Ross Jun 04, 2014
I have really emphasized lately, to some of my other students having flipping, throwing problems, to SHORTEN THE BACKSWING AND FOCUS ON SPEEDING UP THE BODY ROTATION ON THE DOWNSWING. This has worked wonders for them. The reason, if you allow your backswing to get too long, the arms lift slightly or the wrists hinge a bit, and then you are going to “throw the club head” to help catch up, but if you stop the backswing when the shoulders are done (will feel short and weird at first), you haven’t hinged or lifted and can now just focus on turning for the downswing… and I mean go! … TURN. The shorter backswing gives you confidence that you can return to the ball easily and keep going… no hit… just turn… commit! Think of it as a drill for a while and you’ll build confidence and know that you don’t have to help… just turn on the downswing.
I wanted to add this to help you understand why shorter is better…
If you take the club back with the shoulders like 1/2 way, the hands and arms are more likely to still be under control. As you lengthen the backswing, generally what happens is… the hands and arms now take over and lift and hinge. That “Action” of the hands/arms (is a disconnect from Large Muscles), but it forces the “Reaction” on the downswing. So, practice with a shoulders only, shorter backswing and your hands and arms will get the idea. As you get better, you may make a bigger shoulder turn if it works… but if not, go back to the shorter backswing.
FYI… the downswing and commitment to tuning through faster, is what produces accuracy and distance… not the backswing.
Ross