Start from a well-balanced position with your hands set level with or slightly behind a straight line down to the ball (see photo, left). Your left wrist should be bent back just a bit, as opposed to bowing it forward as some golfers do.

Immediately upon completing your waggle, begin the swing by smoothly pushing the grip straight back with the thumb pad and heel pad areas of your left hand. The left hand should push straight back for a distance of approximately 12 inches, with absolutely no rolling inward of that hand or any cocking of the wrists.

The key to this takeaway is to resist slightly with your right hand the movement of the left. It's not a great deal of resistance, just light pressure with the palm of your right hand against the straight-back push of the left. When you do this, the hands will move back slightly ahead of the clubhead (see photo, below left). As the hands continue a bit farther, the clubhead will catch up (see photo, below right). It should literally feel as if you are drawing back a string with a brick on the end of it. Practice this feeling until it's second nature.

What does this little bit of resistance do for you? Most importantly, it gives you a consistent backswing path. Most right-handed players who pull the club away from the ball with their right hand will snatch the clubhead inside the target line too quickly or pick the clubhead up. Notice how when you resist lightly with your right hand, the clubhead moves back close to the target line for at least the first 12 inches (see photo, above left). When you start the clubhead back ahead of the hands, you are much more likely to move it inside the target line too quickly (see photo, above right). In effect, the resistance causes your hands, your arms and the clubshaft to stay in front of the body as the body begins its turn. This coordinates your hands and arms with your body turn right from the start, and it allows the club to move back on the correct path.

The second benefit of the CGL takeaway is that it improves your entire body turn. A graphic example is shown in the photos above. At left, I am sitting in a swivel chair and my right hand is against the edge of a low table. As I push lightly against the table with my right hand (the same pressure used in the CGL takeaway), my body starts to turn to the right. Conversely, if I pull backward with my right hand while holding onto the edge of the table (see photo, above right), notice how my body turns to the left. This right-handed pull of the club prevents a proper body rotationÑyour hands go back, but your body will not want to turn away in sync with your hands and arms.

So you see, a little push with the right hand actually encourages your body to make a natural turn back. Your left shoulder turns in a more level fashion away from the ball as opposed to a downward tilt. This more level turn of the shoulders places much less strain on your back than any tilting or sliding motion.

Even though your clubhead is lagging a bit behind your hands, you don't have to worry about "making it catch up." What will happen is, as you continue back and up, the clubhead's momentum will gradually take effect and it will pass the hands, causing the wrists to hinge. You don't have to worry about consciously cocking the wrists correctly at any point in the backswing provided your grip, grip pressure and stance are correct. The swinging clubhead will do it for you and will help the body turn.

Next, practice your takeaway with something very light, such as a yardstick (see photo, below). Make the same move as above, with the hands moving back approximately 12 inches. Your checkpoint: The bottom end of the yardstick should have moved back no farther than your hands. Or to look at it another way, at this point the yardstick should point nearly straight down rather than the bottom end angling backward.

Most golfers who try the CGL takeaway initially overdo their resistance with the right hand. Here's another drill to monitor the amount of resistance: Put a tee between your right and left thumbs as you take your grip, then assume your address position (see photo, above). Now start your left hand moving straight back against your right. You should exert just enough pressure so that the tee remains in place between your hands. If the tee falls out, or if it shifts position, it means you need to increase your right-hand resistance slightly. You may sense that your left hand is literally "fighting" back because you're over-resisting with the right. Use just enough pressure to keep that tee in place and you'll have the right amount of resistance.

The CGL takeaway sets up so many good things in your swing. It gets the clubhead moving back nicely on the correct path, which makes it easier to return the club to the ball. It will get your body into a turning motion immediately, as opposed to having a backswing in which your arms move ahead of and out of sync with your body. Your turn will be more level, which is better for your spine. And, you'll see that it will make the takeaway movement smoother, without any "twitches" or unevenness that many golfers, especially seniors, experience.

Give my method a try. I think you'll find it yields some surprising benefits at the other side of the swing when you hit the ball.