you can practice this at home

DG_1234

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When people visit a Tour event for the first time a common comment is "the pros swing so easy " and, or, "they make it look so effortless".
One of the primary reasons for the smooth swings of Tour players is the very relaxed body they maintain while addressing the ball. With little or no tension in the shoulders-arms-hands it is relatively easy to make a good looking, effective golf swing.
To practice this spend some time at home addressing the ball while keeping your shoulders-arms-hands as relaxed and tension free as possible.
 
I'm a firm believer in a slow take back and easy swing, for some reason I just hit the ball nicer that way.
 
I'm a firm believer in a slow take back and easy swing, for some reason I just hit the ball nicer that way.

Right, and I think most people would agree with you. But the challenge is finding a way to get a consistently smooth and rhythmic swing happening.
The exercise of addressing the ball without tension in the shoulders-arms-hands sets a player up to make a smooth and easy swing motion (without having to think about anything during the swing).
If you're home put a club in your hand and address a ball with your goal being zero tension within the shoulders-arms-hands. From that relaxed and tension free address one does not have to ever think "swing slow" or "swing smooth" or "don't swing too hard" or any of those other thoughts. For most people those type thoughts end up causing a player to guide the club rather than swing it.
So, what Tour pros typically do is have very relaxed and tension free shoulders-arms-hands at address, and from there the smooth swing naturally happens (without having to think about it).
 
A great way to relieve the tension in the arms and shoulders is to stop choking the grip of the club. If you can almost feel like the club would slip out of your fingers on the follow-through you're well on your way.
 
I'm a firm believer in a slow take back and easy swing, for some reason I just hit the ball nicer that way.
This has been my goal this year to just slow it down. I'm so in my head thinking "I need to crush this ball" so I swing as hard as I can, the only thing that happens is It goes far...into the rough. My playing partner knows that I'm working on this so whenever he sees me speeding up the swing he stands behind me and just says: "swing easy", just as a little reminder.
 
i always have a slow takeaway, then Boom Boom
 
A great way to relieve the tension in the arms and shoulders is to stop choking the grip of the club. If you can almost feel like the club would slip out of your fingers on the follow-through you're well on your way.

For years I worked on achieving light grip pressure, but the results were mixed. Mostly the problem was a tendency to increase grip pressure during the swing.
I noticed Nick Faldo , during Tour broadcasts, repeatedly comment that this player or that player had tension in his shoulders (usually during a pressure packed time when the player was struggling to strike good shots).
Faldo's point was that if the shoulders are tense at address then the player suffers from too much of an arm swing, at too fast of a pace, not a proper full shoulder turn-pivot etc... Faldo attributed all those swing faults to too much shoulder tension at address, and he remarks that it is especially common for pressure packed shot situations.
Following Faldo's guidance I began practicing relaxed shoulder at address and found this naturally keeps my arms and hands relaxed as well.
Where I've noticed the biggest "tension difference" between Tour pros and amateurs is for green side short game shots. When facing a 10 yard chip or pitch shot the amateur is so stressed about getting the ball up and down he/she is usually very tense and rigid at address. This tension at address causes the common fast-herky-jerky amateur chipping-pitching stroke. Conversely, Tour pros are very relaxed when addressing a short game shot, so their swings-strokes are naturally smooth and tension free as well.
 
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