How far back in my backswing should I be going?

[Golf Novice]

Hey guys, just trying to get some advice. My left shoulder is tender and sore and has been for over a week now after multiple trips to the range a couple of weeks ago. When I go back in my backswing, it hurts and there's some pain, but if I stretch it out a little and warm up, it seems to go away for a while. What I'm wondering is, was this caused by trying to go too far back in the backswing? My checkpoint is to put my left shoulder under my chin in the backswing. I'm wondering if I wasn't getting enough shoulder turn initially, and still trying to go back that far strained my left shoulder. Any advice or checkpoints you can give me for how far back I should be aiming to go?

[Ozarkhillbilly]

Like yourself I position my left shoulder underneath my chin, thus the clubhead it pointing at the target at the peak of my backswing........

[Gordon McTavish]

I've had similar problems in the past, but I put it down to failing to perform a good warm-up before swinging some clubs. I guess you should be going back as far as you feel comfortable with. I always feel like I'm not making a complete turn, but really I get my shoulders to about 90-degrees. For some reason, it always feels like a three-quarter swing.

[delav]

Good shoulder turn is key for swing plane and timing... although you don't want to hurt your shoulder. I always try to make sure my back is facing the target, and my right shoulder is behind my head. When I'm playing well, I'm usually turning my shoulders a bit farther.

Perhaps work on flexibility and stretching while your shoulder heals. There are a few golf-specific stretching routines on the market that can make a huge difference.

[weavej2]

  Golf Novice said:

Hey guys, just trying to get some advice. My left shoulder is tender and sore and has been for over a week now after multiple trips to the range a couple of weeks ago. When I go back in my backswing, it hurts and there's some pain, but if I stretch it out a little and warm up, it seems to go away for a while. What I'm wondering is, was this caused by trying to go too far back in the backswing? My checkpoint is to put my left shoulder under my chin in the backswing. I'm wondering if I wasn't getting enough shoulder turn initially, and still trying to go back that far strained my left shoulder. Any advice or checkpoints you can give me for how far back I should be aiming to go?

How about 9:00 to 3:00 until you develop more strength. I cant see going much past 10:00 in a full swing