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Watching Annika’s golf swing has helped me develop a better backswing.

I love watching Annika Sorenstam play. Every time she tees up, the golf course becomes her stage, and she’s got the starring role. She smashes drives down the middle, streaks iron shots toward the flag and putts with the instinct of a baby kangaroo finding its way to its mother’s pouch. This lady is bad.

There’s no doubt that Annika’s talent has brought much attention to women’s golf. But to me, her incredible skill represents much more than a hole in one for the LPGA Tour.

I learn from her, and I think most of us would do well to take some cues from Ms. Sorenstam. The fact is that women must achieve excellent technique because they often lack the strength to overpower the golf ball.

Watching Annika’s golf swing has helped me develop a better backswing. When Annika sets up in her normal position, she has very relaxed arms. As she begins rotating in her backswing, her right arm at the elbow starts to bend early, but at the same time, she continues to turn back, and the club is set in the perfect backswing position. This provides a setup for a fluid golf swing.

Some instructors, however, tell players to fully extend their arms on the backswing to create width and a good wrist cock. I’ve noticed that many players take this advice too far and extend their arms to the point of locking their elbows. This leads to a swing that is controlled too much by the hands, causing many swing flaws. This is not to say that an effective golf swing does not require width, but it should only be extended as far as your arms will naturally reach.

If you’ve ever watched great ball strikers such as Fred Couples, Kenny Perry and Annika, you’ll notice that as they start their backswing, it’s almost as if they’re picking up the club, keeping a relaxed elbow. As they do this, they make sure their shoulders rotate behind the golf ball as they continue their backswing. This sets up a compact golf swing that allows the upper and lower body to work in unison without the small muscles of the hands overpowering the golf swing.

Today, with more players using longer drivers, I believe many of us are trying to get too much extension in the golf swing because we are obsessed with distance. Overdoing it hurts the golf swing. As Harvey Penick says, “Take an aspirin, not the whole bottle.”