By Kim Jeong-kyoo

A correct position at the top of the backswing features a club shaft that is parallel to the ball-target line and preferably horizontal to the ground. Golfers who neglect to turn their shoulders fully cannot create this position at the top.

Without a full shoulder turn, it's impossible to swing the arms and hands into the correct position at the top, which, in turn, makes it difficult to swing the club down and through the ball on the correct path.

An incomplete shoulder turn on the backswing tends to bring about an out-to-in swing path, resulting in a pull to the left or pull-slice depending on the clubface alignment through the ball. For a shot that travels far and straight you need to give yourself sufficient time during the backswing for the shoulders to turn fully.

For a proper position at the top, it is not sufficient to think of only turning the shoulders. You need to clear the right side of the body, particularly the right hip, to the rear to facilitate a full body turn.

Toward this end, you need to avoid straightening the right hip or dropping the left shoulder immoderately toward the ground. To keep the swing center still on the backswing, it is as well to move the left shoulder down slightly but too much downward movement deprives the swing of its fluidity, causing less-than-solid strikes. The shoulders should stay perpendicular to the spine as they turn.

A full shoulder turn is a prerequisite for maximum distance and accuracy but this is only true up to a point. A full shoulder turn has no real meaning unless it allows you to be in position to swing down the club squarely through the ball on the proper path. After all, the backswing is about placing the body in the correct position that ensures slotting the club into the downswing path without any extra effort.

For this to happen it is critical to avoid associating the backswing with power and distance. Connecting the backswing to power causes only a short, quick backswing with a jerky movement. That propels you into an unfinished shoulder rotation, which in turn, prevents the arms and hands from swinging freely to the top of the backswing.

More importantly, you need to be clear that the sole purpose of the body turn during the backswing is to help the arms and hands reach the correct position at the top so that you can swing the club down into the slot. The body rotation does not take the arms and hands to the top.

It does not matter whether the club shaft is horizontal to the ground, short of it or beyond it at the top of the backswing. What really counts is the shaft position that is parallel with the ball-target line. Failure to set the club shaft in this parallel position at the top means you are robbed of every chance of swinging the club down on the correct path and plane. Failing to slot the club onto the downswing path, you are left with no chance of hitting the ball to your full distance potential, let alone reaching the intended target with passable accuracy.

To check to see if you've created the correct position at the top, assume your address in front of a life-size mirror and swing to the top. You need to see your left shoulder under the chin and the right shoulder behind the neck. Check that your left arm is across the shoulder line with the clubface remaining square to the back of the left hand, which is square to the left forearm. Check the shoulder rotation is twice that of the hips that have turned 45 degrees, with the right-knee flex remaining constant. Both knees should be level.

After all, a good coil results from spine rotation, or rather from the rotation of the thorax. If you rotate the middle of the thorax so the left shoulder moves down slightly, all good things will take care of themselves, leaving you with a better chance of creating the correct position at the top.

Yet, one of the goals that you have to pursue is to ensure the absence of slack during the takeaway and at the top of the backswing. This leads to a poor, loose backswing that is not tight or taut, resulting in a weak, lethargic action through impact.

For a powerful release through the shot it's essential to create tension or the maximum amount of torque between the upper body and the lower body on the backswing. The more stretch you create on the backswing, the more clubhead speed and power you will achieve.