I'd like to hear some drills to shorten my backswing

[monkeyboy]

Been working to shorten my backswing for a good year now (well I have known about it and consciously want to shorten it - but have not put in the work yet).

 

I always tend to go too far when I really want to whack the ball or if I get lazy.  Seems like I just naturally want to go too far.  Having a hard time engraining a backswing that does not become too loose at the top.    I likely mentally believe that I will not get the power I want unless I get really 'wind up'.  I occasionally look at my backswing on video after putting in some work, thinking that it should be shorter now...nope - still too deep!  

 

A mind is a terrible thing.

 

Any good drills?

[skyleralan]

My swing has always been long as well and I always felt similar to you, that I just never consistently get to a good place at the top of my swing.  Have you ever had a lesson or had your swing analyzed?

 

I play probably around a 5hdcp, but depending on the difficulty of the course can shoot lower and if the course is very tight I can play closer to a 10.  

 

After having my swing looked at with an instructor/teacher my swing was just far too upright, all the things we think will help with distance (high hands and a sort of flying right elbow).  I also get lots of rotation with my shoulders, but VERY little with my hips.  The deeper and more hip turn I got (feels super flat and way too far to the inside) really limited my swing being too long.

 

I also played too much on my toes and really slide my hips toward the target part of that is because I'm so steep I have to do that to create space at the bottom.  I sorta looked like Lee Westwood a little where he almost folds up at the bottom of his swing (of course didn't feel that way to me).

 

All of this I am relating back to myself, but in general I think MOST people don't get enough hip rotation even when they think they are!  Get deeper and look at where your weight sits on your feet during the back swing and then posting up on your front leg and rotating around it (lots of drills to feel the weight in your heels to make you rotate better).

 

Good luck!  

[Krt22]

No turn cast drill or nike drill (just do it)

[hoselpalooza]

i used to struggle with this. a couple of things that worked for me:

 

1. make what feels like a 75% or 3/4 swing. even though it felt much shorter, this is what got me to parallel.

2. hit your clubs shorter distances. e.g. take your 150y club and try to hit it 140y. or even 130y. 

 

another thing related to #2: with tee balls i used to have the urge to nuke everything to get the ball as far out as possible.  when this was my mentality i also did not know my carry distances. now i know my carry distances and try to determine how far i need to hit the ball before teeing off, as well as pick an exact spot where i want the ball to end up. this eliminated the "spray and pray" mentality and helps me trust that making a controlled 95% swing will get me what i need. 

[MonteScheinblum]

Some swings are just too long....that happens.

 

Some swings that are too long for a reason and you can’t shorten it unless you address the reason.

 

Late wrist hinge 

Arms sucking inside

Poor hip motion

Over bent trail elbow

 

Those are just a few examples of issues that need to be addressed or a shorter swing will be worse for you.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Put an alignment stick under your right armpit (assuming you're right handed) sticking out about 18". Make a swing until your left arm hits the stick and you should be short of parallel. I've worked on this and its helped. 

[tercoidegw]

I tried to shorten my swing for years, and made a very bad mistakes doing so that took al my confidence and made me lot worse. So I will start with things NOT to do:

-swing 3/4

-start with a concious wrist c0ck

-tighten your arms to finish early

-swing to the inside

 

So what to do? The best way to modify a swing is in the setup; then you just swing thoughtlessly. This a tip from my local teacher the late Raul Prieto:

-move your arms forward, and away from you, and then "pull the tie down"; imagine you are holding your tie and need to stretch it down (picture a combination of Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau)

 

my 2ct

[Golfbeat]

This concept works well for me.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKMI6q9FxrB/

 

 

[Cwebb]

Keep your front foot all the way down, to the top of your swing

[Zitlow]

Without getting into the specific sequencing which isn't hard to figure out if you can get your thoughts off the individual pieces of the swing and on the motion.

 

Snead's forward press kick started his swing. As Snead rebounded to his right foot all of his 6 major pairs of joints were engaged. Everything started back together. Everything reached the top together and everything started down together. 

 

I know this is contrary to what you're told about the swing as most things are. Someone could do a while thread about what Snead did that you don't do. 

 

@xKono 

Snead doesn't arbitrarily lift his left heel, it is being lifted not doing the lifting and is part of the sequence.  Notice that it isn't fully lifted until the very end of the backswing and notice that it reaches the end of it's travel at the top as everything else does. 

 

 

[Soloman1]

Sam Snead's swing was great for hitting a pull, as he did. Moe Norman (straight) hit a pull also. It's not wrong, but let's look at the flight to understand the swing components.

 

Here's what I know from the data: the takeaway sequence of elite players is opposite of the downswing sequence. It's club, arm, ribcage, pelvis.

 

I agree with Krt22. Just do it. You control your swing. Slow motion is a tried and true method to feel you swing.

[blehnhard]

Turn 78 years old.

[MonteScheinblum]

9 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

Sam Snead's swing was great for hitting a pull, as he did. Moe Norman (straight) hit a pull also. It's not wrong, but let's look at the flight to understand the swing components.

 

Here's what I know from the data: the takeaway sequence of elite players is opposite of the downswing sequence. It's club, arm, ribcage, pelvis.

 

I agree with Krt22. Just do it. You control your swing. Slow motion is a tried and true method to feel you swing.

One piece takeaway has ruined more golfers than having children.

[Moonlightgrm]

I am sixty-three years old. Trust me when I tell you, wait, time will shorten your backswing. 

[getitdaily]

A couple of things that have worked for me...

 

1. Think of stopping your swing when hands get waist high

2. Hit what you think are 3/4 swings

3. Get tour tempo and practice with the faster tempos

4. Hit a lot of shots with zero wrist hinge. 

[anth]

I have suffered this for a long time. I think I’m much better at it now - there was a time when I sometimes hit my neck with the shaft in the backswing!

 

In my experience the swing can’t be shortened by simply trying to swing shorter, or at 3/4 or 50% or whatever. That may work temporarily but you will revert to the longer swing inevitably.

 

So you’re left with 2 options. You can stop caring. If you hit the ball well enough does it matter how long your backswing is?

 

Or you can try to understand why you over swing and treat the cause not the symptom. This option probably needs a professional to help with the diagnosis and remedy.

[jcnatl]

Following along,   I am just starting back to play after a 10 years of not ,    but this is still my biggest swing flaw....

[Arn]

Start your downswing earlier.

[dslatt33]

Whats been working for me lately is thinking about a right arm takeaway. First practice with the club in your right arm only and bring it back to hip high and then swing though. Next waist high and swing through, then shoulder high and swing through.

 

When you have a feel for the club being taken away with your right arm only then add your left hand to the grip. And practice the same drill. You should feel like your BS is right arm driven

 

I could never hit half and 3/4 wedge shots before this year. But practicing a Right arm driven backswing has allowed me to stop the Backswing where I want it to stop and not behind my head.  Its nearly impossible to over swing when you just thing about your right arm driving the backswing.

 

Good luck

[TheDeanAbides]

Until you know why it's too long you can't possibly know what the fix is. Unless, of course, you have unlimited time to play around on the range and destroy your game. 

[MelloYello]

Figure out what's causing your over-swing. 

 

 

For me, it was an exaggerated one-piece takeaway. I never consciously thought about my wrist hinge and so it didn't start until very late in my backswing. Paired with a cupped (extended) left wrist this allowed the club to travel beyond parallel. Together, it created a lot of slop at the top of my swing. 

 

The easiest way for me to shorten my swing was to reduce my one-piece takeaway. I use a little forward press to begin and feel as though I hinge my wrist immediately like I were trying to get the club up fast. Essentially, I'm doing to the opposite of "getting wide" or going "low and slow," two tips that were commonly thrown out as pro-moves during the Tiger/Rory big-drive era. 

 

As Monte said, the one-piece takeaway can be troublesome. It can easily become a liability if exaggerated. 

 

.

Edited April 28, 2021 by MelloYello

[Bucken77]

8 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Until you know why it's too long you can't possibly know what the fix is. Unless, of course, you have unlimited time to play around on the range and destroy your game. 

This is the answer. Waste of time asking people on the internet how to fix your swing. Find a teacher that can help before you go down a rabbit hole that will end with severe unhappiness

[naval2006]

On 4/26/2021 at 5:46 PM, skyleralan said:

My swing has always been long as well and I always felt similar to you, that I just never consistently get to a good place at the top of my swing.  Have you ever had a lesson or had your swing analyzed?

 

I play probably around a 5hdcp, but depending on the difficulty of the course can shoot lower and if the course is very tight I can play closer to a 10.  

 

After having my swing looked at with an instructor/teacher my swing was just far too upright, all the things we think will help with distance (high hands and a sort of flying right elbow).  I also get lots of rotation with my shoulders, but VERY little with my hips.  The deeper and more hip turn I got (feels super flat and way too far to the inside) really limited my swing being too long.

 

I also played too much on my toes and really slide my hips toward the target part of that is because I'm so steep I have to do that to create space at the bottom.  I sorta looked like Lee Westwood a little where he almost folds up at the bottom of his swing (of course didn't feel that way to me).

 

All of this I am relating back to myself, but in general I think MOST people don't get enough hip rotation even when they think they are!  Get deeper and look at where your weight sits on your feet during the back swing and then posting up on your front leg and rotating around it (lots of drills to feel the weight in your heels to make you rotate better).

 

Good luck!  

It sounds like me. Hip rotation is key to reach a good top of backswing. No hip action and you feel you’ll never reach the top and the club goes and goes forever back. 

[Hacker9]

Following this with interest. I have always been too long as well. What works for me (when I’m doing it):

 

- No turn cast. The cast gets all the attention but no turn part is the best part IMO

- A feel I have of bowing the lead wrist at the top, except for me I achieve that by thinking about the trail arm getting into a waiter/tray of drinks position. I find I can’t overswing easily with that feel and in my case I don’t get too laid off. 
 

In both cases there is one thought which is club at the top, and the turn looks after itself. It’s quite similar to some of the other comments made so far. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Hacker9

[Terry Gold]

A few weeks of thinking 'Steve Stricker' at the top was pretty much all it took. 

Maybe I'm the exception, but there's plenty on here about  how arduous and time-consuming, making this change will be...

Well, a month or so later, I now have to work to even get past parallel with any club.

Not to boast; only to say that I was surprised how quickly it took hold. 

[rondo01]

In terms of developing better body awareness, the this sort of constraint based drill of finding the wall presented an enlightening moment. I try to do it a few times a day.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNnOTSVs8nu/?igshid=18oe2x6qq8shq

 

another, working feels

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMxLtbzstGd/?igshid=1m3t389z4p70c

Edited May 2, 2021 by rondo01

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

On 4/26/2021 at 1:15 PM, monkeyboy said:

Been working to shorten my backswing for a good year now (well I have known about it and consciously want to shorten it - but have not put in the work yet).

 

I always tend to go too far when I really want to whack the ball or if I get lazy.  Seems like I just naturally want to go too far.  Having a hard time engraining a backswing that does not become too loose at the top.    I likely mentally believe that I will not get the power I want unless I get really 'wind up'.  I occasionally look at my backswing on video after putting in some work, thinking that it should be shorter now...nope - still too deep!  

 

A mind is a terrible thing.

 

Any good drills?

Keep the shoulders down?

[hammersia]

Keep the left arm very stiff and straight on the backswing 

[bill.ig]

After videoing my swing noticed how long my swing was due to collapse of trail arm, my left elbow was way bent, and this made it real difficult to have any consistency with irons. Did a few things:

* mental image of 3/4 swing, like Xander Schauffle

* swing thought of straight left arm until top

* practice with a Swing Extender Golf Swing Trainer which prevents the right arm from going past 90*

Still not great but better after a couple of years.

[herbert7890]

No better way to shorten your swing than to feel "tension" earlier in the backswing, by beginning the pressure shift forward early in backswing (this has worked wonders for me) and I learned this from Athletic Motion Golf, see video below. In summary, the early pressure shift forward works as a "stopper to the arms" to come and start the downswing earlier than your usual.