Step 3: Progress to Full Swing

Step 3 is to progressively make bigger swings until you get to a full swing. Continue step three without hitting balls.

Start by making half swings, to where your arms are about parallel to the ground. Continue to focus on the one piece takeaway in the backswing and letting go of the club as you approach impact. Make sure that your trail hand is not on the club at impact, especially as you get to bigger swings and faster swing speeds. 

This step is crucial to master the release and follow through. Continue to feel the release of the club as it passes by your lead hand. You want to prevent over extending your lead arm at the top of backswing, especially as you get to full swings around full speed. You should not feel strain on your shoulder in the follow through, if you do then you are not releasing the club at the ball and you are continue to pull up at the top of the follow through. That's wasted club head speed! This is why I emphasis to not elevate your lead arm above your shoulder in the follow through. If you feel strain in the follow through, shorten the swing and continue to work on releasing the club properly. Once you start to do this correctly, you will notice how quickly the club whips through at impact. This is the effortless clubhead speed that the professionals create and why their swings look so smooth.

In the swings below, notice how slow my arms and body are moving by the time I get to the top of my follow through. This is because my club head speed peaks at the ball and just after. This release is how guys like Ernie Els, Fred Couples, and Vijay Singh are well into their 50's still hitting the ball +300 with effortless looking swings! Look at how freely they release the club and how little they are doing in the follow through. 

Note that I release the club at the ball, which puts very little stress on my body by the top of my follow through. In the full swing below I don't feel any discomfort from The Missing Piece and I don't feel any strain in the follow through.