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Faster backswing


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I don’t know about the actual science, but I’m a firm believer that everyone has a particular internal tempo when it comes to hitting a ball, and that tempo doesn’t change. A slower backswing just means you have to rush the downswing to meet that tempo. Speeding up the backswing gives me a split second at the top to sync up. I know if I start getting kind of wipey, or start hitting it off the toe, I almost always start hitting it better when I speed it up. 

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17 minutes ago, Dean21 said:

I don’t know about the actual science, but I’m a firm believer that everyone has a particular internal tempo when it comes to hitting a ball, and that tempo doesn’t change. A slower backswing just means you have to rush the downswing to meet that tempo. Speeding up the backswing gives me a split second at the top to sync up. I know if I start getting kind of wipey, or start hitting it off the toe, I almost always start hitting it better when I speed it up. 

This is excellent 

All "tips" are welcome. Instruction not desired. 
 

 

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I used to swing verrrrrry slowly. Think Bob Murphy or Hideki Matsuyama - before he picked up the pace a bit.

 

One pre-season trip to Florida around the late 90s, playing quite poorly (as usual after the NY Winter), I was particularly frustrated on the last day.

 

Around the 6th tee, fuming, I swung as hard/fast as I could with my driver, caught the ball dead flush and away it went. Not nearly calmed down I swung my 8 iron, also as fast as I could. Flush again, straight at the flag, maybe 7 feet for birdie.

 

Make a long story short I did it the rest of the day and played very well over the last 13 holes.

 

Subsequently swung with a very quick tempo for a number of years and then decided to try to go to something in between. Worked pretty well for a reasonable time but recently I haven't been striking it very well.

 

So recently, here and there, usually when frustrated I yank it back and swing it hard and there we go again, flush and straight. I just can't seem to get myself to swing hard all the time though - don't know why. Dunno1.gif

 

My theory ?  To some degree making everything happen quicker gives no time for actual or even sublimal "thought". Maybe no time for the muscles to work INcorrectly ? IDK.

 

Everything happens so quickly, it just,,,,,,,,, goes flows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ya Drew Cooper was saying it’s one of the main issues he sees in higher handicaps. People simply aren’t taking the club back quick enough. It’s a reaction that improves the downswing as well. I have a buddy who shoots in the 70’s consistently and he has a big lateral shift off the ball at the start of his swing which throws the club back pretty quick. He flushes the ball like few people I’ve ever seen. 

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A faster backswing is liberating. No time to worry about hitting positions. Momentum of club keeps it on plane and sets wrists naturally (assuming a decent grip, posture, and pivot).

 

When I simply heave it back and think only of making a full shoulder turn and shifting pressure back to lead foot quickly, good things usually happen. Fast back, patience in transition, turn though.

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My lower body seems to want to fire at the same time no matter what, so if I slow my backswing, the lower body goes anyway and leaves my arms in the dust. 

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I was a low and slow kid when I first learn to play or at least tried to be. But I’d always be fighting it. I got back into golf years later and pretty much just gave up on trying to commandeer the backswing speed and just let my natural feel take over. Combine that with really getting a fuller body driven turn and I feel like it’s pretty smooth and I’m not rushing or dragging the backswing. It’s pretty liberating now to just be able to swing freely. 
 

 

cut to Dr Kwon’s teachings and it’s just further reaffirmation I’m on the right path with my swing. 

 

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Faster BS definitely translates to a faster DS. There is no question about that. However, it doesn't necessarily equate to better ball striking.

 

I am old, so I do speed training. If I am going for full max speed (when training), I take it back as fast as I can, and the CHS JUMPS. However on the course, I need a measured tempo to hit the ball solidly (the key is taking time in transition, which can be hard with a fast BS).

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58 minutes ago, DLiver said:

Faster BS definitely translates to a faster DS. There is no question about that. However, it doesn't necessarily equate to better ball striking.

 

I am old, so I do speed training. If I am going for full max speed (when training), I take it back as fast as I can, and the CHS JUMPS. However on the course, I need a measured tempo to hit the ball solidly (the key is taking time in transition, which can be hard with a fast BS).

I'd bet my life on the notion that most amateurs trying to get better, especially high handicaps would see an immediate improvement in ball striking just by speeding up their backswing. A lot of them by a lot more than they think.

 

I'd also argue that a fast back swing leads to more patience in transition for the majority of golfers because there is no doubt too slow a backswing creates a much more urgent hit impulse and thus the transition gets rushed.

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3 hours ago, JayMas said:

I'd also argue that a fast back swing leads to more patience in transition for the majority of golfers because there is no doubt too slow a backswing creates a much more urgent hit impulse and thus the transition gets rushed.

This has not been my experience at all. If I try and speed up my backswing, my transition gets quick and jerky as well. With a slower backswing, I can feel the club loading and my transition isn't so jerky.

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I took a few weeks to sift through all the Dr Kwon stuff.  A fast backswing is disastrous for me.  As long as I can get into Monte's 7'oclock back swing position and then deliberately finish the backswing with a torso turn...I've gone from 230 yards off the tee to 265.  Literally, overnight.   I feel like I'm making almost no effort to do this, and the swing tempo seems very deliberate to me.  

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The science is basically that the faster the backswing the more force will be applied to the handle as you begin the downswing.  IMO, the key is to pivot the body fast instead of just using the arms and hands swing as well as shifting the pressure before pivoting and getting a significant amount of pressure to the trail side going back, particularly around p2-p3.  

 

A lot of golfers trying to make their backswing faster just speed it up primarily with their arms/hands.  And they often don't get enough of a pressure shift going back or their sequencing is poor.  

 

One of the things I do when I am facing a shot I'm uncomfortable with is to focus on increasing the speed of my pivot in the backswing.  It's easy to think about the shot too much and swing back too slowly and everything gets thrown out of whack.  This is one of the big things I've learned from watching the Dr. Kwon videos...you'd be surprised if you just pivot and turn your body and shoulders and do it at a fast enough rate, you'd be suprised how well your arms, wrists and the club will all fall into place.

 

I do medicine ball toss drills and then visualize me throwing a medicine ball with my swing.  It's pretty easy to not only throw the medicine ball further, but throw it accurately while only thinking about turning the body back and as fast as possible.  Not worrying about things like wrist flexion, flying right elbow, pelvic tilt, foot/ankle movements, etc.  Apply that to a golf club and you'll be surprised how well you can swing it and the shots you'll hit.

 

 

 

 

RH

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10 hours ago, YMark said:

This has not been my experience at all. If I try and speed up my backswing, my transition gets quick and jerky as well. With a slower backswing, I can feel the club loading and my transition isn't so jerky.

Perhaps because your backswing is already fast enough? I'm specifically talking about loads of high handicap players on the path to get better that need to speed up their backswings. It's much more common than someone needing to slow down their backswing.

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I’d say he’s probably not “throwing” the club back forcefully enough. It takes a while to get it but once you understand how forceful you have to throw the club back…you literally like you are catching the handle because it’s moving so fast upwards. 
 

This is what I do with my swing caddy pro. For anyone who sways on the backswing it’s unbeatable imo for getting you to turn your hips. There is no way you would could generate enough power to make the club “click”

if you sway. 
 

 

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I think to some extent it is a chicken vs egg question.  Elite ball strikers tend to have faster backswings -- but do the faster backswings help make them elite ball strikers, or is it because they swing with such efficient biomechanics that they end up having faster backswings?

 

Novosel claims it is the former, and that ams will improve by swinging faster (Tour Tempo).  He might be right, but since he is selling a product line based on that theory I tend to be a little skeptical.

 

If instructors got students to swing faster, with no other changes (wherein would lie the challenge IMO), and they improved, it would be telling.

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I'm someone who for years has a pretty fast backswing. But for some reason I feel I play my best golf when I slow it down. I think it's still pretty fast. I'm not talking Morikawa slow. 

I'm someone who doesn't hinge a ton but I have a big turn and by slowing it down a touch I feel it helps me gather and set everything at the top. 

 

For Example I would say my tempo on backswing is like Schauflee. Would everyone agree he's a tad deliberate? 

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“Faster” is a relative term, not quantifiable by itself.

 

Most amateurs swing back too slow but they often also do a lot of other things too slow.

 

There are some people who have measured the total times of good swings, and the relative portions consumed by the various elements of the swing (including  ratio of backswing to downswing, generally said to be around 3:1 for pros and up to 4:1 for the rest of us).  Always seemed to me wise to emulate the ratio  and hope that the total time (about one second until ball is struck) will follow at some point.

 

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3 hours ago, Chunkitgood said:

“Faster” is a relative term, not quantifiable by itself.

 

Most amateurs swing back too slow but they often also do a lot of other things too slow.

 

There are some people who have measured the total times of good swings, and the relative portions consumed by the various elements of the swing (including  ratio of backswing to downswing, generally said to be around 3:1 for pros and up to 4:1 for the rest of us).  Always seemed to me wise to emulate the ratio  and hope that the total time (about one second until ball is struck) will follow at some point.

 

Tour Tempo has long game at 3:1. I’ve found it useful when I start thinking too much. Just put on the metronome, swing my orange whip for a bit, then hit a few balls.

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I haven't worked on this in my full swing, which is pretty up tempo. However, this thought has been huge for improving my chipping/pitching this year. Creating more energy in the clubhead early is key around the greens IMO. 

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