Rushing the downswing cause for poor ball striking?

[gogreen03]

For as long as I've been playing golf, I've always been a mediocre-at-best ball striker. I tend to believe I have no excuse for this because I have developed, for the most part, a textbook swing (firing hips first, then shoulders, then arms following). In my opinion, the lack of ball striking is a result of rushing my downswing. I tend to get so preoccupied with the result of the shot that I end up rushing and not focusing on the strike as much as I think I should. Am I correct in thinking this, or am I focusing on the wrong thing? Tips? Much appreciated.

[boogielicious]

6 minutes ago, gogreen03 said:

For as long as I've been playing golf, I've always been a mediocre-at-best ball striker. I tend to believe I have no excuse for this because I have developed, for the most part, a textbook swing (firing hips first, then shoulders, then arms following). In my opinion, the lack of ball striking is a result of rushing my downswing. I tend to get so preoccupied with the result of the shot that I end up rushing and not focusing on the strike as much as I think I should. Am I correct in thinking this, or am I focusing on the wrong thing? Tips? Much appreciated.

I think it does have an effect on me. Keeping a good tempo for all shots is important. I tend to rush things and will consciously slow things down to get back in rhythm. 

[nevets88]

I think if you're doing something wrong on the downswing, slowing it down will only slow down that mechanical fault, but agree with @boogielicious, if you're doing the right things on the way down, rushing can throw that off.

[Club Rat]

2 hours ago, gogreen03 said:

I end up rushing

Rushing a swing is common, especially when tense with an unusual or tough golf shot.
Being a tad anxious may also prevent becoming set before initiating a swing.

 

[Blackjack Don]

Are you sure you're hitting the ball first, then the ground? Aiming point two inches in front of the ball and the bottom of the swing four inches in front of the ball helped me considerably. I'm becoming a much better ball-striker.

It's harder than it looks.

Edited December 28, 2016 by Blackjack Don

[SirDustinLongJohnson]

Rushing the down swing can definitely have a negative effect on ball swing. I heard a good tip, which is that you should think of the downswing as a gradual acceleration, like getting onto the highway with an open mug of coffee in your car. You need to get up to speed, but, if you just floor it, you'll just spill the coffee. The idea being that speed is good, but only at the right moment (I.e. as the clubhead strikes the ball). Too much speed early (I.e. rushing) will cause casting and other problems that will negatively affect your ball striking. The drill for practicing that is simply to take practice swings and try to hear the "whoosh" coming from the left side of your body.

[Groucho Valentine]

Yes. Its a problem. Poor tempo is a bigger issue in golf swings than mechanical ones, IMO. I dont know what the fix is, really. Maybe a drill where you do a slight pause at the top. If you allow them to, the club and centrifugal force will do most of the work. 

[gogreen03]

Hey guys, thanks for all the replies. At the range this morning, I really tried to focus on shallowing the shaft on the downswing which not only helped me stop rushing, but overall just improved every single one of my strikes. I think it's because when you really exaggerate shallowing the shaft, you almost force yourself to slow down and not to cast. 

[RandallT]

48 minutes ago, gogreen03 said:

I really tried to focus on shallowing the shaft on the downswing which not only helped me stop rushing,

I have had one of those epiphanies lately when doing lead arm only swings. 

If I try to use my muscular effort immediately from the top to swing the club through, it feels like I'm muscling the ball and manipulating things. 

If I get the club steep on the backswing, then just take my time and  let the club fall shallow- it all feels effortless. I can then ramp up my effort to swing as the club falls down. My feeling is that things then square up more naturally and it even takes less muscular effort to get club speed. 

In both cases, the ball goes about the same distance with one arm. But the less rushed one-arm swing feels more consistent and relaxed.  

Might be relevant and resonate with you about rushed swings. Just something I'm powering through the past number of months with steepness, and I think it's related to rushing a bit. 

[nevets88]

Couldn't help but think of this:

Maybe having someone threatening to throw chairs at you might be an option. 

[saevel25]

9 hours ago, nevets88 said:

Couldn't help but think of this

Maybe having someone threatening to throw chairs at you might be an option. 

Why is Batman in that meme? Also, good movie ;) 

15 hours ago, gogreen03 said:

For as long as I've been playing golf, I've always been a mediocre-at-best ball striker. I tend to believe I have no excuse for this because I have developed, for the most part, a textbook swing (firing hips first, then shoulders, then arms following). In my opinion, the lack of ball striking is a result of rushing my downswing. I tend to get so preoccupied with the result of the shot that I end up rushing and not focusing on the strike as much as I think I should. Am I correct in thinking this, or am I focusing on the wrong thing? Tips? Much appreciated.

Its tough to say with out seeing your swing. I recommend creating a My Swing thread and posting a Face-On video. 

[Rainmaker]

9 hours ago, RandallT said:

I have had one of those epiphanies lately when doing lead arm only swings. 

If I try to use my muscular effort immediately from the top to swing the club through, it feels like I'm muscling the ball and manipulating things. 

If I get the club steep on the backswing, then just take my time and  let the club fall shallow- it all feels effortless. I can then ramp up my effort to swing as the club falls down. My feeling is that things then square up more naturally and it even takes less muscular effort to get club speed. 

In both cases, the ball goes about the same distance with one arm. But the less rushed one-arm swing feels more consistent and relaxed.  

Might be relevant and resonate with you about rushed swings. Just something I'm powering through the past number of months with steepness, and I think it's related to rushing a bit. 

That's so weird . .I was going to post the same thing.  You and I have had a lot of the same experiences over the last year it seems . .this seems to keep happening, lol.  

I had a huge epiphany when I finally started to be able to hit the ball with just my lead arm.  I had tried many times in the past to do this but I never could.  Perhaps I'm just not physically strong enough to "muscle" it with one hand because that never worked .. I'd just slam it into the ground, top it or miss it completely, etc. 

Well . .finally . .I can hit the ball with a one handed swing . .and what it made me realize (doing it with the left arm) is that I habitually rush into the downswing.  I never *felt* the weight of the clubhead reaching the very top of the backswing (actually I should say *end* of the backswing . .especially one handed I don't go to the "top") until I did it one handed.  Now I try to incorporate this feeling into my 2 handed swing . .you can actually feel it when the club is ready to start moving forwards.  

 

Edited December 29, 2016 by Rainmaker

[Piz]

I think rushing back to the ball, after a leisurely takeaway, is rooted in the effort to give it something extra...just in case.  Just the opposite happens when the impulse to take a bit off arises.  In either case; the resulting shot is rarely satisfactory.  Perhaps the culprit, in both instances, is an ill-conceived correlation between the distance desired and the effort required.  

[saevel25]

I find that when a person feels a rushed downswing it is because they are flipping at the ball. 

[Kalnoky]

I'm nowhere near as good as you guys, but I also struggle with rushing. I fight an irrational feeling that my swing will "fall apart" if I slow down. It feels like it is held together by centrifugal force. This is especially true with longer clubs.

I am not a consistent ball striker. I feel like if I was, I could shoot in the 80s on a regular basis pretty easily. This is my golf dream, is just to be a consistent ball striker. 

Edited January 2, 2017 by Kalnoky

[phillyk]

I always think back to Tiger at Chamber's Bay when talking about a rushed swing.  I watched him hit balls on the range with so much ease and every shot was perfect.  On the course, his tempo and most importantly, his transition at the top was super jerky, causing a rushed and super inconsistently swing.  Too much muscle too quick.  Same thing applies to a lot of people.  The transition needs to be smooth.  For myself, I like to think of slowing down my back swing ever so slightly, and it just sets me right. 

On 12/28/2016 at 8:42 AM, gogreen03 said:

Hey guys, thanks for all the replies. At the range this morning, I really tried to focus on shallowing the shaft on the downswing which not only helped me stop rushing, but overall just improved every single one of my strikes. I think it's because when you really exaggerate shallowing the shaft, you almost force yourself to slow down and not to cast. 

Doing this at the range is great, but next step is can you do it on the course?  Michigan these days isn't exactly pristine weather to play, but if you can involve a thought or drill into your pre-shot routine at the range, it may transfer a little easier to the course.

[Hatchman]

Good thread for me too.  I get off tempo also by being too quick at the top and then flippy.  I think they relate to my really bad misses.  

[iacas]

I'm going to guess that your swing is not a "textbook" swing, and that it has faults, and that those faults are exaggerated when you "rush" from the top.

Virtually everyone can hit the ball more solidly when they swing a bit slower. The ones who can swing fast and still keep things pretty workable? The best players, who have the actual "textbook" swings.

Find out what your biggest flaw is right now, what is most keeping you a 10 handicapper, and work on that. I doubt it's simply "don't rush." People who feel "rushed" are often simply out of sequence and wasting energy by expending it doing things that are counter to a good golf swing.