How to Keep the Club Outside the Hands Early (And Stop Taking the Club Too Far Inside)

One of the most common mistakes amateur golfers make during the backswing happens in the first two feet of the swing.

The club immediately gets pulled too far to the inside.

This mistake might feel harmless at first, but it often leads to a chain reaction of problems later in the swing. When the club travels too far inside early in the takeaway, golfers frequently get stuck during the downswing, forcing them to flip their hands, come over the top, or make inconsistent contact with the golf ball.

Many golfers who struggle with slices, blocks, hooks, or chunked shots actually trace the root of the issue back to a poor takeaway.

The takeaway sets the foundation for the entire golf swing.

If the club starts on the wrong path, the body has to make last-second compensations just to reach the golf ball.

That’s why many professional instructors emphasize learning how to keep the club outside the hands early in the backswing. This move helps keep the club on plane, improves sequencing, and sets up a much more repeatable swing.

In this lesson, you’ll learn:

• Why golfers pull the club too far inside
• What it means to keep the club outside the hands
• Simple swing checkpoints to fix your takeaway
• Drills you can practice to groove the correct motion

Once you improve this first move in the swing, you’ll notice the rest of the swing becomes much easier to control.

What It Means to Keep the Club Outside the Hands

When instructors say to keep the club outside the hands early in the backswing, they’re referring to the position of the clubhead relative to your hands during the first part of the takeaway.

If you filmed your swing from the down-the-line view (camera behind you looking toward the target), a proper takeaway would show the clubhead staying slightly outside the line created by your hands during the first few feet of the swing.

This doesn’t mean the club should move dramatically outside or away from your body. Instead, it simply means the club should not immediately get pulled behind you or wrapped inside your swing path.

When the club moves too far inside early, the swing becomes very flat and the club often gets stuck behind the body during the downswing. This forces golfers to make last-second compensations like flipping the hands or coming over the top to reach the ball.

By keeping the club outside the hands early, you help the club travel on a more neutral swing plane that makes the rest of the swing much easier to repeat.

A good checkpoint is when the shaft becomes parallel to the ground in the backswing. At this position, the clubhead should be slightly outside your hands and the clubface should match your spine angle.

This position keeps the club in front of your body and allows your shoulders and torso to control the swing instead of your hands and wrists taking over too early.

When golfers master this first move, the backswing becomes more connected and the downswing becomes much easier to sequence properly.

Why Golfers Pull the Club Too Far Inside During the Takeaway

Most golfers don’t intentionally pull the club too far inside during the takeaway. It usually happens because of a few common swing habits that develop over time.

One of the biggest causes is starting the swing with the hands instead of the body. When the hands initiate the takeaway, the club tends to get pulled behind the body very quickly. This creates an inside path almost immediately.

Another common cause is rolling the forearms early in the takeaway. When the forearms rotate too soon, the clubface opens and the clubhead moves inward behind the hands. Many golfers do this because they believe they are creating a bigger turn, but in reality it puts the club out of position.

A third cause is over-rotating the hips too early in the backswing. When the hips spin aggressively at the start of the swing, the arms and club often get pulled behind the body instead of staying in front of the chest.

All three of these mistakes lead to the same problem: the club gets stuck behind the golfer during the backswing. From this position, it becomes much harder to deliver the club to the ball consistently.

Golfers who struggle with this takeaway often experience several common ball flight issues such as slices, blocks, hooks, and even chunked shots. That’s because the body has to make last-second compensations during the downswing just to reach the ball.

Fixing the takeaway allows the club to stay more in front of the body, which creates a much simpler path back to the golf ball.

Once the club starts in a better position, the rest of the swing becomes easier to repeat and control.

How to Keep the Club Outside the Hands Early in the Swing

Fixing the takeaway starts with understanding that the golf swing should begin with the body turning, not the hands pulling the club away.

A good takeaway is often called a one-piece takeaway, meaning the chest, shoulders, arms, and club all move together during the first part of the swing.

Instead of thinking about moving the club with your hands, focus on turning your chest away from the target. When the chest rotates first, the arms and club naturally move with it, which keeps the club in front of your body rather than getting pulled behind you.

As the club moves back, your lead arm should stay connected to your chest while the clubhead remains slightly outside your hands. This keeps the swing arc wider and prevents the club from getting trapped behind the body.

A helpful checkpoint occurs when the shaft becomes parallel to the ground in the backswing. At this moment:

• The clubhead should be slightly outside the hands
• The clubface should match your spine angle
• The hands should remain in front of your trail thigh
• The arms should still feel connected to the chest

If the clubhead is behind your hands at this position, it usually means the takeaway started with the hands or the forearms rolled open too early.

Another important feel is to imagine the clubhead moving straight back for the first foot of the swing rather than immediately moving inside.

This simple adjustment often helps golfers keep the club in a much better position during the takeaway.

Once the club stays outside the hands early, the rest of the backswing becomes more structured and the downswing path becomes far easier to control.

Drills to Practice Keeping the Club Outside the Hands

Understanding the correct takeaway is important, but the fastest way to improve is by practicing drills that help your body learn the correct movement pattern.

These drills create the proper feel so the club stays outside the hands naturally instead of forcing the motion.

Wall Takeaway Drill

One of the simplest drills for fixing an inside takeaway is the wall drill.

Stand so that your trail hip is about 6–8 inches from a wall. Address a golf ball normally while holding a club, then slowly start your backswing.

As the club moves back, the clubhead should stay away from the wall. If your takeaway pulls the club too far inside, the clubhead will immediately hit the wall.

This drill gives instant feedback and helps train the club to move back more along the target line rather than behind the body.

Practice slow takeaways at first so you can feel your chest and shoulders initiating the movement.

Alignment Stick Takeaway Drill

Another great drill uses an alignment stick placed on the ground just outside the golf ball and pointing down your target line.

Set up to the ball so the alignment stick sits just outside the clubhead. When you start the takeaway, your goal is to keep the clubhead outside the alignment stick during the first part of the swing.

If the club gets pulled inside too quickly, it will move over the stick.

This drill provides a clear visual reference that helps golfers understand the correct takeaway path.

Towel Under the Arms Drill

This drill helps maintain connection between the arms and the body during the takeaway.

Place a small towel or headcover under both armpits and make slow practice swings. Your goal is to keep the towel in place while starting the backswing.

When the arms stay connected to the chest, the takeaway becomes much more controlled and the club naturally stays outside the hands.

Golfers who pull the club inside often separate their arms from their body early, so this drill helps eliminate that habit.

Practicing these drills regularly can quickly improve the first move in your swing and help build a more consistent takeaway.

Conclusion: A Better Takeaway Leads to a Better Golf Swing

The first few feet of your backswing may seem small, but they have a huge impact on the rest of your golf swing.

When the club gets pulled too far inside during the takeaway, it often forces compensations later in the swing. Golfers may get stuck on the downswing, flip their hands through impact, or come over the top trying to reach the ball. All of these compensations lead to inconsistent ball striking.

By learning to keep the club outside the hands early in the backswing, you give your swing a much better foundation.

This move helps the club stay in front of your body, keeps the swing on plane, and allows your body rotation to control the motion instead of relying on your hands and wrists.

If you’re struggling with an inside takeaway, start by focusing on a one-piece takeaway, where the chest, shoulders, arms, and club move together. From there, use checkpoints like the shaft-parallel position to confirm that the clubhead remains slightly outside the hands.

Adding simple drills like the wall drill, alignment stick drill, and towel-under-the-arms drill can also help train your body to repeat the correct motion.

Remember, the golf swing becomes much easier to manage when it starts from the right position.

Fixing the takeaway is one of the quickest ways to improve your swing plane, increase consistency, and build a more repeatable golf swing.

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Thanks for reading today’s article!

Nick Foy – Golf Instructor