25 replies to this topic

[UKGolfer123]

Any of you guys out there play with a short backswing???

It is somethng I am trying to go back to as it used to work like a charm for me, and I have gradually (and unintentionally) got bag to a longer backswing.
I have lost both distance and accuracy as a result!

Any tips on how I can get a feel for the shorter swing again?

When I first incorporated the short swing a couple of years back I can vaguely recall ending my backswing as soon as my left shoulder touched my chin.
I was also deliberately "smooth" with my backswing, whch made my backswng "feel" a lot slower than normal.

Anyway, comments would be welcome please.

Cheers chaps

[Martee]

I like to think and hopefully succeed in taking a 3/4 swing.  Basically for me my hands get about shoulder high.  The length of the backswing I believe is an individual trait based on the individuals body, etc.

I practice the L to L and then move to the 3/4.  Biggest fault I have is I sometime stretch the swing by the hands/arms riding up the chest as I approach the top, trying for a bit more always getting a lot less.

[MonteScheinblum]

The sooner you set your wrists, the easier it is to shorten the swing.

[settantanove]

I'm also working on shortening the backswing and when I actually manage to do it, then shots are slightly shorter but way more accurate. As MonteScheinblum said, I feel that the real issue with shortening the swing for me is to be able to set the wrist as early as possible.

[airjammer]

You can try to keep you right arm straighter (assuming you are right handed).  unless you are pretty darn flexible you probably won't even reach parallel.

[bmellisen]

I have a short of parallel swing, and i still get it out there. For me i focus on a one piece takeaway, keeping the arms and club in front of me on the backswing, and when shoulders stop arms stop.

[mikpga]

What Monte said.  

Most Golfers have too much "lift" in their back swing.  All that's required is "rotation" and " set the wrists".

[bmellisen]

mikpga, on 01 February 2013 - 08:11 AM, said:

What Monte said.  

Most Golfers have too much "lift" in their back swing.  All that's required is "rotation" and " set the wrists".

True, but i would say much of the lift is caused by the misconception golfers have about what rotation is.  They think its just turn back, turn through, instead of turn around your spine.  So they take it back flat and inside, and have to lift to get to the top.

[mshills]

MonteScheinblum, on 31 January 2013 - 09:57 PM, said:

The sooner you set your wrists, the easier it is to shorten the swing.

Monte:  You're great at saying the same thing different ways, and eventually even a thick-skulled, stubborn guy like me can "get it."  :-)  Can you expound on this a bit?  Different feels, drills, or ways to work on this?

My #1 goal this year is to work my ### off on your bump-dump-turn, but my arms over-run in the backswing and that gets me all out of sequence.

[Sabre3]

bmellisen, on 01 February 2013 - 09:15 AM, said:

mikpga, on 01 February 2013 - 08:11 AM, said:

What Monte said.  

Most Golfers have too much "lift" in their back swing.  All that's required is "rotation" and " set the wrists".

True, but i would say much of the lift is caused by the misconception golfers have about what rotation is.  They think its just turn back, turn through, instead of turn around your spine.  So they take it back flat and inside, and have to lift to get to the top.

this is my problem. I suck it to the inside on the way back and get steep on the way down. Trying to figure out how to fix this permanently.

[vernon]

To me, short equals "quick".  For the life of me I can't maintain my tempo when I try to shorten it up.  Sometimes it feels like I'm in my downswing way before I've even finished my backswing.

[russc]

settantanove, on 01 February 2013 - 02:11 AM, said:

I'm also working on shortening the backswing and when I actually manage to do it, then shots are slightly shorter but way more accurate. As MonteScheinblum said, I feel that the real issue with shortening the swing for me is to be able to set the wrist as early as possible.

Having  the wrists completely set by the time your  left arm is at 9:00 is fine,about 1/2 of all touring pros do so.Just make sure that during the first 12-15 inches of your takeaway  the hands/wrists,forearms do nothing ,they just hold onto  the club .After this point the wrists can start setting and the right arm can start to fold.
It really is not a question of a short or long backswing.The longest backswing for you is one in which you turn your shoulders completely.That amount will vary by individual.To turn your shoulders completely,there need to be some rotation of your head
Just make sure that your arms /hands  stop going back as soon as your shoulder turn stops.Failure to do so creates all types of problems.

[Pk923]

Hi all : )

When we talk about shortening backswing please keep in mind that we have to feel real tight also. Without this tightness, u will not have enough power source. I create this tightness by using a lot of upper body turn and minimum arm action in the backswing.

[MonteScheinblum]

mshills, on 01 February 2013 - 09:20 AM, said:

MonteScheinblum, on 31 January 2013 - 09:57 PM, said:

The sooner you set your wrists, the easier it is to shorten the swing.

Monte:  You're great at saying the same thing different ways, and eventually even a thick-skulled, stubborn guy like me can "get it."  :-)  Can you expound on this a bit?  Different feels, drills, or ways to work on this?

My #1 goal this year is to work my ### off on your bump-dump-turn, but my arms over-run in the backswing and that gets me all out of sequence.

[MonteScheinblum]

vernon, on 01 February 2013 - 10:33 AM, said:

To me, short equals "quick".  For the life of me I can't maintain my tempo when I try to shorten it up.  Sometimes it feels like I'm in my downswing way before I've even finished my backswing.

The likely reason for this is how you transition the club.  People who get quick yank the handle to the ball.

[Ajlepisto]

Shortening my backswing was probably the single-most difficult thing to wrap my head around and attempt.

Best of luck!

[360_CS]

I am no expert but wouldn't you not want your wrist fully set and the 9:00 position (instead of  90^o have a 100-110^o) so that you can still have a full shoulder turn and have the club before parallel to the ground at the top?

[justinthyme]

The two things that worked really well for me:

* arms up quickly in the backswing (stopped me over-running/disconnecting too), whilst ...

* maintaining right knee bend (righty)

These two things also helped restrict hip turn.

[Wedgefromhere]

justinthyme, on 02 February 2013 - 05:15 AM, said:

The two things that worked really well for me:

* arms up quickly in the backswing (stopped me over-running/disconnecting too), whilst ...

* maintaining right knee bend (righty)

These two things also helped restrict hip turn.

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to restrict your hip turn?

[J13]

I converted to a shorter backswing 5-6 years ago and it worked out well for me.  Key is to break your wrist early.  It can be tough getting the feel down but practicing 3/4 swings can wonders.

[MonteScheinblum]

360_CS, on 02 February 2013 - 04:06 AM, said:

I am no expert but wouldn't you not want your wrist fully set and the 9:00 position (instead of  90^o have a 100-110^o) so that you can still have a full shoulder turn and have the club before parallel to the ground at the top?

No for a couple of reasons.

The hands are set properly to hit shorter shots.  Half wedges and such.

Parallel at the top is a meaningless, arbitrary position that most people have to arm lift past their shoulder turn to get to.

[justinthyme]

Wedgefromhere, on 02 February 2013 - 06:45 AM, said:

justinthyme, on 02 February 2013 - 05:15 AM, said:

The two things that worked really well for me:

* arms up quickly in the backswing (stopped me over-running/disconnecting too), whilst ...

* maintaining right knee bend (righty)

These two things also helped restrict hip turn.

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to restrict your hip turn?

Just a personal thing - I used to overturn my hips

[MonteScheinblum]

justinthyme, on 02 February 2013 - 08:47 AM, said:

Wedgefromhere, on 02 February 2013 - 06:45 AM, said:

justinthyme, on 02 February 2013 - 05:15 AM, said:

The two things that worked really well for me:

* arms up quickly in the backswing (stopped me over-running/disconnecting too), whilst ...

* maintaining right knee bend (righty)

These two things also helped restrict hip turn.

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to restrict your hip turn?

Just a personal thing - I used to overturn my hips

Restricting your hip turn is problematic and causes overswing as the arms will want to continue to make up for restriction. Plus, right arm will get stuck on downswing.

Hips don't over rotate becaue they need to be restricted, they over rotate because the angle of the body turn is too flat.

Edited by MonteScheinblum, 02 February 2013 - 09:06 AM.

[golfpros1]

perception and reality is very different.

most golfers that feel they are making a 3/4 backswing are actually taking the club to parallel.  and golfers that think they are parallel are past parallel. and when golfers "shorten" their swings, it feels like they are making a shorter swing, but in reality it becomes a few inches shorter at best.  based on feel and perception alone, if you wanted to make a 3/4 swing, you should feel like you're stopping when your arms are parallel with the ground.  In fact, you may need to exaggerate the movement and make half swings to get there.

either you have to watch your swing on video, or get something that attaches to your club to show you where you actually take the club.

Edited by golfpros1, 02 February 2013 - 09:49 AM.

[justinthyme]

MonteScheinblum, on 02 February 2013 - 09:04 AM, said:

justinthyme, on 02 February 2013 - 08:47 AM, said:

Wedgefromhere, on 02 February 2013 - 06:45 AM, said:

justinthyme, on 02 February 2013 - 05:15 AM, said:

The two things that worked really well for me:

* arms up quickly in the backswing (stopped me over-running/disconnecting too), whilst ...

* maintaining right knee bend (righty)

These two things also helped restrict hip turn.

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to restrict your hip turn?

Just a personal thing - I used to overturn my hips

Restricting your hip turn is problematic and causes overswing as the arms will want to continue to make up for restriction. Plus, right arm will get stuck on downswing.

Hips don't over rotate becaue they need to be restricted, they over rotate because the angle of the body turn is too flat.

Just to clarify - there's no deliberate effort on my part to restrict my hips - they now rotate about 40* so they are restricted compared to the way they were, not restricted per se. Perhaps I should have said limited? My backswing is also way shorter than it used to be. Your point is well taken though Monte, as my left shoulder now also rotates far more underneath me on the backswing than it used to.

Edited by justinthyme, 02 February 2013 - 10:31 AM.

[MonteScheinblum]

[quote name='justinthyme' timestamp='1359818928' post='6349311']
[quote name='MonteScheinblum' timestamp='1359813841' post='6348975']
[quote name='justinthyme' timestamp='1359812834' post='6348925']
[quote name='Wedgefromhere' timestamp='1359805529' post='6348655']
[quote name='justinthyme' timestamp='1359800100' post='6348573']
The two things that worked really well for me:

* arms up quickly in the backswing (stopped me over-running/disconnecting too), whilst ...

* maintaining right knee bend (righty)

These two things also helped restrict hip turn.
[/quote]

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to restrict your hip turn?
[/quote]

Just a personal thing - I used to overturn my hips
[/quote]

Restricting your hip turn is problematic and causes overswing as the arms will want to continue to make up for restriction. Plus, right arm will get stuck on downswing.

Hips don't over rotate becaue they need to be restricted, they over rotate because the angle of the body turn is too flat.
[/quote]

Just to clarify - there's no deliberate effort on my part to restrict my hips - they now rotate about 40* so they are restricted compared to the way they were, not restricted per se. Perhaps I should have said limited? My backswing is also way shorter than it used to be. Your point is well taken though Monte, as my left shoulder now also rotates far more underneath me on the backswing than it used to.
[/quote]

OK.