Your practice swing is NON functional and how to fix your swing in general

[MonteScheinblum]

This subject come up here all the time, but since I had back to back questions on Instagram just now, I want to bring it up again to start a tangential discussion.

 

There are 3 main factors to an elite shot.

 

In order of importance

 

1. Low point control

2. Face/path/target alignment 

3. Speed

 

Practice swings have none of these and that’s why they look good compared to a real swing that’s trying to hit the ball straight and far. 

 

IMO, juniors when they learn should learn 3-1-2

 

Adults should learn 1-2-3.

 

When you look at a swing you need to fix why low point is bad first.  If the low point is bad, the brain will react and ruin face/path/target and speed to not miss hit the ball.

 

Often a poor rotation and shift.

 

Once low point is established at an adequate level, then work on face path.  Usually a wrist and arm sequence problem.

 

The once low point and FPT are aligned, add speed.  You don’t want to add speed if those things are off.

 

Obviously these are generalities and there is overlap, but this is a good guideline to work off.

 

 

 

[iacas]

I disagree in only one way: older adult women I often start with #3 also (doing it properly, anyway). I teach them grip and setup (beginning older women), and then I teach them to use their bodies to PIVOT and to do so FAST. Because if they never hit a golf ball over 100 yards, I think golf will suck for them regardless of how well they can do 1 and 2.

 

But, within encouraging them to swing FAST, they’re still mostly doing #1. So I’m not even really disagreeing with that. 😄 

[phizzy30]

I've got 1 and 3 down.  So a bit of detour on my part, lol.  Biggest issue is face control which falls under 2 so I'm working on that atm. 

[MonteScheinblum]

50 minutes ago, iacas said:

I disagree in only one way: older adult women I often start with #3 also (doing it properly, anyway). I teach them grip and setup (beginning older women), and then I teach them to use their bodies to PIVOT and to do so FAST. Because if they never hit a golf ball over 100 yards, I think golf will suck for them regardless of how well they can do 1 and 2.

 

But, within encouraging them to swing FAST, they’re still mostly doing #1. So I’m not even really disagreeing with that. 😄 

💯 

[MonteScheinblum]

5 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

I've got 1 and 3 down.  So a bit of detour on my part, lol.  Biggest issue is face control which falls under 2 so I'm working on that atm. 

I’ve been a 1/3 guy and had to always work on 2.

 

My point was if you work on 3 without 1/2 being right, you’re not helping yourself.

[bortass]

Do practice swings provide any value? I gave up on the practice swing when I was a beginner because all I did was chew up whatever turf my ball happened to be on. All the practice swing did was make me feel bad about damaging the course, lol. 

[ShortGolfer]

They can be useful with difficult lies.  A practice swing may suggest a  tree branch is too close to your swing.

If the ball is in deep rough the grass will grab differently much like the grain of wood affects how you cut it.

[njmack]

Never had 3! 🤪

 

Often have 2

 

1 can get wonky

 

I've struggled to get used to low point control across the entire bag. I'm sure it's not, but in my head I always imagined a different low point depending on iron swing, driver swing, wedge swing. In reality it's likely just positioning the ball ahead or behind the low point of the swing. Easier said than done, I guess!

[JayMas]

14 minutes ago, bortass said:

Do practice swings provide any value? I gave up on the practice swing when I was a beginner because all I did was chew up whatever turf my ball happened to be on. All the practice swing did was make me feel bad about damaging the course, lol. 

I'm exactly the same way. This hit home.

[virtuoso]

I learned how to get the face square-ish in my practice swing....but I wouldn't recommend the rest of you mortals try it.

[dfeldss]

I've got 3 down. 1 and 2 well....depends on the day

[puresurfr]

I believe #1 is vital and #2 is important and #3 is good to have , it's good to have but not absolutely necessary for playing good golf.  Its great to have 1,2,and 3,  but if I had $9 to spend ill spend  4 bucks on #1 and 3 bucks on #2 and 2 bucks on #3

[Valtiel]

2 hours ago, bortass said:

Do practice swings provide any value? I gave up on the practice swing when I was a beginner because all I did was chew up whatever turf my ball happened to be on. All the practice swing did was make me feel bad about damaging the course, lol. 

 

2 hours ago, JayMas said:

I'm exactly the same way. This hit home.

IMO they are valuable for two things:

1) General loosening up
2) Establishing a feel somewhere at the very beginning of your swing.

#2 is important IMO because I don't know that i've ever seen anyone do everything textbook from P1 to P3 and then have it fall apart after that. Almost everyone has *something* they do wrong or could do better in the first 1/3rd of the backswing, and anyone that has everything fall apart did something glaringly wrong somewhere in there. Whether its pressure shifting, wrist set/conditions, pitch of the shoulder turn....all of those things can be rehearsed in small practice swings. Pros do this all the time; get the first bits right and the rest has a better chance to follow. Better players can introduce a #3 to this list which is transition/downswing feel stuff, but just like Monte's overall point that the practice swing on the whole is a useless barometer for the full swing, #3 is useless if anything is going wrong with #2. Guys doing all those squatty Gankas drills or rehearsing exaggerated shallowing moves never get anywhere if from P1 to P2 they aren't shifting pressure correctly, setting their wrists correctly, and turning their shoulders on the proper incline...all of which can be rehearsed in a practice swing.

Edited February 8 by Valtiel

[SNIPERBBB]

3 hours ago, bortass said:

Do practice swings provide any value? I gave up on the practice swing when I was a beginner because all I did was chew up whatever turf my ball happened to be on. All the practice swing did was make me feel bad about damaging the course, lol. 

You probably don't want to be hacking up the course with practice swings lol . Avoiding them entirely is just dumb to me. You don't want to try to fix your swing with them and spend 5 minutes each time . You should always try to take a couple . If you can do them while others are getting ready for their shots, it helps keep pace of play going. Don't just wait for its your turn to hit before starting. 

[DaveGoodrich]

48 minutes ago, Valtiel said:

Almost everyone has *something* they do wrong or could do better in the first 1/3rd of the backswing, and anyone that has everything fall apart did something glaringly wrong somewhere in there. Whether its pressure shifting, wrist set/conditions, pitch of the shoulder turn....all of those things can be rehearsed in small practice swings.

 

This really hits home with me.  I have never been a practice swing guy, but recently I have realized the truth in what Valtiel says here.  A couple short practice swings makes sure I am set up correctly, and that I feel a good takeaway and initial swing path before I actually have to execute.  Without the practice swing, I can sometimes "forget" what that proper takeaway move feels like, and then get out of position at the top, with (un)predictable results.  

[Lobby]

Being of the more elderly among us, even during mid round, I find myself tightening up. 
 

I only take a practice swing to loosen up. 
 

and it’s not really a full swing, but an on plane mini swing. 

[Ty_Webb]

Funny thing is for me, if I have 3 in a given swing then 1 and 2 tend to sort themselves out fairly well (1 especially). If I don't have 3 (say a partial wedge shot), then 1 goes straight out the ******* window and 2 can be a struggle too. Played an event last year. Shortish par 4. Hit a good drive, leaving myself 65 yards for my 2nd shot. My 3rd shot from about 45 yards I overcorrected on and when I failed to get up and down from 25 yards over the green, I made double. That was fun.

[Hawkeye77]

54 minutes ago, SNIPERBBB said:

You probably don't want to be hacking up the course with practice swings lol . Avoiding them entirely is just dumb to me. You don't want to try to fix your swing with them and spend 5 minutes each time . You should always try to take a couple . If you can do them while others are getting ready for their shots, it helps keep pace of play going. Don't just wait for its your turn to hit before starting. 

I’m dumb then, but ditching them was part of getting better and lowering my handicap by a lot. A little pitch or chip, sure, a little rehearsal or two for feel, on the tee - never, fairway - nope, trouble - something to get the feel, but no swing as such. Club isn’t static, but no formal practice swings. Putter - never.  
 

I think they are 90% unnecessary when playing. 

[Hawkeye77]

I need: 

 

4.  Tell my mind to STFU. 

[ThinkingPlus]

1 is the bane of my existence.

[Valtiel]

36 minutes ago, ThinkingPlus said:

1 is the bane of my existence.

Location checks out. All you have to look forward to when trying to find a low point is...

[Scottbox]

I read this while taking a #2

[Ri_Redneck]

For practice shots, I 100% agree if it is a stock shot on level ground. All I do is a small 1-2 ft push back to get the feel of my proper takeaway. BUT, As soon as the lie becomes un-level or the shot becomes something other than stock, practice swings are vital because your doing something that is away from the norm. Punches, partials, downhill, uphill, sidehill, etc. all take adjustments and swinging without getting somewhat comfortable with those adjustments is foolhardy. So, practice swings have a place in the game, but don't chunk the ground up with them. That's just asinine.

 

As for the three necessary points, the importance depends on the needs. Whichever one a specific golfer does not have, is immediately the most important. Severe deficiency in any of them will spoil your chances of scoring well.

 

BT

[ThinkingPlus]

51 minutes ago, Valtiel said:

Location checks out. All you have to look forward to when trying to find a low point is...

I do blame some of my issue on self preservation.

[ChrisATL]

5 hours ago, puresurfr said:

I believe #1 is vital and #2 is important and #3 is good to have , it's good to have but not absolutely necessary for playing good golf.  Its great to have 1,2,and 3,  but if I had $9 to spend ill spend  4 bucks on #1 and 3 bucks on #2 and 2 bucks on #3

Good way to put it!

[PedronNiall]

3 hours ago, Valtiel said:

 

IMO they are valuable for two things:

1) General loosening up
2) Establishing a feel somewhere at the very beginning of your swing.

#2 is important IMO because I don't know that i've ever seen anyone do everything textbook from P1 to P3 and then have it fall apart after that. Almost everyone has *something* they do wrong or could do better in the first 1/3rd of the backswing, and anyone that has everything fall apart did something glaringly wrong somewhere in there. Whether its pressure shifting, wrist set/conditions, pitch of the shoulder turn....all of those things can be rehearsed in small practice swings. Pros do this all the time; get the first bits right and the rest has a better chance to follow. Better players can introduce a #3 to this list which is transition/downswing feel stuff, but just like Monte's overall point that the practice swing on the whole is a useless barometer for the full swing, #3 is useless if anything is going wrong with #2. Guys doing all those squatty Gankas drills or rehearsing exaggerated shallowing moves never get anywhere if from P1 to P2 they aren't shifting pressure correctly, setting their wrists correctly, and turning their shoulders on the proper incline...all of which can be rehearsed in a practice swing.

Not something I'd actively thought about in that way because I just started doing it and it felt right, but the takeaway is all I really practice after warming up and out on the course if I'm not actually hitting a ball. I did think about the fact that full practice swings are a metric crap ton of extra energy burned, and another ton of extra heat created and sweat poured out on hot days, but never really focused on how much just those takeaways help with honing in on what needs to be done to help make the good stuff happen in the full swing shortly following them.

[CMCSGolf]

I read once that Butch Harmon recommended ingraining swing changes by making slow motion practice swings.  Is that twice as bad or somehow different because there is no "pretend speed" so it can actually help?

[MonteScheinblum]

2 hours ago, Ri_Redneck said:

For practice shots, I 100% agree if it is a stock shot on level ground. All I do is a small 1-2 ft push back to get the feel of my proper takeaway. BUT, As soon as the lie becomes un-level or the shot becomes something other than stock, practice swings are vital because your doing something that is away from the norm. Punches, partials, downhill, uphill, sidehill, etc. all take adjustments and swinging without getting somewhat comfortable with those adjustments is foolhardy. So, practice swings have a place in the game, but don't chunk the ground up with them. That's just asinine.

 

As for the three necessary points, the importance depends on the needs. Whichever one a specific golfer does not have, is immediately the most important. Severe deficiency in any of them will spoil your chances of scoring well.

 

BT

Yes the importance depends on the needs of the individual, but if you don’t have #1, 2 does you no good and if you don’t have 1 and 2, 3 makes you worse.  If you have no low point control, you will screw up face/path/target to not miss the ball.

[JayMas]

5 hours ago, Valtiel said:

 

IMO they are valuable for two things:

1) General loosening up
2) Establishing a feel somewhere at the very beginning of your swing.

#2 is important IMO because I don't know that i've ever seen anyone do everything textbook from P1 to P3 and then have it fall apart after that. Almost everyone has *something* they do wrong or could do better in the first 1/3rd of the backswing, and anyone that has everything fall apart did something glaringly wrong somewhere in there. Whether its pressure shifting, wrist set/conditions, pitch of the shoulder turn....all of those things can be rehearsed in small practice swings. Pros do this all the time; get the first bits right and the rest has a better chance to follow. Better players can introduce a #3 to this list which is transition/downswing feel stuff, but just like Monte's overall point that the practice swing on the whole is a useless barometer for the full swing, #3 is useless if anything is going wrong with #2. Guys doing all those squatty Gankas drills or rehearsing exaggerated shallowing moves never get anywhere if from P1 to P2 they aren't shifting pressure correctly, setting their wrists correctly, and turning their shoulders on the proper incline...all of which can be rehearsed in a practice swing.

Super insightful, thank you. The thing I dropped the most is full, stand tonth beside of the ball practice swings. 

 

I'll still do small stuff, mostly for rhythm, but it lacks the intention you're describing even if the degree of the swing is similar.

 

Considering #2 more when I do what I'm describing sounds like a great idea.

[ALIF]

As long as you don’t take like five practice swings and then totally shank it straight right or chunk it 2 feet ahead of you. Lol.