May be a stupid question but I need opinions

[tazrestling27]

Tonight, I decided to play another round of golf, who would guess ha ha. However, lately I have been looking at swings on youtube and watching golf channel. I see all the good golfers have a full back swing all the way to the top. My backswing is always just a little more than halfway sometimes only half way and I hit a big blow into the ball trying to create a divot in front of the ball. I generate great club head speed. My irons go up by 10 yds each. I hit my 8 iron 155. Average drive is like 250yds.

So tonight on the course, I do not know why but I started trying a full swing. I know never a good idea, but I thought how much different can it be. I should practice it on the range for a week before using on the course. However I didn't, first drive I hit was downhill, I hit the ball 330yds with my driver. The guy next to me says he played the course for awhile never seen anyone hit the ball that far. Pared that one missed a 3 foot birdie putt typical. Next hole, I try to do the full back swing I hit the bottom of the driver so it goes 100 yards., manage a bogey. Then next drive I hit 300yds. There was no wind, I was making good contact and somehow it was flying. They were my best two drives of the day. I started hitting the ball further with all my clubs. Ok sounds great right, but with my irons I topped the ball like 7 times. I never top I always hit clean crisp shots with irons, that is my best part of my game. I am a 7 handicap. It was my worst round with irons ever and I was not consistent as I always am with my little more than half way swing.

So my question is, should I try to learn the full swing or should I keep with what I have been doing. I went to one lesson during the winter and the pro said I should use the full back swing. Just at the time it did not feel comfortable. I am not very flexible. Just wanted opinons, I am leaning towards the full back swing now and to just learn it because even if I can bomb it out there I can use a lot of wedges, may get in more trouble because of less accuracy. I really want to become a 1 or 2 handicap by the end of the season, still early and learning. I have only been playing competitively for a little more then a year.

Thanks

[Chrepper]

I used to be scratch, now I'm a 3; I rarely use a full swing, mainly because I'm not very flexible.  Even with my driver, I'm only coming between 3/4 and full.

Point is this:  do what you are comfortable with.  Practice will help you feel more comfortable, and if you are looking for distance, and you are getting it with that swing, then go for it.

The full swing has its place.  Also note it will generate more spin on your shorter irons/wedges.

[billk86]

For me: Less is More.

[CalBoomer]

Nothing surprising in what you say. However, the very bottom line is scoring, and that requires consistency. Even at the highest levels of golf, if a pro absolutely has to have accuracy, he is unlikely to be trying also for maximum distance. If, however, with diligent practice you can increase your distance and maintain consistency, well why not?

[Gioguy21]

i've recently went through a similar 'game changer'...i went from hitting my 8 about 160 to now i'm hitting my 9 iron 160. i went from hitting my driver 250-260 to now hitting it 280-290 (averaging). i've since realized that there's a time and a place to try to hit it 100%...rarely. realizing that if i hit my 9 iron 155...i'll be happy with hitting it at close to 3/4 instead of full. what good is a club hit at full out with great yardage if you've no clue where it's going? it takes some getting used to...go to the range and try to get used to and adjust yourself to the new found distance. i'm trying to get to scratch myself this year and if i can just use my new distance to my advantage i can get there...now if only the shortest, flattest club in the bag would work ;)

[B of H]

length of backswing is not as important as depth of turn according to my teacher.  a 3/4 arm swing with a 100 degree shoulder turn will produce the same distance as a past parallel swing with a 100 degree shoulder turn etc...  This has been true for me at least.

[LankyLefty]

I practice a full swing at the range when Im not working on something else. But when I'm on the course I rarely swing full. My abbreviated swing gets me 275-290 with a driver and my 150 yard club is my 9I. My 3h takes me about 220. With a full swing I drive it 300+... strait into the woods.

My home course's PGA Pro put it to me like this. "Arms are fast, but the body is accurate." Most people mistake a full swing for a longer back swing and more armsy downswing however if you look at full swings from pros this is not the case. With some exceptions their full swings dont have elongated backswings or violent downswings they just do the things we do when we slow it down better, and faster.

Heres charlie Wi full swing driver:

Looks pretty fast paced and powerful.

But if you slow it down you can plainly see that it is just a smooth compact swing sped up to generate more swing speed:

I used charlie wi as an example because hes the Stack and Tilt poster boy on youtube and there's tons and tons of videos but look around its true of most pros. When I go full swing my arms get too involved, my head flies around and my arms get ahead of my shoulders and hips ect. but when a pro goes full swing they just do what we have to slow down for at full speed.

[NEOHMark]

Originally Posted by B of H

length of backswing is not as important as depth of turn according to my teacher.  a 3/4 arm swing with a 100 degree shoulder turn will produce the same distance as a past parallel swing with a 100 degree shoulder turn etc...  This has been true for me at least.

It's my understanding too, that the shoulder turn is much more crucial than where the club ends up in the backswing.  Like Chrepper, I'm not very flexible so I go with however far I can get my shoulders turned - usually a little more than 3/4s.  I get much better consistency in ball striking that way.  Everything 'stays together' better in my swing.

[tazrestling27]

Just to let everyone know, I used my new swing yesterday and I shot my best score ever. I was extremely happy. Now lets see if I can do it again in the future. I shot a 75, hit 77% of GIR so 14 out of 18, 70% of drives in the fairway, all my drives were 280 yds plus. My longest of the day was 323.  It was just a great round and it felt amazing. Hitting a long straight drive makes the game a lot easier. All I had to do was use my 60 degree and 56 for most of the holes. My 60 is my 110 yd club and my 56 is 120yd. I think I might stick with this swing if it stays as consistent as it did yesterday.

[B of H]

for you guys who lack flexibility.  I've been practicing bikram yoga for a year now and it's done wonders for my flexibility and strength not to mention my overall health.  It's tough though and will kick your rear end every time.  It has to be done in a real yoga studio and class to be effective IMO.  Another benefit is that it helps you handle high heat far better as 100 degrees outside feels fine compared to 105 inside doing yoga.  :)

http://www.bikramyoga.com/