moe people copy, though. Young Moe had a much more conventional swing - a genuinely great swing. 

I would still take the old Moe’s swing at that age.  I would propose that his swing appeared to have changed due to compensations for physical changes but he used the same fundamental ideas.  The positions have a way of sorting themselves out as best they can with the right idea and repetition.  I have never tried Moe’s lead leg, today I will.
 

Riga

Edited July 27 by Riga
Sp

[sundaypins]

On 7/26/2025 at 9:39 AM, Nels55 said:

I find it important to bring my range finder to my eye with proper momentum. 

 

Funny how that works.   😀