Read on for a simple exercise to make sure you're in the correct position at the top of the backswing.

Many golfers swing to the top of their backswing, then stop and see if their club is in the right position. Naturally this is a very, very hard way to tell if the backswing is in "the slot" so to speak.

If you're in the same boat and never really know whether your club ends up in the perfect position, I'll offer you a drill that will allow you to check easily if your swing is too steep, too shallow or just right.

To do this exercise, all you have to do is swing back to the top of your backswing and stop and hold your backswing position for a second or so.

Now loosen your grip and allow the club to drop. You know that your backswing is perfect if the club falls on top of your right shoulder. But if the club misses your body altogether that indicates that your backswing is too flat. If the club hits your head or neck, your swing is too steep.

If you find that your backswing does not finish where it should, avoid the following:

Do not try to manipulate what is happening near the top of your backswing to get the club in a good position, because you must understand that the golf swing is a chain reaction. To explain, I need to elaborate on the individual elements that make up the golf swing:

• The impact position you get into when you swing is a result of the downswing position that you were in.

• The downswing position you get into when swinging is a result of how you transitioned from your backswing position to the downswing.

• The position half way into your backswing determines the position you get into at the top of your backswing.

• Your position half way into your backswing is caused by your takeaway.

• And how you take your club away depends on your setup.

It's clear that you can't isolate one position in your golf swing sequence because the positions you got in before determine subsequent positions. Instead what you need to do is systematically work on getting each phase of the swing the best it can be, working from the setup, take away and on from there. If you do that you'll naturally and automatically get into a great top of the swing position.