Shortening my swing...

[kiani]

Hi,

One of the main problems of my swing is that I tend to swing too long, specially with long irons and woods. When watching my swing in video, I can see a very good top position, but then my arms keep moving, my wrists break a little too much and as a result I overswing (I can sometimes see the head of the club with my left eye!!).

I believe this overswing makes me lose a lot of consistency. When I am practising I lot, I can hit the ball pretty well, but when I am not playing a lot my ball striking gets really bad.

I have tried for a long time to shorten my swing, but I just can't get it. I have hit thousands of punchy shots in the driving range, but as soon as I start hitting with full swing I start overswinging.

Any tips to shorten my swing?? Thanks!

[aquacooled]

as dumb as it sounds, but just make a 3/4 turn that should put you where you need to be..

[blue_crush]

john daly has the same problem.....his grandson said,

dont worry grandpa,
just think when you get to be a sienor your swing will still be parallel at the top.......lol

[kiani]

Yes, I'd love to have the same problems as John Daly and hit the ball like he does!! Unfortunately, it is not the case

[J.P.]

Aquacooled is right - take a 3/4 swing to the course. Tell yourself you will only take a 3/4 back swing on every shot. See what happens - stay disciplined. I bet the result will be more consistent shots for sure.

Also, look in a mirror at home - when your shoulders stop their turn, THATS IT - everything stops - NO additional lifting of the arms or wrist looseness at the top.

Hang in there! 6 isn't so bad!

[BASHERBAKER69]

Kiani

good advice from our fellow golfers but there is a better way

grip down the club a little

and, widen your stance a touch

turn your body more

BB69

[golfnut_rlv]

Here is another tip from a scratch golfer who has the same issue. Try flaring your left (Forward) foot out. About a 45* angle towards the target. This change will restrict your shoulders, while not taking away your coil power.

Good luck...

[SubPar]

  kiani said:

Hi,

Two things are at work here, in my opinion. One is, yes many people instinctively take the club back too far on most shots... Over-swing. Most of us are not flexible enough to take the club back to parallel and maintain the proper swing plane, so we end up over the top. Watch a lot of the pros, even they do not go back to parallel on most shots.

The other thing is that when we take a "3/4" swing, the club is actually going back farther than we think it is. When I start losing control of my swing, I go to a shorter take away, but when I look at video of myself, or have someone watch me, the result is that I am actually farther around than I think. When I think "3/4 swing", part of what happens is I am not trying to go back as far so I maintain a better swing plane. I do not get over the top at all and have a flatter swing. The timing in the release is better, so I get more club head speed. Knowing all this, I will still drift back into a bad habit of taking it back more than I should. As soon as I reel in the back swing a little everything tends to work better for me.

[GlobeGuy]

From the side view, if you were to do 3/4 swing would the triangle that's formed by your arms be near your shoulder instead of clearing your upper back?

I do full swing but my head moves forward and down (I bend foward more during last stage of backswing). Is this a classic indication that I'm not flexible enough for full swing or is there a problem else where?

[wachesawgolfer]

Just a full shoulder turn and stop. Overswinging is usually arms and wrists. Less moving parts equals a more consistant motion.

[golfchief]

It's more your trying to get the club back with your arms than with a shoulder turn.

[flashman70]

Lots of good advice here. I have the same problem as kiani - I can feel myself pick the club up with my arms after my trunk has stopped turning. I'm left with the feeling that I can't find the top - and I can't as I'm going past. I'll try some of your suggestions.

[BritBoy]

I hit longer and straighter when I shorten my back swing. For me a longer backswing usually comes from me trying to squeeze a couple of extra yards out of a shot. To get myself back into the feeling of a shorter backswing my swing thought is, "shoulder is enough". As soon as my left shoulder reaches my chin the backswing is over. Give it a try.