Drills to shorten up my swing

[ezra76]

I can't stop going PP!!

I'm coming off one of my worst driver rounds of the year today. God awful. I cannot stop going past parallel and desperately need some drills. With my wedges and short irons I don't do it and they are dead on, the only thing salvaging my game right now. I literally played almost every long par 4 like a par 5 after driving it into the trees. Misses are high right and yanked left. Two older guys I play with suggested some "swing jacket" or "swing vest" thing?

I can't do anything mental, has to be a concrete drill. This swing is ingrained hardcore from over 4 years. My practice swings look like I should shoot 5 under but my real one has produced 20 over the last 3 rounds.

[MisterMizzy]

Practicing by doing arm swings waist high/waist high then gradually shoulder hight to shoulder high helped me shorten everything up. I feel like I almost swing too short at times, but distance/accuracy don't lie.

[hls2k6]

I too struggle with this, particularly with the driver. I suspect it depends on what characterizes your overswing, which can vary from individual to individual (i.e. some people have a big reverse pivot, others the left arm breaks down, others come up out of the swing), so different people probably need different drills.

 

For me, my hips and legs tend to betray me-- resulting in an overswing. On video, my swing looks fantastic at a point... and then I sometimes take it back another few inches from there. Makes me cringe, but I'm getting better at not doing it!

 

Anyhow, here are the drills I was given by my pro, which are helping my particular overswing:

 

1) get a balance ball and hold it up to a wall with the right side of your butt and practice holding it there while swinging. Hold the ball in place until you get to the top (if your hips overturn or your right knee uncoils it will fall) and then let it fall on its own during the downswing.

 

2) turn the front foot 90 degrees so its parallel to the target and take practice swings.

 

3) hit balls by starting with the feet together and the back foot where it should be, then stepping forward with the front foot into a normal stance as the club approaches the top of the backswing (like a baseball player).

 

Recently, he has me doing a couple more involving a balance board and disk that resemble swinging in slow motion on a see-saw, but I can't even begin to describe them properly!

[ej002]

Go to the range and hit half shots with the driver / or 3/4 shots. You probably wont lose any distance, and start hitting a solid fade.

[tbarr15]

I have had the same problem for years, and I think I finally have the magic cure, at least it worked for me.

 

Put a towel, glove, etc under your right armpit and practice by hitting shots. It might take awhile to feel normal doing it, but once it does your swing can't help but be shorter. It is a great drill because it keeps your arms close together. Now when I play golf I tuck my shirt under my right armpit slightly.

 

Hope this helps

[mfo]

practice hitting shots with your feet together. then widen your stance and use the same swing.

 

i've also found it helpful to really concentrate on keeping my back leg flexed on the backswing. (I think this is what Butch Harmon is doing with Mickelson - that's what gave me the idea). once i feel tension on the inside of my back leg, and my shoulder is under my chin, i swing down.