If you take poor shots under pressure, one of the main causes is that you fail to complete your backswing. Unless we have trained ourselves well, the pressure makes us change what we do. We get too careful under pressure. That shortens the backswing, and that’s no way to get the good shot you need.

Completing your backswing means that everything has returned to its natural stopping point. By everything, I mean his hips, torso, arms and hands have all moved away from the ball in terms of good swing mechanics and flexibility.

How far is that? The ideal position for your front shoulder (left shoulder if you’re a right-handed golfer) is just below your chin. Getting to that position means that your torso has rotated about ninety degrees. Your hips should rotate about half of that, or maybe a little more. Rotating the hips less than that, given the same amount of movement in the torso, could lead to lower back problems.

The amount of spin of your arms is governed by your leading arm. Stand up straight, extend that arm in front of you at shoulder height, and rotate it across your body. Where it stops without being forced more is where it should stop on the backswing.

Your hands move away from the ball as your wrists settle. Note that there are two types of sets. One is the tilt of the wrists, expressed when they bend sideways and establish the right angle that the shaft of the club is seen to form with the front arm at the top of the backswing, when viewed from the front.

The second type of play is the creeping wrist back bend. It bends just enough so that the angle at the lead wrist remains the same as at address.

If any of these positions shorten, you’re taking your swing out of its normal alignment and introducing new angles that will make it difficult, if not impossible, for the clubface to return to the ball square, in line, and in proper position. trajectory. The resulting shot will be the one you were dreading.

Keeping your backswing normal starts with your mind and ends with your mind. There is no reliable physical guarantee. The solution is to be able to focus on what you have to do, rather than how you are going to do it or what the outcome might be.

Calm your mind and practice swinging until your mind feels the feel of your perfect swing again. Fill your mind with its easy rhythm and graceful flow. When there’s nothing on your mind but that feeling, get close to the ball and swing, don’t wait on the ball, copying the last sound practice swing you made. I guarantee that everything will be there, and you will make the shot you need.