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Subtract, Don’t Add for a Better Golf Swing

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Speed and power sell, but repeatability and simplicity lowers scores. Now with swing coaches partnering with with fitness companies, I see more swings on the range getting longer with the body moving in every direction. Students come to me saying they can’t hit a draw because they aren’t flexible.

Don’t get me wrong; fitness has a place in the game. It can be very beneficial, preventing injuries and creating longevity. Cross-sport training is even better. Just make sure it’s a supplement to your swing, not adding movements to try and swing like certain Tour players.

Golfers are better served looking to subtract from their swing, not add. Whenever we can eliminate moving parts, we have a greater chance of repeatability with no loss of speed or power. Simplicity equals consistency.

Quoting Steve Elkington, PGA Championship winner and host of Secret Golf, “Your golf swing has to be as simple as possible or you can’t repeat it.” So how do we simplify the swing? Simply look to rid your motion of those needless movements.

Don’t Set Up Like a Shortstop

The common instruction of “feel like a shortstop, be athletic” works great for baseball, but not for golf. We don’t need to set up to the ball so we can move left or right.

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Rather, the closer we set up to our impact angles, the less movement is required to get back to the correct impact position. To do this, set up with slight pressure on your left foot (right-handed golfer) and make sure you have your upper half set behind the ball.

Look back at the article “The difference between pressure and weight” to get the proper setup. This is nothing new, as many of the greats — past and present — have addressed the ball this way. Below is a photo of Jack Nicklaus and Peter Thomson.

IMG_8288Make sure you address the ball so you can coil behind the it with no lateral movement necessary.

Stop the Shift

If you set up to the ball correctly, there is no need to shift laterally in the backswing. A shift will just require you to move even more in downswing to make solid contact. In fact, not only is shifting a wasted movement, it will actually slow you down. Think of a swimmer, who wants to swim in a direct line. The more side-to-side movement the swimmer has during their stroke, the less speed they produce.

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Below is a great way to get the proper feel of a coil. Set up in your posture with your arms tucked in at a 90-degree angles. Pull your right arm back and move your left arm out. Let your right glute move back slightly as well. You will notice your shoulders have naturally moved back and there is no shifting of your hips.

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Think of your backswing more as a coil, not as a shift and turn. Work on rotating or coiling with your body in the same position for the most efficient swing possible.

The Over-Swing

A common swing complaint among first-time students is they feel their swing is too long and tough to repeat. They are usually correct.

Getting too long with your golf swing is usually a product of your body motion. The “shift-and-turn” tip leads to several faults, the most common being too much rotation. Add a long swing with a shift and a player will usually tilt back toward the target, which is a difficult position to recover from.

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A great drill to shorten your swing and develop arm speed is to simply hit balls with your feet together. Below is an example.

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When doing this drill, feel like you are holding your body and swinging the shaft with your arms. You will notice your shoulders will still have moved back and around without a conscious “turn.” For more speed, hold your body and swing the shaft faster. Soon, you will notice you can hit the ball close to the same distance with much less movement than before.

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Remember, anytime we can limit wasted movement in the golf swing we have a greater chance of better contact. Better contact and a simplified swing will equal lower scores.

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Kelvin is a Class A PGA golf professional in San Francisco, California. He teaches and has taught at some of the top golf clubs in the Bay Area, including the Olympic Club and Sonoma Golf Club. He is TPI certified, and a certified Callaway and Titleist club fitter. Kelvin has sought advice and learned under several of the top instructors in the game, including Alex Murray and Scott Hamilton. To schedule a lesson, please call 818.359.0352 Online lessons also available at www.kelleygolf.com

35 Comments

35 Comments

  1. lef

    Mar 5, 2017 at 11:08 pm

    I think this is great advice for someone like me at a 10 hdcp. A few months ago I started locking my left elbow. This has the effect of abbreviating my backswing to as far as my hips and shoulders can rotate, which isn’t very far compared to DJ or Rory. So I have a pretty short back swing, but I make consistently better contact than when I would allow my left elbow to bend at the top. On average I haven’t lost any distance, but I have gained consistency. I’ll admit I was a little self-conscious about how short and un-manly my swing was. A week ago I went to the range with a friend who is a 2-3 hdcp, and he noticed almost immediately that I was puring most of my irons. But he didn’t say “wow you swing like a old man now”, instead he said, “wow, you’re striping it”. So, at least for me, a smaller more simplified swing is helping me make better contact and hit more greens and fairways.

  2. Bobalu

    Mar 5, 2017 at 2:42 pm

    Wow. I do not agree with what you are advocating here. Virtually all top coaches teach that at address that your hips should start centered between your feet, and then secondary tilt of spine away from the target is added (only a couple of degrees with an iron), while keeping the hips centered. You are advocating creating this upper body secondary tilt by bumping the left hip toward the target at address, rather than starting with hips centered, then tilting back the upper body. Your way restricts clearing hips on the downswing. The correct way results in a centered pivot and no obstruction to clearing hips on downswing. A small amount of linear motion of the hips towards the target will naturally occur on the downswing of course, but pre-setting the hips forward, then tilting back- like you advocate in your picture- is just flat out wrong and harmful.

    • Bobalu

      Mar 5, 2017 at 5:46 pm

      Shawn Cox (on Secret Golf) recommends this left hip forward setup at address for ‘short’ shots. I don’t really follow his logic on why, and I disagree when he states that virtually all PGA players set up for short shots this way.

    • Kelvin Kelley

      Mar 5, 2017 at 6:24 pm

      B, Thanks for the comment, I guess the impact position is “harmful”. All great players find the proper “shape” on the downswing. Clearing of your hips will come natural.

  3. ButchT

    Mar 5, 2017 at 8:35 am

    Thank you! One of the very best explanations I have seen posted on Golfwrx! Butch.

  4. Ronny

    Mar 3, 2017 at 9:40 pm

    Can’t disagree. Video would have been better to prove his point. Thx

  5. Jack

    Mar 3, 2017 at 8:01 pm

    The correct top of the backswing shortened just doesn’t look right with the hips and body shifting back and hips bumped forward. The incorrect one has a better shoulder turn but the correct one didn’t just reduce shoulder turn the entire plane changed. Looks like a push slice waiting to happen.

  6. chip

    Mar 3, 2017 at 2:13 pm

    It is a pretty universal idea that for an amateur, shortening the swing is a great idea. I hover around scratch and shortening my swing has done wonders.

  7. Howard

    Mar 3, 2017 at 12:37 pm

    Excellent article and excellent advice. Agree with your basic philosophy. Many thanks.

  8. N. D. Boondocks

    Mar 3, 2017 at 10:51 am

    About a million years ago, when I was a kid (yah, the dark ages were still a fresh memory), I had the only golf lesson I ever truly remember that still works when I need help. There were 4 ‘rules’.

    Think of roating around your back leg for the driver.
    Think of rotating around your bum for fairway woods.
    Think of rotating around your front leg for irons.
    Don’t rotate for a putter.

  9. Scott

    Mar 3, 2017 at 9:24 am

    One of the best articles on the swing this site has ever had.

  10. Someone

    Mar 3, 2017 at 6:49 am

    Didn’t an article from golf wrx before, say that the feet together drill was in the top 5 worst drills for golfers?

    Anyhow, what did you mean by “tilt back toward the target”? Sounds a little contradictory, no? While I’d be putting pressure on the left, I don’t think there’s ever a time I’m leaning toward the target. Could you elaborate please?

    • Kelvin Kelley

      Mar 3, 2017 at 11:25 am

      Tilt meaning your upper half of your body starts too bend or tilt back towards the target. The opposite of the preferred set up position. Hope this helps.

      • Someone

        Mar 4, 2017 at 11:33 pm

        So basically straightening up and moving your weight forward?

        • Kelvin Kelley

          Mar 4, 2017 at 11:42 pm

          At the top of the swing, a tilt would be your upper half (torso) moving back towards the target from face on view. Check out the pressure and weight article, I think the pics on that article will help.

  11. Tim

    Mar 2, 2017 at 11:16 pm

    If you watch the Golf Channel, just today they had Gary Player on (not a bad record as golfer) and what did he say “the first wrong thing you hear from instructors today is shorten the back swing..NO you need to get more back swing….. Is Gary Player wrong>>>>>>>>>>

    • Kelvin Kelley

      Mar 3, 2017 at 12:33 am

      There have also been several great players that have had what you think/call “shorter” swings. It’s more about understanding how not to lose your body shape when you coil, turning in the right direction. Think of throwing a ball, do you turn down and rotate your back all the way to to the target to throw the ball? You wouldn’t. It’s a false sense of power. With the concept you have you may as well run into the ball and do a 360 before you hit it.

    • Steve S

      Mar 3, 2017 at 2:50 pm

      Is Gary Player wrong? Maybe. If you watch videos of Gary Player he never had a long backswing that I can find but he did have a “wide” backswing. Sometimes pro golfers say one thing(because that is what they think) but do or mean another. And most times the best golfers are not the beat teachers because most of the rest of us CAN’T do what they do and many of them don’t understand it. One of the greatest examples of realizing this was Mickey Mantle in baseball. He was offered many managerial and coaching jobs and turned them down. He claimed that he couldn’t teach what he did because he really didn’t know how he did it; he just PLAYED!

  12. mikee

    Mar 2, 2017 at 9:11 pm

    Excellent!…..tilt (as in the pictures),pivot (as in the pictures),separate (start the downswing with the lower body) and extend (down the target line)….all done without “overswinging”…….simple!.

  13. Jay

    Mar 2, 2017 at 8:05 pm

    Doesn’t this general swing philosophy contradict the swing philosophy of Shawn Clement, who had an article this week also ?

    I am not trying to start anything, just a bit confusing for an average guy like myself to figure out which is more helpful for an average golfer

    • Kelvin Kelley

      Mar 3, 2017 at 12:43 am

      Jay, I would suggest anything that simplifies the golf swing for you, making solid contact!

    • Scott

      Mar 3, 2017 at 9:31 am

      Are you talking about cutting the dandelion? If so, I think that these are complementary. This article appears to be able to get you in a simpler position do do what Shawn suggested. Shawn’s video had too much head bobbing up and down for me. I think that you can accomplish the same smooth swing – probably even easier – with what demonstrated in this article.

  14. jacob

    Mar 2, 2017 at 2:54 pm

    Great article…thanks

  15. SoCal

    Mar 2, 2017 at 10:28 am

    I’d rather set up like a shortstop instead of the setup in the pic. Horrible position for his feet. Just look at Jack in his pic… And about not moving left or right, you need to get on a force plate. Check out COG and COP… SHANK

  16. Jalan

    Mar 2, 2017 at 9:44 am

    On the occasions I’ve been able to watch tour players practice, I’ve been amazed at how efficient their swings are; and how little excess movement they have in their swings. They rotate back, and then they rotate through the ball.

    Easier said than done.

  17. NolanMBA

    Mar 2, 2017 at 8:43 am

    Man I can totally relate to the over swing. I have plenty of hip and shoulder turn but my arms just keep going back… and back… and back…

  18. Markallister

    Mar 2, 2017 at 8:15 am

    the pictures are obviously misleading. bad advice.

    • Ronny

      Mar 2, 2017 at 2:11 pm

      Okay so- why?

      • Markallister

        Mar 3, 2017 at 8:57 pm

        the so-called “overswing” position, is no overswing. it is pretty good.

        • Dave

          Mar 8, 2017 at 8:51 pm

          To me, it looks far from “pretty good”… the overswing pic on left looks like the spine tilted toward the target…which prob causes and imbalance….then the pic on the right looks like the golfer needed to sway his hip toward the target in order to counter that and initiate the downswing, instead of rotating… probably a hundred different faults could happen from there (I’ve had them all)… getting stuck, stalling your hips, spinning out, flipping, etc… think that’s in the ballpark of the point he was trying to make.

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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How a towel can fix your golf swing

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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!

 

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