getting the club up in the backswing

[NC Golfer]

How do you getting the club up in the backswing? I'm recovering from a frozen shoulder, it doesn't help. But, I've had this problem before. I feel like I get stuck in the backswing and I can only get to less than parallel. Then my elbow flies, and my club gets vertical. Then I am toast on the ds. Any drills, suggestions? I've heard before to push down on the handle, any others?

Edited October 31, 2021 by NC Golfer

[RickyBobby_PR]

Set the wrist at or before club parallel then fold the trail elbow (right arm for right handed golfers). There is a slight upward movement of the lead arm but not much. 
 

There’s basically either a one piece takeaway approach where the arms and body keep the triangle together til the hands pass the trail leg then the above wrist set and arm golf take place 

or like Monte Scheinblum approach of early wrist set and combo of train arm bending and lead arm slightly rotating that puts the club into position at lead arm parallel 

[Kenny B]

How far "less than parallel"?  There is nothing that says the backswing has to get to club parallel.  People have different builds and flexibility, and taking the backswing past what a player can control generally causes mishits and loss of club speed.  Short of parallel is pretty good for Jon Rahm and Tony Finau.  

[downwindduke]

A local pro suggested practicing one arm swings (lead arm)and doing so really got me away from worrying about backswing grooves/positions.  Now when playing I just try to reproduce the one arm swing feeling.  Best drill ever for freeing up my swing of tension.

[cnosil]

4 hours ago, downwindduke said:

A local pro suggested practicing one arm swings (lead arm)and doing so really got me away from worrying about backswing grooves/positions.  Now when playing I just try to reproduce the one arm swing feeling.  Best drill ever for freeing up my swing of tension.

Tough thing to do especially when hitting a ball.   I have been doing this recently and anything more than a short pitch motion is tough.  I use a ball to ensure that I am getting the face square at impact; otherwise I tend to leave the face wide open. 

[NC Golfer]

John Daly using a one arm practice swing. 

https://www.golfchannel.com/video/john-daly-shows-one-arm-drill-improve-swing-rhythm

Edited November 19, 2021 by NC Golfer

[BMart519]

On 10/31/2021 at 8:56 AM, NC Golfer said:

How do you getting the club up in the backswing? I'm recovering from a frozen shoulder, it doesn't help. But, I've had this problem before. I feel like I get stuck in the backswing and I can only get to less than parallel. Then my elbow flies, and my club gets vertical. Then I am toast on the ds. Any drills, suggestions? I've heard before to push down on the handle, any others?

The drill at the 11 minute mark in this video really helped me stop over swinging and adding excess bend in my lead elbow. It shows how far you can properly rotate which is the physical limit to your top of backswing. It was surprising how far short of parallel it was for me. 
 

 

[dlow206]

30 minutes ago, BMart519 said:

The drill at the 11 minute mark in this video really helped me stop over swinging and adding excess bend in my lead elbow. It shows how far you can properly rotate which is the physical limit to your top of backswing. It was surprising how far short of parallel it was for me. 
 

 

I had not seen this drill before (the 11 minute mark drill). If i rotate as far as I can go, i get to parallel, but I feel a bit overstretched in that position. So my optimal backswing is probably a little bit short of parallel. 

[Nolan220]

1 hour ago, BMart519 said:

The drill at the 11 minute mark in this video really helped me stop over swinging and adding excess bend in my lead elbow. It shows how far you can properly rotate which is the physical limit to your top of backswing. It was surprising how far short of parallel it was for me. 
 

 

this is a great drill 

[Kenny B]

Being old I don't get the club up very far in my backswing.  That aside, Monte is having me work on getting more depth to my backswing.  It's not that I can't get more depth; I can do with practice swings, but put a ball in front of me... I don't!  

[RickyBobby_PR]

That’s the sam Snead drill. It’s a great drill to feel where to be in the swing. You can hit balls from there 

[NC Golfer]

18 hours ago, BMart519 said:

The drill at the 11 minute mark in this video really helped me stop over swinging and adding excess bend in my lead elbow. It shows how far you can properly rotate which is the physical limit to your top of backswing. It was surprising how far short of parallel it was for me. 
 

 

Thanks, for sharing and it confirms where my max backswing is right now, at about 75 degrees (lead arm). With a bad shoulder, back, knee. I need to work on my flexibility. If anyone has any set up or technique work arounds in the meantime, I'd appreciate it.

[BMart519]

On 11/20/2021 at 7:25 AM, NC Golfer said:

Thanks, for sharing and it confirms where my max backswing is right now, at about 75 degrees (lead arm). With a bad shoulder, back, knee. I need to work on my flexibility. If anyone has any set up or technique work arounds in the meantime, I'd appreciate it.

Flaring you trail foot outwards instead of perpendicular to target line will add hip turn. You can also experiment with rotating your head away from the target at address which should help with shoulder/back. More complicated adjustments should be assessed by a coach, but lifting instead of rotating could be another approach to assess limited mobility. 

[NC Golfer]

On 11/22/2021 at 10:55 AM, BMart519 said:

Flaring you trail foot outwards instead of perpendicular to target line will add hip turn. You can also experiment with rotating your head away from the target at address which should help with shoulder/back. More complicated adjustments should be assessed by a coach, but lifting instead of rotating could be another approach to assess limited mobility. 

 

Great suggestions, BMart519. For some reason, flaring my trail foot, puts pressure on my knee. But, dropping it off the target line, maybe similar. I like the head turn, it worked for Jack. 

Edited November 24, 2021 by NC Golfer