Paul, you hit the nail on the head. As I got older, my distance suffered. Whenever I swing easy and make sure to turn over my wrists, the ball goes farther. I am also hitting the fairways most of the time. Without your instructions, I would still be scoring 110 to 120 per round. For the first time in my life, last month, I shot an 89. I was elated. I am not an athletic person, but I am sure having a lot of fun.
Very good. You’re getting there. It is truly mind boggling that so few people are even talking about this. Without taking the arms out and stop hitting golfers will just continue to spin their wheels. You are proof that you need to do the opposite if you want to improve. Just imagine what’s in store for you in the future if you keep working on it.
Paul ,Swing easy ,not harder :Yes ,but you have to be accelerating the clubhead at impact .From two players who have the same clubhead speed at impact ,and one is accelerating ,the other is decelerating ,the first one hits the ball further.
The formula is :GAMMA (Torque)=I (Moment of Inertia=Body and club)x Omega(Angular Acceleration ).
To be sure I accelerate ,I put two SSRTT in line ,one at the ball position ,the other one 10 inches further down the line .I then check if the second SSRTT is showing a higher figure than the first one :if it doesn’t ,I have decelerated.
To be sure I accelerate ,I have to have the club going well past my neck ,hitting the back of it as you advise .
Of course I have previously “calibrated ” the two SSRTT to be sure they indicate the same speed when at the same spot during the swing
That’s a great way to confuse everyone. How am I going to tell someone to slow down but make sure you accelerate the clubhead. Yeah right. Like that
s going to happen. I am trying to get people to at least do something different then whacking golf balls. This is how to do it. If you want to go into great detail keep doing it. I did this for over 10 years and it got me nowhere. The day I made it simple is when I got it.
I don’t feel like I need to understand every aspect of the golf swing in order to play well. I wish you well in your analytic journey of the golf swing.
Sage inputs as usual. Part of the reason I came to the site originally is due to my low back condition and I had no choice but to change my swing or quit the game I love so much. I can say that the techniques you promote have enabled me not only to play better, but also to keep from reinjuring my low back. I can hit as many practice balls as I want… So, game improved (I’m pretty consistently between 75-81 these days) and no injuries in making what has been a pretty big swing change for me (and the ‘slow and easy driver drill’ is one I still use when direction tends to wander. You can bet on my continued support as I still have improved goals I want to reach. Have had plenty of folks on the course ask me about my ‘instructor’ and I’ve always written the website on their card for use later, and I hope some have taken the suggestion… 🙂
Glad you liked it. It is funny how people who are swinging really hard think that they can keep swinging this hard forever without hurting themselves. I have always kept his in mind as I have taught my students. I want people playing forever. There is not reason they can’t. As you see, swinging looser generates serious power.
I love that people are asking who your teacher is. I tell people who are working on my swing will get asked who taught them. This is the sign of looking like a pro. Thank you for the promo. I appreciate all the help I can get.
Not sure anyone cared what’s in my golf bag. I’m getting some new clubs next week. I’ll try to remember to shoot it. I actually had time to work on my swing so I will post some of my swings too.
Paul, I watched this tip for the first time this morning and it really helped things click for me. My friends were in shock at my ball striking today. On the ride home my buddy said to me “you realize you didn’t flub a single shot today”. Unbelievable progress , I can’t thank you enough.
That’s great news. I love hearing it. You just had to do the opposite. The problem is, unless someone tells you to do that you will never do it. You would have just continued to hit the ball with your arms forever. Now stay focused on repeating what you just felt … forever!
Hey Paul
2 questions
1 You say that you never get sore playing golf i always get lower back pain now with your swing so much so that it really hinders my golf and work
Why is that?
2 in the back swing i still find my self lifting my arm into position as i cant seem to get them there by just rotating any tips?
Many thanks.
Hi Paul,
Here is a question that this tip made me think about. Turning the hips is what gets the distance, but how does one control how fast to turn the hips or how to turn them at a consistant rate to get approximately the same distance with each club? You have said the hip turn is about 2.5 mph., which is not very fast, so subtle differences can make a difference. Turn the hips faster for more power, but how fast is too fast? i seem to go from 0 to 100 and go from good results to poor ones. i know it should be somewhere between. i am sure there is a tip…..
thanks,
ter
The driving of your hips turns your upper body at this speed. So you are trying to drive you legs as hard as you can drive them. I am probably at 80% most times. This is something you are going to have to find. To do so watch your ball. If you pull it you need to drive them harder. If you drive too hard you need to slow down. After a while you should be able to know the feeling of your maximum.
Hi Paul,
i am working on this hip turn and weight shift, because i know it is a problem (biggest?). i tend to shift or slide when i am trying to get the weight transfer. When i successfully get the transfer and turn i seem to spin out and hit over the top of the ball, pulling it to the left, or if the club face is open a bad slice. Do you have a tip for how i can work on keeping the angle of my torso constant throughout the swing? i do it correctly sometimes, and the results are good, but it is not consistant. Maybe there is some type of trigger or feeling?
thanks,
ter
I gaurantee you are trying to do this a top speed. Why not slow down and just do it. No sense doing it fast and wrong. In other words do it right at 1mph instead of wrong at 100mph.
So you throw balls at home every night. As you do, you feel the move. Look for the feedback of the legs touching and keep repeating it over and over again until it sinks in. Now you go to the range. You make a few throwing motions. Then you remember the move and apply this to practice swings. Then you tee up a 7 iron and do the same move at half speed or less. Hold it when you have hit the shot and check for the feedback.
Too many people are just whacking balls hoping they magically happens one day. 30 years later they are still hoping. If you are working on this only work on this. Forget the ball and master the positions. Sure, some shots will be good but this is one piece of the swing. Until you put all pieces together you will not hit the majority of balls well.
I am compiling an Excel workbook that has different sheets on my favorite topics with hyperlinks to pertinent videos.
This one is front and center on my Playing Thoughts page. Old habits die hard and I constantly find myself reverting to hitting harder instead of swinging easier, particularly when playing with my buddies. This one is a jewel. For the time being, I am starting my day with a cup of coffee and this video. And I am committing to watching this video before playing or even going to the range. I am committing to using this thought even when doing my daily backyard practice swings.
Great stuff! Why oh Why? No one else out there is teaching this vital component of improving our games. No one but Paul Wilson.
Very good. You are totally into it which is a good thing.
No one has thought of a lot of this that is why they don’t teach it. When you stand there for going into 27 years and you actually car about making people understand the swing and get better you think of every morsel of the swing so new things come to you (this happens to me anyway).
During COVID, I have been going to the range three times a week hitting two buckets with my SC200 launch monitor. I had fallen back into the trap of “hitting hard” and no doubt heavy use of my arms. A few lucky good ones but lots of pulls and pull-hooks indicating heavy arms usage.
I again watched one of your YouTube videos where you implore the viewer “give me one bucket” of swinging effortlessly with no arms. So I committed to it. The results were amazing. My best were slightly less than my “hit hard” number but they were all dead straight and much more consistent. My “hit hard” smash factor was always around 1.40. With “swing easy” it was very efficient at about 1.46 to 1.49.
The big takeaway was I left rested and refreshed versus tired and frustrated. My sessions usually take about 90 minutes and my Fitbit would show 60-80 minutes of activity (indicating a high heart rate). My “swing easy” session incredibly only showed 25 minutes of activity over the 90 minute session. A fraction of the prior effort with much better results.
I also like that you promise your swing will stay with us pain-free into a very advanced age. Already the older guys I play with swing twice as hard as I do and are 60-90 yards shorter off the tee.
Please Paul. Keep preaching. This “swing easy” mantra is the Rosetta Stone to the swing and you are the only guy out there preaching it.
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28 Responses to “Opposite Series – Hit Hard or Swing Easy”
October 16, 2015
davidkimMr.Wilson. Your just great.
October 16, 2015
Paul WilsonDavid,
Thanks. I truly appreciate it.
October 16, 2015
KennthBovaPaul, you hit the nail on the head. As I got older, my distance suffered. Whenever I swing easy and make sure to turn over my wrists, the ball goes farther. I am also hitting the fairways most of the time. Without your instructions, I would still be scoring 110 to 120 per round. For the first time in my life, last month, I shot an 89. I was elated. I am not an athletic person, but I am sure having a lot of fun.
October 16, 2015
Paul WilsonKen,
Very good. You’re getting there. It is truly mind boggling that so few people are even talking about this. Without taking the arms out and stop hitting golfers will just continue to spin their wheels. You are proof that you need to do the opposite if you want to improve. Just imagine what’s in store for you in the future if you keep working on it.
October 16, 2015
RobertThurstonGreat tip as always Paul.
October 16, 2015
Paul WilsonRobert,
Thanks, glad you liked it.
October 16, 2015
RaymondCHASTELPaul ,Swing easy ,not harder :Yes ,but you have to be accelerating the clubhead at impact .From two players who have the same clubhead speed at impact ,and one is accelerating ,the other is decelerating ,the first one hits the ball further.
The formula is :GAMMA (Torque)=I (Moment of Inertia=Body and club)x Omega(Angular Acceleration ).
To be sure I accelerate ,I put two SSRTT in line ,one at the ball position ,the other one 10 inches further down the line .I then check if the second SSRTT is showing a higher figure than the first one :if it doesn’t ,I have decelerated.
To be sure I accelerate ,I have to have the club going well past my neck ,hitting the back of it as you advise .
Of course I have previously “calibrated ” the two SSRTT to be sure they indicate the same speed when at the same spot during the swing
October 17, 2015
Paul WilsonRaymond,
That’s a great way to confuse everyone. How am I going to tell someone to slow down but make sure you accelerate the clubhead. Yeah right. Like that
s going to happen. I am trying to get people to at least do something different then whacking golf balls. This is how to do it. If you want to go into great detail keep doing it. I did this for over 10 years and it got me nowhere. The day I made it simple is when I got it.
July 8, 2017
DavidArbelaezWhat the heck are you talking about? Haha
July 8, 2017
RaymondCHASTELJust simple maths.Thé formula explains clearly what Paul says : accélérate through thé ball ,don’t hit at it !
July 9, 2017
DavidArbelaezGood luck with that. I don’t do formulas. I play by feel.
July 10, 2017
RaymondCHASTELYou can go on your entire life without understanding what you are doing .
There’s a name for people like you!
July 10, 2017
DavidArbelaezI don’t feel like I need to understand every aspect of the golf swing in order to play well. I wish you well in your analytic journey of the golf swing.
October 16, 2015
KimBozikPaul,
Sage inputs as usual. Part of the reason I came to the site originally is due to my low back condition and I had no choice but to change my swing or quit the game I love so much. I can say that the techniques you promote have enabled me not only to play better, but also to keep from reinjuring my low back. I can hit as many practice balls as I want… So, game improved (I’m pretty consistently between 75-81 these days) and no injuries in making what has been a pretty big swing change for me (and the ‘slow and easy driver drill’ is one I still use when direction tends to wander. You can bet on my continued support as I still have improved goals I want to reach. Have had plenty of folks on the course ask me about my ‘instructor’ and I’ve always written the website on their card for use later, and I hope some have taken the suggestion… 🙂
Kim
October 17, 2015
Paul WilsonKim,
Glad you liked it. It is funny how people who are swinging really hard think that they can keep swinging this hard forever without hurting themselves. I have always kept his in mind as I have taught my students. I want people playing forever. There is not reason they can’t. As you see, swinging looser generates serious power.
I love that people are asking who your teacher is. I tell people who are working on my swing will get asked who taught them. This is the sign of looking like a pro. Thank you for the promo. I appreciate all the help I can get.
October 16, 2015
TomHey Paul, thanks for the tip!
Changing topic slightly, could you do a ‘what’s in the bag’ sometime?
October 17, 2015
Paul WilsonTom,
Glad you liked it. Thanks,
Not sure anyone cared what’s in my golf bag. I’m getting some new clubs next week. I’ll try to remember to shoot it. I actually had time to work on my swing so I will post some of my swings too.
October 16, 2015
BenjaminBerryPaul, I watched this tip for the first time this morning and it really helped things click for me. My friends were in shock at my ball striking today. On the ride home my buddy said to me “you realize you didn’t flub a single shot today”. Unbelievable progress , I can’t thank you enough.
October 17, 2015
Paul WilsonBenjamin,
That’s great news. I love hearing it. You just had to do the opposite. The problem is, unless someone tells you to do that you will never do it. You would have just continued to hit the ball with your arms forever. Now stay focused on repeating what you just felt … forever!
Watch this tip:
You Will Top It: https://ignitiongolf.com/you-will-top-it/
October 17, 2015
DavidCalvertHey Paul
2 questions
1 You say that you never get sore playing golf i always get lower back pain now with your swing so much so that it really hinders my golf and work
Why is that?
2 in the back swing i still find my self lifting my arm into position as i cant seem to get them there by just rotating any tips?
Many thanks.
November 11, 2015
terrybadgerHi Paul,
Here is a question that this tip made me think about. Turning the hips is what gets the distance, but how does one control how fast to turn the hips or how to turn them at a consistant rate to get approximately the same distance with each club? You have said the hip turn is about 2.5 mph., which is not very fast, so subtle differences can make a difference. Turn the hips faster for more power, but how fast is too fast? i seem to go from 0 to 100 and go from good results to poor ones. i know it should be somewhere between. i am sure there is a tip…..
thanks,
ter
November 11, 2015
Paul WilsonTerry,
The driving of your hips turns your upper body at this speed. So you are trying to drive you legs as hard as you can drive them. I am probably at 80% most times. This is something you are going to have to find. To do so watch your ball. If you pull it you need to drive them harder. If you drive too hard you need to slow down. After a while you should be able to know the feeling of your maximum.
December 3, 2015
terrybadgerHi Paul,
i am working on this hip turn and weight shift, because i know it is a problem (biggest?). i tend to shift or slide when i am trying to get the weight transfer. When i successfully get the transfer and turn i seem to spin out and hit over the top of the ball, pulling it to the left, or if the club face is open a bad slice. Do you have a tip for how i can work on keeping the angle of my torso constant throughout the swing? i do it correctly sometimes, and the results are good, but it is not consistant. Maybe there is some type of trigger or feeling?
thanks,
ter
December 3, 2015
Paul WilsonTerry,
I gaurantee you are trying to do this a top speed. Why not slow down and just do it. No sense doing it fast and wrong. In other words do it right at 1mph instead of wrong at 100mph.
DRILL: Do It Right at 1MPH https://ignitiongolf.com/right-at-1mph/
Have you thrown golf balls? This is the same movement.
It’s Like A Throwing Motion: https://ignitiongolf.com/like-throwing-motion/
So you throw balls at home every night. As you do, you feel the move. Look for the feedback of the legs touching and keep repeating it over and over again until it sinks in. Now you go to the range. You make a few throwing motions. Then you remember the move and apply this to practice swings. Then you tee up a 7 iron and do the same move at half speed or less. Hold it when you have hit the shot and check for the feedback.
Too many people are just whacking balls hoping they magically happens one day. 30 years later they are still hoping. If you are working on this only work on this. Forget the ball and master the positions. Sure, some shots will be good but this is one piece of the swing. Until you put all pieces together you will not hit the majority of balls well.
Here are 3 things you can be doing:
Remember Series – Tilt and Turn: https://ignitiongolf.com/remember-series-tilt-turn/
Remember Series – Tilt and Lift: https://ignitiongolf.com/remember-tilt-lift/
Remember Series – Tilt and Roll: https://ignitiongolf.com/remember-tilt-roll/
You can also watch your downswing in a mirror. See your whole body tilted in the downswing and get used to this feeling.
Also:
Cures – Manually Tilt To Stop Pulling: https://ignitiongolf.com/manually-tilt-cure-pull/
DRILL: How To Feel the Body Tilt at Impact: https://ignitiongolf.com/how-to-feel-tilt-at-impact/
Impact Head Behind Ball: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-head
You can also do a swing analysis with Pete so he can make sure you are doing it right.
April 4, 2019
MichaelBarrettPaul,
I am compiling an Excel workbook that has different sheets on my favorite topics with hyperlinks to pertinent videos.
This one is front and center on my Playing Thoughts page. Old habits die hard and I constantly find myself reverting to hitting harder instead of swinging easier, particularly when playing with my buddies. This one is a jewel. For the time being, I am starting my day with a cup of coffee and this video. And I am committing to watching this video before playing or even going to the range. I am committing to using this thought even when doing my daily backyard practice swings.
Great stuff! Why oh Why? No one else out there is teaching this vital component of improving our games. No one but Paul Wilson.
Thanks
Mike
April 4, 2019
Paul WilsonMike,
Very good. You are totally into it which is a good thing.
No one has thought of a lot of this that is why they don’t teach it. When you stand there for going into 27 years and you actually car about making people understand the swing and get better you think of every morsel of the swing so new things come to you (this happens to me anyway).
October 2, 2020
MichaelBarrettPaul,
During COVID, I have been going to the range three times a week hitting two buckets with my SC200 launch monitor. I had fallen back into the trap of “hitting hard” and no doubt heavy use of my arms. A few lucky good ones but lots of pulls and pull-hooks indicating heavy arms usage.
I again watched one of your YouTube videos where you implore the viewer “give me one bucket” of swinging effortlessly with no arms. So I committed to it. The results were amazing. My best were slightly less than my “hit hard” number but they were all dead straight and much more consistent. My “hit hard” smash factor was always around 1.40. With “swing easy” it was very efficient at about 1.46 to 1.49.
The big takeaway was I left rested and refreshed versus tired and frustrated. My sessions usually take about 90 minutes and my Fitbit would show 60-80 minutes of activity (indicating a high heart rate). My “swing easy” session incredibly only showed 25 minutes of activity over the 90 minute session. A fraction of the prior effort with much better results.
I also like that you promise your swing will stay with us pain-free into a very advanced age. Already the older guys I play with swing twice as hard as I do and are 60-90 yards shorter off the tee.
Please Paul. Keep preaching. This “swing easy” mantra is the Rosetta Stone to the swing and you are the only guy out there preaching it.
Forever grateful,
Mike
October 4, 2020
Paul WilsonGreat to hear!!