Full Swing or Not

[808nation]

I felt that I was getting a little too long on my back swing, so I experimented with taking it little pass 90 degrees and what I found was that I hit it about the same distance with the driver and irons, also felt that I was getting better contact.  Anyone else experience this and understand why?

[Shankster]

I felt that I was getting a little too long on my back swing, so I experimented with taking it little pass 90 degrees and what I found was that I hit it about the same distance with the driver and irons, also felt that I was getting better contact. Anyone else experience this and understand why?

I went a little less backswing last year, been working towards getting back to parallel. Irons I usually go just past vertical, (I stink at math some help me with that angle). But I've been videoing my swing so I can check my check points. I get the same distance with my irons, I feel like if I get past a certain point I get loose and forget things.

 

Over the winter I probably filled up my iphones memory with videos. I did the box drill at least once a day for a month. Finally got to where I can make solid contact with a longer swing. Not sure why it happens, but I've had the same experience.

 

Maybe take a video, you are probably taking it back farther than you think.

 

 

- Alan

[Liberty Ball Markers]

That's me - high noon at the top, slight pause, let her rip.

 

So much more control, and no loss of distance.

 

 

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[Golfspy_CG2]

Well age and deteriorating flexibility, have shortened my swing intended or not!!  But during a recent lesson, the pro I work with off an on said it was still plenty enough as long as a I made solid contact.   Unfortunately the shorter swing still has some of the same faults in the downswing that cause inconsistent contact.  

 

he did have me do a drill where I took a 7 iron and barely made a swing past 8 o'clock if we are using the clock face method, and just to concentrate on staying down in posture and follow though, it probably went 125 yards or so with a slight draw, as opposed to my normal 135 to 140 yard fade.    he said that was a shot I could absolutely play if I actually wanted to..  

 

I guess the point is what we all know, making solid center face contact on a descending blow (irons) will give you a lot more power than a glancing off center strike even on a faster swing.   

[DiscipleofPenick]

You only need to go as far back as it takes to get your shoulder under your chin. It shouldn't take you past parallel. If you're going past parallel it's just more movement you have to control on the down swing. It makes it harder to keep tempo and square the face.

 

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[HighFade]

For me, what feels like 9 o'clock is actually more like 11 o'clock. I'm getting the same results - far more consistency with the same distance.

[TSauer]

Over the winter I probably filled up my iphones memory with videos. I did the box drill at least once a day for a month. Finally got to where I can make solid contact with a longer swing. Not sure why it happens, but I've had the same experience.

 

What is the box drill?

[Shankster]

What is the box drill?

Set up a box about .5" or closer off of the toe of your club. It will force you to come from the inside. There are several articles on the internet about it. If I can find the specific one I read.

 

I just had it there to focus my swing, which in turn just reinforced my in to out path. Could not hit real balls for 4 months. Foamies with a sharpie line to see where I made contact on the face.

 

If you think your coming over the top, this will prove it.

 

 

- Alan

[Kenny B]

Set up a box about .5" or closer off of the toe of your club. It will force you to come from the inside. There are several articles on the internet about it. If I can find the specific one I read.

 

I just had it there to focus my swing, which in turn just reinforced my in to out path. Could not hit real balls for 4 months. Foamies with a sharpie line to see where I made contact on the face.

 

If you think your coming over the top, this will prove it.

 

 

- Alan

I used to use a 2x4.

 

At my age a parallel at the top swing is a thing of the past, but I have much more control than I ever did.

[Canucklehead]

Not sure the exact angle but I found going between 45* and parallel was the best for my consistency. Once I got to parallel or past there my arms and body would get out of sync.

 

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[Jiro]

Yes, my 3/4 swing goes the same distance as my full swing. For me, I have bad technique. On my full swing I take out all the hinge before I get to the ball and lose power but have a better time getting lag on partial swings. Super frustrating because I don't hit the ball very far relative to how fast I feel like I am swinging on the full swing. This year I am experimenting with a slower tempo to try and keep good form. I think on a partial swing for me it helps me slow down the tempo because I am trying to reach a certain spot on the backswing.

 

 

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[Shankster]

I used to use a 2x4.

 

At my age a parallel at the top swing is a thing of the past, but I have much more control than I ever did.

Glad I didn't use a 2x4 the first time... ouch

 

 

- Alan

[Kenny B]

Glad I didn't use a 2x4 the first time... ouch

 

 

- Alan

It does make you pay attention!!

[downlowkey]

I felt that I was getting a little too long on my back swing, so I experimented with taking it little pass 90 degrees and what I found was that I hit it about the same distance with the driver and irons, also felt that I was getting better contact.  Anyone else experience this and understand why?

 

In my experience nearly everyone holding a golf club tends to swing past their flexibility limits; mostly for mental reasons. Several things can begin to go wrong at this point but the two main culprits are inconsistent spine angle and uncontrolled tempo. Arm swing gets too long and out of sync with your trunk, hip flexors hit their limits and you stand up. And _or_ you fight the spine angle change but in doing so make any reasonable transitional pause from back swing to down swing somewhere between unlikely and impossible. If more amateurs concentrated on a much shorter back swing it would eliminate much of the potential for the problematic aforementioned body mechanics. And because they are not fighting to correct the long back swing should be more likely to present the club head with the proper lag through impact. In a full range session if I'm fighting something I will often work my way up from a 30% back swing until I (stop seeing distance increases, feel any tightness, loss of tempo control, inconsistent contact) and that's usually somewhere around 70% of potential back swing length. It's a much better way to play amateur golf. I am of the school that believes proper swing theory is built from the ground up and have experienced significant improvements in pressure mat transfer data by committing to swinging well within my flexibility limits.

 

Moral of the story: If you want to swing like a tour pro you'd better get serious about the flexibility regimen.

[Shankster]

In my experience nearly everyone holding a golf club tends to swing past their flexibility limits; mostly for mental reasons. Several things can begin to go wrong at this point but the two main culprits are inconsistent spine angle and uncontrolled tempo. Arm swing gets too long and out of sync with your trunk, hip flexors hit their limits and you stand up. And _or_ you fight the spine angle change but in doing so make any reasonable transitional pause from back swing to down swing somewhere between unlikely and impossible. If more amateurs concentrated on a much shorter back swing it would eliminate much of the potential for the problematic aforementioned body mechanics. And because they are not fighting to correct the long back swing should be more likely to present the club head with the proper lag through impact. In a full range session if I'm fighting something I will often work my way up from a 30% back swing until I (stop seeing distance increases, feel any tightness, loss of tempo control, inconsistent contact) and that's usually somewhere around 70% of potential back swing length. It's a much better way to play amateur golf. I am of the school that believes proper swing theory is built from the ground up and have experienced significant improvements in pressure mat transfer data by committing to swinging well within my flexibility limits.

 

Moral of the story: If you want to swing like a tour pro you'd better get serious about the flexibility regimen.

Sorry for the long quote. But I did start doing yoga which helped immensely.

 

 

- Alan

[downlowkey]

Moral of the story: If you want to swing like a tour pro you'd better get serious about the flexibility regimen.

 

Sorry for the long quote. But I did start doing yoga which helped immensely.

 

- Alan

 

I do some yoga too and it really has helped my game. Another unforeseen benefit for me has been much less soreness after a round. I truly believe the most common major swing flaws originate from attempting PGA tour length back swings with sedentary flexibility levels. That combo will inevitably result in frustration and injury.

 

[Shankster]

Video of said box drill - link. (Not me in the video)

 

https://youtu.be/aWUfsegw-4g

 

 

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[tony@CIC]

I find when I go beyond 9:00 I tend to lift up and loose balance.

 

 

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[mnfats95]

I have always struggled with a swing that is way too long. I have to force myself to not go so far in my back swing. It even starts to lengthen during the round.

 

It causes all kinds of inconsistency. My half swing was really a full swing, I had to get to about what felt like 30% of a normal swing to get to the point my instructor wanted me at for my irons.

 

It's crazy!

[cnosil]

I fall into the category of think 3/4 which is really full. When I do what I think is full it results in a lean forward and breaking the wrists which makes it difficult to get back into the right position at impact. The 3/4 swing just lets me swing and not make compensations resulting in higher swing speed at impact and less need for a perfectly timed swing

[SwingJunkie]

"Parallel at the top" and a 90 degree shoulder turn are two of the most destructive swing mental concepts imo. "Full swing" should be re-defined as the point where muscles are stretched but not strained. A good way to illustrate is simply turn your head to the left til it stops without strain. Where you see your shoulder is where it should be at the top. I can't "prove" it, but I do believe that is a position of one's maximum power. Some famous golf person (can't remember who) once said 90% of power is generated in the last two feet of the hand arc prior to impact. I believe it true.

The objective of the up swing is to get the club and body in a position so you can just hit the ball. Getting out of that position then requires all sorts of extraneous motion to return the club/body to "hitting position". 

[mrsmith123]

Here is a great practice motion I've instituted:

 

1. Practice this with no more then an 8-iron to start. Take your address position, then (maintaining your wrist angles) bend up at the waste until standing straight. Your arms should be straight out in front of you with wrist angle still intact. Now rotate your shoulders as far as is comfortable. Then collapse your right elbow (for RH player) and you will be in your natural top position.

 

Any questions on that or confusion, send me a PM and I'll throw you a demonstration video.

 

Cheers

Burk

 

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[TSauer]

Reading through Burks ^^^ practice motion reminded me of this video. It's fairly old, as you can see from the quality, but it's something that you never would have though about, and that's the swing illusion. It reminds me of what a Burk was describing.

 

https://youtu.be/ASH06DwHaRw

[ole gray]

Reading through Burks ^^^ practice motion reminded me of this video. It's fairly old, as you can see from the quality, but it's something that you never would have though about, and that's the swing illusion. It reminds me of what a Burk was describing.

 

https://youtu.be/ASH06DwHaRw

 

That is so frigging cool!

 

 

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[ole gray]

Here is a great practice motion I've instituted:

 

1. Practice this with no more then an 8-iron to start. Take your address position, then (maintaining your wrist angles) bend up at the waste until standing straight. Your arms should be straight out in front of you with wrist angle still intact. Now rotate your shoulders as far as is comfortable. Then collapse your right elbow (for RH player) and you will be in your natural top position.

 

Any questions on that or confusion, send me a PM and I'll throw you a demonstration video.

 

Cheers

Burk

 

Sent from my Sprint LG G5 mobile device

Is the video similar to the one TSauer showed us?

 

Also can this be applied to a driver?

 

Now you have my attention

 

 

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[Socal805]

I felt that I was getting a little too long on my back swing, so I experimented with taking it little pass 90 degrees and what I found was that I hit it about the same distance with the driver and irons, also felt that I was getting better contact. Anyone else experience this and understand why?

 

 

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[Socal805]

I was having a similar issue. I found that I was getting held up at the top and couldn't get the timing right at impact on a full swing. So I started doing a three-quarter swing with all of my clubs similar to John Rahm. It's helped my timing at impact. I would recommend it if you are having a timing issue.

 

 

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[Brjpool]

I did this with my driver swing and it helped alot. I shortened my back swing and focused on my core rotation exploding forward and my contact is much better than when I was swinging farther back on my back swing

 

 

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[mrsmith123]

Is the video similar to the one TSauer showed us?

 

Also can this be applied to a driver?

 

Now you have my attention

 

 

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The video is similar. The idea is that without any momentum, your natural flexibility will let you know what is the best "length" for your backswing. If someone has flexibility issues, it will show them. A lot of times I've seen that people will achieve a shorter backswing position​ but hit the ball better. It has always worked for me.

 

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[golfinnut]

Set up a box about .5" or closer off of the toe of your club. It will force you to come from the inside. There are several articles on the internet about it. If I can find the specific one I read.

 

I just had it there to focus my swing, which in turn just reinforced my in to out path. Could not hit real balls for 4 months. Foamies with a sharpie line to see where I made contact on the face.

 

If you think your coming over the top, this will prove it.

 

 

- Alan

Use the headcover from your driver as well ... set up just outside the ball.  Concentrate on the back inside half of the ball ... this gets you to learn to come down from the inside & then swing to "right field" ... create a draw.  As long as you miss the headcover on the follow through.