What Does Being Laid Off Mean In Golf?

We’ve all heard this bit of swing-related terminology, but what does being laid off mean in golf? Well, that’s the question we put to PGA professional Ben Emerson in this video and article, which you can check out below...

“Problems seem to come in pairs,” Ben begins. At the top of the swing, if the club is pointing left of target, that is what’s known as being laid off. Conversely, if the club points to the right of the target, that would be across the line.

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While good golf can be played from both positions, what we’d like to see is a club that points bang down the target line. Being laid off means the club is underneath the ideal plane, which can make it difficult to square up at impact, leading to a myriad of potentially disastrous shots.

And getting into this inefficient position is usually a consequence of something that happens at the start of the swing. In the all-important takeaway, a lot of golfers roll their forearms early, causing the path of the club to track inside and behind the golfer. Turning to the top from there will leave the club pointing a long way left.

A handy checkpoint for those who struggle with this is to work on getting the club to cover the hands at the point where the shaft is parallel to the ground. That might mean setting up a camera when you practise or getting a friend to film the odd swing for you, but it’ll be worth it when you’re hitting consistently better shots.

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Also, don’t worry if you overdo or underdo it slightly as it’s nigh-on impossible to nail the perfect position each time. However, if you’re getting close it means the club won’t be getting stuck behind you early and compromising the rest of the swing.

While working on keeping the hands more in and the club more out, you should also notice that the clubhead is a little closed in the takeaway, matching the angle of the spine - that’s a great place to be.

So, in summary, being laid off means the club is pointing way left of target at the top of the backswing. While such a position has worked well for the likes of Matt Kuchar and Rickie Fowler, it’s not something to be encouraged for club golfers as it usually leads to compensations and a lack of consistency.