I have been struggling with my golf game lately. I’ve suffered from the dreaded two-way miss with my driver. That is, it might go right, it might go left, but rarely straight. When one did fly straight, the distance was way down. Irons? Pretty much the same story. Why? I practice regularly and play frequently, but my scores keep going up and my fun level going down. Luckily, and just by chance, I happened to remember something my friend Steve asked me a couple of years ago. When Steve and I first started playing together, I would routinely outdrive him despite being 15 years senior. One day he asked me, “How do you hit it so far with that little bitty swing?” At the time, I just took it as a compliment and didn’t think much about it.
Recently when I recalled that question, it dawned on me that I’ve been trying to lengthen my swing. I was doing this in the misguided belief that a longer swing will give me more distance. In this post, I hope to explain why a longer backswing will result in a loss of distance and consistency for most of us. If you are a highly trained athlete with a swing speed of over 115 mph, go ahead and swing for the fences. For us mere mortals, a shorter backswing will almost always improve length and control.
How is that possible? Doesn’t a longer, bigger arch guarantee greater distance? Not really. I don’t often include YouTube links in my posts, but I’m going to make an exception in this case. In this short video, Monte Scheinblum does a fantastic job explaining why an excessive backswing (over swinging) is bad, its causes, and the solution. Have a look, and then come on back.
Shorten your backswing and BE BETTER at Golf! With Monte Scheinblum – YouTube
Good stuff that! One of the most critical takeaways from this video is that change does not come overnight! Most people want to be better at golf, but they don’t want to get better at golf. By that, I mean almost everyone wants a tip or suggestion that if followed, they will break 90, or 80, or whatever their goal is. It just doesn’t work that way. If you want to correct an overly long backswing (or any other swing flaw), it will take time and effort. But it is effort well spent.
As for me? Yesterday I went back to my old pattern; my only swing thought was to stop my backswing when my left arm was horizontal. There’s work to be done, but I had my best ball-striking day in months. I finished with a 76 and had a rotten day putting. It’s always something!
As always, your comments and questions are welcome.
Stay safe,
Doug