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Try a Free Live AI Golf Lesson →Tiger Woods Takeaway
Even casual golf fans have probably noticed that Tiger’s takeaway rehearsals are distinctly unique among tour professionals. You can often see him rehearsing his takeaway with what appears to be an exaggerated rotation — or “fanning” — of the clubface wide open during the initial move away from the ball.
For golfers who fight a slice, the idea of deliberately rotating the clubface open during the takeaway sounds like a recipe for disaster. So why does Tiger deliberately incorporate this into his technique?
There are two critical elements to Tiger’s takeaway visible from a down-the-line camera angle. The first is that aggressive clubface rotation, and the second is that the club tracks back on the exact same swing plane it occupied at address. Study the photo below carefully.
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In the left image, you can see how Tiger has taken the club back precisely on the shaft plane established at address while rotating the face significantly open, as indicated by the yellow line. In the right image, I’m executing the same movement in my takeaway — making the clubface angle at this point in the swing even more clearly visible.
The reason this seemingly dramatic amount of forearm rotation occurs is straightforward: this is the only way to keep the club traveling on the same plane all the way to the top of the backswing.
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