The Primary/Secondary/Tertiary Golf Model (PST)

It may come as a surprise to learn, the deltoids — your shoulders — are among the largest muscle groups in the upper body. The hands and arms are used in golf to connect the club to the shoulders. The rotation of the shoulders around the body is what I’ll refer to as the Primary Rotation.

This rotation of the shoulders, holding a club, traces a semi-circle around the spine.

As your shoulders rotate the club back, the straight left arm (for right-handed golfers) should rotate around an axis through the center of the left arm. Going forward, this will be referred to as the Secondary Rotation.

The Secondary Rotation traces a semi-circle around the axis created by the straight left arm.

These rotations work together in a coordinated motion. This is done by bending the right arm / elbow against the side of your body during the back swing, which we’ll refer to as the Tertiary Motion.

The golf swing is not a swing, but rather a rotation, and to be more precise, it’s the combination of two rotations — the Primary Rotation and the Secondary Rotation, which are tied together using Tertiary Motion.

This simple revelation will completely change your understanding of how to swing a club properly.

To keep things simple, the term “swing” is used — but you now know the secret. What it really means is the rotation of the club.  

The following sections describe Primary Rotation, Secondary Rotation and Tertiary Motion and the wondrous result of combining all three motions together properly.