Anything wrong with a 3/4 swing?

[reid]

Rukkus
You hit the ball exactly as far as me. I wish I hit it longer but even playing 7300 yard tour courses is not impossible although I can't reach any of the par-5s in two shots and some of the other pros hit them with irons.

[Jack_2251]

No, i think your lucky to have a short swing, I am currently working on shortening and making my swing more tight

[g-funk13]

I am fairly young, athletic (at least I think so) and flexible, but my swing is definitely not a 100% swing. On the range, I crank it up, but I feel better toning it down a bit on the course for the sake of my score and the guys on adjacent fairways. Despite this, I get pretty decent distance (260 drive, 170 yard 7 iron). I don't have plans changing to a full bore swing, and from what I see, most people on my course do the same.

Yup. Sometimes I only take odd # irons to the course. As a result ,when I am on the course, I have to take 1 club up often. Those shots end up being 3/4 and BINGO more GIR.

Why do I need to trick myself into it? Cause I am an idiot.

[albatroz]

A lot of Pro teachers teach the 3/4 swing to most of their older students . what This does is to lessen stress on the back and gives more control . Distance of course will suffer a wee bit . I dont think anybody would care if they find all their shots in the fairway . Go ahead and practice this . Be sure to power up on your way down to generate clubhead speed . Doing this in tune with your body motion flowing with a complte follow through will give you a respectable distance.

[g-funk13]

Early this morning the Golf Channel ran a "Challenge Golf" archive episode. It featured Mason Rudolph and Tommy Jacob V Arnold Palmer and Gary Player Four Ball.

One of the former team, Tommy Jacob I think, was playing EVERY shot 3/4! Drives, long and short irons, just every shot. He was a powerfully built golfer, but so was Arnold Palmer and Jacob was right there with them every drive, and he was kicking EVERYONE'S a$$ in his approaches. It was quite a clinic of 3/4 swing excellence.

[vvrinne]

How do you know that he was using a 3/4 swing though? Maximum rotation allowed by a persons body should basically be different for everybody. Some people overdo this by moving the club further than their body will rotate by using their arms, but no additional power is gained by this (afaik). Activating the arms like that will also most likely lead to problems on the downswing with the arms racing in front of the body instead of following the rotation.

So if Tommy Jacob had a shorter rotation than the other players how can you know whether that was the maximum his body would allow?

A good rule of thumb for this in my opinion is that if you have to force it, it's probably not good. I also doubt that much will be gained by actively trying to prevent your body from rotating to your natural maximum since trying to control it will simply add complexity to what is basically a simple move.

Somehow I can't help thinking that most amateurs think they have trouble hitting the ball because their rotation is too long when in fact they probably simply have timing issues and they are using their arms to move the club instead of their body.

[Chilidipper]

How do you know that he was using a 3/4 swing though? Maximum rotation allowed by a persons body should basically be different for everybody. Some people overdo this by moving the club further than their body will rotate by using their arms, but no additional power is gained by this (afaik). Activating the arms like that will also most likely lead to problems on the downswing with the arms racing in front of the body instead of following the rotation.

I think maybe mine is a full swing it just resembles more of a 3/4 swing because I am not flexible. I mean when I turn im torqued pretty good up top. I tend to put too much pressure on my shoulder if I try to reach back and make it look pro like. I looked solid on my back swing but not flat like VJ Tiger, Scott etc.

[vvrinne]

The only thing that really matters afaik, is that you feel torqued up in your core muscles, like you said. Everybody can do a Daly move, but if they aren't doing it by rotating their body then it really has mainly a negative effect :)

[Chas]

Yup. Sometimes I only take odd # irons to the course. As a result ,when I am on the course, I have to take 1 club up often. Those shots end up being 3/4 and BINGO more GIR.

Hmmm, interesting idea - maybe I'll try it, as I'm working on shortening my swing for greater consistency. I must be an idiot as well ....

[lamebums]

Or there abouts. I'm not the most flexible guy in the world I do stretch to improve but my swing is more 3/4 than "full". Is there anything wrong with this?

Not at all. It's not how but how many. It may hurt your distance and produce a lower ballflight, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

[yamhang]

3/4 swing are fine. just look at the pros, they often use 3/4 for mid and short irons. For me, the 15 handicapper hacker, I found that my 3/4 swing just almost go the same distance with better control. With the driver, 3/4 swing allows me to contact the ball on sweetspot more often. And that spells straighter and longer tee shots.

Good golfing!!

[flash]

No! 3/4 swings are used on tour frequently. You don't always have to hit a SW from 100 yards. Hitting a pitching wedge in there lower with better accuracy is a better idea in most cases. Try it sometime. Take 5 balls with your "normal" club and five with one or two clubs longer. See which you get closer.

I agree with Reid. When I am feeling a little unsure about hitting a particular shot quite often I will take more club than usual. With a slow, smooth 3/4 backswing ball contact and control feels much more solid.

[Leek]

I think many people would score lower sticking with a 3/4 swing. They would hit the ball on the sweet spot more often and stay out of trouble. I think one of golf's biggest problems is we golfers tend to play how far can I hit it instead of playing how can I score the lowest.

I know I often catch myself trying to take a perfectly useable swing and try to find some changes that will bring more power. I honestly know it's silly, because while I'm not long, I hit the ball far enough to play even or under par, if I just hit it straight and stay under 30 putts per round.

[Chas]

I think vvrinne has said it best. To paraphrase, what feels like a full swing to different people (i.e. same degree of resistance to torque from the large muscles, at the top of the backswing) will look like different fractions of a full swing to an observer. Golf teaching manuals encourage this sort of thinking, with their idealized images and standard "clock" positions, and it is very difficult to liberate yourself from it.

I see so many golfers over-extend at the top, which can completely ruin what would otherwise be a decent swing. If they're experienced and preferably highly skilled as well (and a bit lucky), they sometimes compensate successfully on the way down and hit a respectable shot. If not, almost anything can happen. All in an attempt to achieve a "few extra yards", that aren't really in them to produce.

Come to think of it, one of my favorite and most reliable shots is the low stinger type of shot to stay below a tree limb or bore into a strong headwind. I never, ever seem to overswing these shots because I'm signally NOT trying to strip the cover off of the ball, so much as to hit it precisely and in full control.

Hmmm, maybe I should just hit stingers all the way round the course .......

[JonnyGolf]

Big Swings, Big Mistakes. Little Swings, Little Mistakes. Or so I coach my son.

3/4 swings are the way to go as the golf motion gets infinitely more difficult past 3/4.

My game improved significantly when I started taking advantage of good drives (less than 130 in) when I used a couple of 3/4 swings to get the ball close to the pin.

[xixiviii]

I came across the 3/4 swing by accident last winter.

I had never really played much golf beyond October, I just dont care for cold weather, but I wanted to stay sharp throughout the winter so I made some winter trips to the driving range.

I had so many layers on I could barely move, and didnt think it would go over very well, but in fact I was hitting much more consistantly because of it.

My tempo slowed down, and my rotation didnt go beyond where it needed to be, along with the fact I could only get the club back around 3/4 of a turn.

I kept the same swing throughout spring and summer after shedding the layers, and I couldnt be happier with it.

Distance might have dropped a fraction but the accuracy I gained is absolutely worth the compromise. My fairways hit has come up quite a bit, and I have better positions to attack greens.

[flatom]

Actually except for driver and maybe 3 wood, most swings are 3/4. A full swing is where the club is parallel with the ground at the top and hopefully pointing at the target and not laid off.
If you watch most pro's, they are not swinging full out.

[Tomboys]

How do you know that he was using a 3/4 swing though? Maximum rotation allowed by a persons body should basically be different for everybody. Some people overdo this by moving the club further than their body will rotate by using their arms, but no additional power is gained by this (afaik). Activating the arms like that will also most likely lead to problems on the downswing with the arms racing in front of the body instead of following the rotation.

This is a prime example of why we shouldn't discount or judge a person's input based on their handicap index. This is probably one of the best explanations I've read about the swing in quite some time. While your course handicap may be a 23, your understanding of the swing is a +2. Bravo.

Just to add, Peter Kostis (I think it was him) analyzed the swing of JB Holmes at some tournament. He showed that while JB's shaft was well short of parallel (appearing to be a 3/4 swing), his shoulder rotation was at 90*. At that point, he said something to the effect of don't let his shaft position fool you, it was a full-swing. DT