Tension is killing my swing

[stealthhwk]

Tension has been the number one thing holding me back my whole golfing life. After what started as my best round ever decended straight into the pits of hell Ive decided to do something about it. My game plan is to step up to the ball and then take 3 practice swings directly over my ball. Ill keep the wrists and grip loose and focus on turning back and thru so that my knees kiss, then immediately follwing the third swing Ill hit the ball. I also gonna stop focussing on a straight left arm, as centrifugal force seems to keep it pretty straight during the swing on its own. I think this plan will not only reduce tension but help me FEEL my weight transfer and swing. Does this sound like a game changer to anybody else, or do u guys and gals have a better suggestion? 

[SavvySwede]

6 minutes ago, stealthhwk said:

Tension has been the number one thing holding me back my whole golfing life. After what started as my best round ever decended straight into the pits of hell Ive decided to do something about it. My game plan is to step up to the ball and then take 3 practice swings directly over my ball. Ill keep the wrists and grip loose and focus on turning back and thru so that my knees kiss, then immediately follwing the third swing Ill hit the ball. I also gonna stop focussing on a straight left arm, as centrifugal force seems to keep it pretty straight during the swing on its own. I think this plan will not only reduce tension but help me FEEL my weight transfer and swing. Does this sound like a game changer to anybody else, or do u guys and gals have a better suggestion? 

3 practices swing over the ball sounds like a recipe for slow play if anything. You would also have to alter your swing to avoiding hitting the ball, not the sort of pattern one would want to ingrain. Tension builds over time, just step up to it and whack it.

[stealthhwk]

6 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

3 practices swing over the ball sounds like a recipe for slow play if anything. You would also have to alter your swing to avoiding hitting the ball, not the sort of pattern one would want to ingrain. Tension builds over time, just step up to it and whack it.

Lol. I get so slow played at all the courses I play, the three practice swings would just be something to keep me awake while I wait. 

[Dave325]

6 hours ago, stealthhwk said:

Tension has been the number one thing holding me back my whole golfing life. After what started as my best round ever decended straight into the pits of hell Ive decided to do something about it. My game plan is to step up to the ball and then take 3 practice swings directly over my ball. Ill keep the wrists and grip loose and focus on turning back and thru so that my knees kiss, then immediately follwing the third swing Ill hit the ball. I also gonna stop focussing on a straight left arm, as centrifugal force seems to keep it pretty straight during the swing on its own. I think this plan will not only reduce tension but help me FEEL my weight transfer and swing. Does this sound like a game changer to anybody else, or do u guys and gals have a better suggestion? 

That sounds like a decent plan, if it helps alleviate your tension issue. The feel part is personal,,, so if it works for you, that is great. After doing it a bit, you might make some adjustments. Let us know how that works in your next rounds. As for tension... Where do you feel the tension is coming on... Right shoulder, arms, grip? It sounds like maybe the grip, since you are going to focus on a loose grip. 

On the grip... Someone mentioned to me in a different topic thread (What is the proper grip pressure) about keeping a firm grip, but not causing tension in the arms. That has helped me a bit. Anyway, I hope this helps in some small way. I'm still working on all this stuff myself too.

 

 

[vangator]

What helped me reduce the tension in my swing is practicing with an impact bag.  I've mentioned that before here.  The thing is, to make a change, you have to practice it.  It's hard to do that while standing over a ball.

I hit the bag at maybe 1/4 speed or less.  I do a full swing.  Just 5 - 10 minutes at a time is all I do.  An important part for me is to make sure I pause slightly at the top.  That is where the tension really creeps in for me.

This will have you practicing your swing, getting your tempo down and you're focusing on swinging without tension.  When you transfer that swing to the range, just increase the speed of your swing.  That's the trick isn't it.

For me, I don't focus on hitting the ball.  I focus on getting my club head swinging on my intended line.  That not only helps with my tempo, but ensures a proper follow through.

[cipher]

I used to have major issues with getting overly tense at some point in the round, and had many troubles with shots because of it.  Ultimately there was not really a whole lot that worked until I put in the time and sought the help to improve my swing mechanics.  Confidence in making solid contact I found relieves much of the tension.  

[chspeed]

1 minute ago, cipher said:

Confidence in making solid contact I found relieves much of the tension.  

Agree.

I also think that there's nothing wrong with some tension in a full swing. It just depends on where it's gathered. For instance, you want your wrists to be flexible and react to the force of the swing, etc. But maybe actively thinking about reducing tension can cause you to lose some control over the muscles that actually should have some tension to generate a relatively short swing, speed and accuracy.

[stealthhwk]

4 hours ago, Dave325 said:

That sounds like a decent plan, if it helps alleviate your tension issue. The feel part is personal,,, so if it works for you, that is great. After doing it a bit, you might make some adjustments. Let us know how that works in your next rounds. As for tension... Where do you feel the tension is coming on... Right shoulder, arms, grip? It sounds like maybe the grip, since you are going to focus on a loose grip. 

On the grip... Someone mentioned to me in a different topic thread (What is the proper grip pressure) about keeping a firm grip, but not causing tension in the arms. That has helped me a bit. Anyway, I hope this helps in some small way. I'm still working on all this stuff myself too.

 

 

Most of my pressure is in the left arm but i feel it all over. Bout to try it on a quick nine before work. Ill post back, thanks for the grip tip as well.

[GolfLug]

Here's some out of the box for you:

1. Do the opposite. White knuckle the paste out of the grip and take a forceful practice swing or two before your actual swing.

2. Keep you your lower jaw slightly slack through the entire swing.  

[natureboy]

Keeping the left arm rigidly straight by actively firing the left triceps is unhelpful. I think the muscles in the left shoulder engage to support the effort and that is likely to inhibit a smooth swing of that arm.

One way you can help keep the left arm straightish and maintain width is by applying just a bit of extension force through the bent right arm...almost like you are pressing into the top/back of your left thumb with the heel pad of your right hand on the backswing. Here's a decent explanation of the idea:

http://precisioninstruction.com/blog/2014/01/right-arm-extension-byjustin-scott/

[stealthhwk]

So, it was the slowest day of golf Ive ever played. At one point there were 8 carts waiting for the same tee box. Those are the days where the tension is toughest to fight as Im frustrated and have no rhythm. So on a day like today, I expect to do about 6 to 8 shots worse per side. Instead, with the new routine I shot 4 steokes better than average on the front. The mini swings forced me to slow my tempo, transfer my weight, and prepare for the shot at hand. I also stopped locking the left arm at address and VOILA!!! The tension is gone from my swing, I made better contact, added 10 to 15 yards with the irons and probably 25 with the driver! Hit my longest drive ever at 264 yards!! Its not an end all cure all, as over 8 holes I still missed two fairways, and lost one in the water but boy Im a much better golfer than I was yesterday!!! 

[iacas]

Though I agree tension is and can be a "bad thing," I don't know if I believe that it's the number one thing holding you back… that most likely is a poor set of full swing mechanics.

I would agree, though, that tension should be one of the "easy" things to pick off, and is thus likely some low-hanging fruit.

[DrvFrShow]

Take a breath. Inhale through your nose, and exhale before you start your backswing. Practice doing that on every swing when you hit the ball at the driving range. It will tend to release tension in your neck and loosen up things. It's low hanging fruit. Make it a habit. 

[Marty2019]

I've been fighting tension in my swing, and one thing that helped me was to pause at the top and start my downswing slowly.   I have found that yanking on the club to start the downswing invariably causes my hands to tighten up in order to maintain control of the club.  That puts tension in my hands, wrists, and forearms.  When I start my downswing slowly, very slowly, I seem to hit the ball as far or farther than if I try to speed things up on the downswing.   It takes some practice, though, because the natural tendency is to want to swing hard. 

Standard disclaimer: there are obviously a hundred guys on this message board that know a lot more about the golf swing than I do.  This is just my particular experience. 

[mvmac]

5 hours ago, iacas said:

Though I agree tension is and can be a "bad thing," I don't know if I believe that it's the number one thing holding you back… that most likely is a poor set of full swing mechanics.

I would agree, though, that tension should be one of the "easy" things to pick off, and is thus likely some low-hanging fruit.

Yep agree 100% with this.

@stealthhwk, I wouldn't worry too much about keeping the grip pressure "loose", check this out.

 

[mcanadiens]

Did the tension come due to a lack of confidence or is the confidence the result of my tension?

Like the OP I have real problems getting loose and when I'm playing really poorly it gets worse. A little technique I've starting doing involves pointing my club down the line and swinging the club backward to the top of my back swing. Then I'll go back down and through. If I'm waiting, I'll do this multiple times.  I've noticed that when I'm playing my worst, I abandon this. 

[vangator]

Less tension results in straighter shots for me.