backswing that is too long

Question
QUESTION: Hello Eddie
I always enjoy reading your comments online. Can you help me with a backswing that is too long? I am 6'5" tall and slender. I really need to shorten up to get the club on a flatter plane. Many thanks.  Ken

ANSWER: Hi Ken:

Thank you for those nice comments.  Let me ask, "Why do you want a flatter plane?"  Do you want a flatter plane or do you just want a shorter backswing?  Give me those answers Ken, and then I will go from there.  Thanks.

Eddie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Eddie
Thanks for following up on my question. I get way too long at the top with my backswing.(way past parallel). This results in my swing being too steep on the way down. At this point I have to re-route the club back to the inside to try to save the shot. Most of the time this results in a big block or push especially with the driver and fairway woods. I have fought this problem for years(the block/push)and was told to shorten my backswing as a solution to this. As I said in my earlier question I am a tall guy. My clubs are extended 2" and are 2 degrees upright(I was fitted for these by a Mizuno fitter and play Mizuno irons and a Taylor Made driver). Eddie, thanks again for the follow-up. If I can give you any further information I will be glad to. Have a good summer. Regards Ken

ANSWER: Ken:

If I had you as a student Ken, here is what I would do with you.  First off, shortening your swing is a great idea....but they explain how to do that?  I guess if you did, you wouldn't be asking the question.  A long backswing does not cause the push, block, or resulting hook that eventually will happen once you get sick of hitting it out to the right.  But, you are accurate in the club drops to the inside, so your swing path is from in to out, which is too shallow, which causes drop kicks, thins, blocks, pushes, and hooks.  Here is what I would do with you.  I would begin by teaching you the correct way to hit a knock down shot.  A true knock down into the wind shot.  This shot requires a three quarter backswing at the most, and you learning how to control the shaft better through impact.  In order to knock it down, the clubface must be delofted at impact (not closed, delofted).  In order to deloft the clubface at impact, the angle of the shaft must be forward.  Do you get that picture so far?  So if I set you up with a 7 iron, had you move the ball back in your stance (just inside your right shoe), had the butt of the club pointing at your left hip, kept your weight on your left leg throughout the shot, I don't believe you could make a big backswing unless you folded up your arms and got sloppy with your hands and wrists???  So your left arm would swing to just past parallel to the ground (about 10 o'clock if your left arm was a hand on the clock).  The club would be cocked to 90 degrees only (shaft to arm).  That is as far as you'll swing the club back!!!!  Then, you'll work on swinging the entire club down the path back into the ball so that in your brain (let's use the clock example again), you'll be swinging towards 11 o'clock, instead of what you usually do, which is swing towards 1 or 2 o'clock.  Do you see this picture I am giving you?  If the club is moving through the impact area towards 11 o'clock, it would strike the ball more solidly and reduce the spin you put on it.  So make a three quarter, knock down swing, 90 degree wrist cock maximum, and then start swinging towards 11 o'clock.  Make sure you control your hands and don't allow them to turn the clubface over too much.  Instead, sense how the arms and body coordinate better through impact to a finish.  Once you change the path the club is swinging on, you'll begin to change the results of what you are doing.  So shortening the swing won't fix anything unless you change the path the club is approaching the ball on.  Good luck Ken, ask if you need clarification on anything.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member











---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Eddie, thank you very much for the effort you have put into these answers-I really appreciate it and look forward to putting it into practice. One final question please. Can you clarify "staying behind it" vs swinging/moving through the ball. I was taught years ago to "stay behind it" and I think this kept me from swinging left (over 11 o'clock). I have been experimenting trying to "get in front of the ball" on the downswing and this is starting to show some positive results. I have been paying attention to some of the pros and they seem to finish in front of the ball too. I want to thank you again for the time you have spent on this and if I lived in the Arizona area I would come visit you. Unfortunately it's a long commute from North Carolina.
Have a good summer.  Ken

Answer
Ken:

Sure, staying behind it is simple, yet, most golfers develop poor habits if the wrong picture is in their head.  Here is what I teach.  When you set up to a golf ball, you are looking at the ball.  There is an imaginary line from your nose to the back of the ball.  You must learn to swing the club past that imaginary line before you allow your eyes to follow the flight of the ball.  So, learn to swing the club past your nose.  Please picture this and you'll understand it better.  There needs to be some separation between your head and your body.  When you watch Tour players or see them in the magazines, you'll notice that their "nose stays behind the ball", but their body rotates and the club swings past that point before their heads release up to a finish with the rest of their body on the left side.  My teacher used to hold a club against the left side of my head until I hit it, then he would allow my head to swivel and come up to a finish.  People (almost all golfers) believe you are supposed to keep your head down.  NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH than that.  By trying to stay behind it or by trying to keep your head down, you prevent your body from rotating to a balanced finish.  Your arms fold up, you lose speed and you lose power.  You tend to hit shots thin or top them.  If the body cannot "release" to a finish, you're right, you'll never be able to swing freely towards 11 o'clock or you'll never be able to get to your left side.  But if you learn to swing it past your nose BUT allow your body to continue to rotate through impact to a finish, you'll discover the true meaning of "staying behind it."  Good luck Ken, enjoy your summer golf ahead.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member