Can the backswing be too short?

[res0n0xg]

Hi guys, over the last 6 months to a year I decided to try to change my swing to become more consistent and in the process have become less consistent (mostly with irons). My driver has held pretty strong overall, but I've noticed I seem to have a too abbreviated backswing now....

My swing from the other thread below :

http://thesandtrap.com/t/64473/my-swing-res0n0xg

Thoughts on this?

[onephenom]

I don't think the backswing can really be too short, look at tommy gainey... however for 99.999% of people that would never work. The length of the backswing is supposed to determine the length of the shot you are trying to hit. Some very good players only go 75-80% of the way back to having the club parallel to the ground and still hit it plenty far. If you lag the club properly and use the body you don't need a long backswing to hit the ball far correctly shaped.

A golfer's full shot, I believe, should go as far back as is comfortable for their flexibility. Overextending is going to make it very difficult to swing properly.

[Paradox]

watched one of your videos and your backswing gets almost parallel at the top...definitely not a "short" backswing.

[Golfingdad]

Go look at my swing videos and you'll know my answer. (Hint: no, your backswing is not too short) :)

[David in FL]

CAN. The backswing be too short? Of course. IS yours too short? Not from what I can see.......

[res0n0xg]

any critiques at all then? good to hear as I had a buddy saying it seemed to short...

[inthehole]

I have a short backswing as I have little flexibility & bad back.    Your swing isn't that short.    I can hit as long as anybody I play with (similar hcp'ers), so it doesn't affect me that much.     Why don't you post relative distances of a few clubs to see if your perceived short backswing is hurting you ...

[Golfingdad]

any critiques at all then? good to hear as I had a buddy saying it seemed to short...

Right off the bat the thing that stands out to me is your grip. Looks like your holding the club tightly in your palm instead of in your fingers and it looks like your thumb is too far to the right. I'm not a teacher so I'm not really sure how best to describe it, or for that matter if I'm even correct. But that's what I see. Also, it looks like you have no knee bend at address ... You're just bending at your waist.

[Stretch]

Yes, the backswing can be too short. No, yours isn't. Your overdraws and hooks are caused by a swing path that gets too far out to the right, which is caused by your early extension in the downswing, which is caused by ... well, there it gets complicated. Start by reading through Beachcomber's My Swing thread. There's a lot of information in there that will be relevant for you.