Great tip. I have been feeling like I was getting stuck and could not get back to the back without pushing or slicing the ball. I tried loosening my wrists more to compensate, but that resulting releasing too much or hard and snap hooking the shot. I believe you have hit on the problem I am having is over rotation of the hips, loss of power, and pushing the ball some. Yesterday, before reading this tip, I hit some good drives and short irons by feeling like I had turned my shoulders more while using a little wider stance. I did feel more tension due to torque of the shoulders relative the hip turn. Thanks for the good tip. Merry Christmas!!!!
Glad you liked it. As soon as you see these flaws showing up just check the DASHBOARD under CURES. All cures are listed there. I really want people to know how to fix their own swing.
Torque is very important in no only distance but consistency too. Keep feeling it on every full swing.
Using this Spring analogy to get your torque, when you unwind using your right foot do you further increase the tightening of the spring when moving your right knee towards your left knee. You at one point demonstrated using a headcover by turning it using it to look like a spring then you let it unwind but did you turn the bottom of the headcover to further tighten the spring when going in the opposite direction for the downswing At what point in the downswing using your lower body to initiate the turn would you say the spring starts to unwind toward impact.
Unwinding in the other direction compresses the spring to make it uncoil faster. Long drivers actually move in 2 directions at once compressing it further. You would be unwinding as the arms hit parallel to the ground. By then your hips are back to the ball and the shoulders are still coiled. Take a look:
Paul,
i can only echo what Larry said above. i felt there was a disconnect between my shoulders and legs and i may have asked you about it in an narticulate way, or maybe i didn’t fully understand your reply. In any event, this is brilliant. i can easily watch for this. All of the consequences of the problem that you mentioned are what i have been experiencing. i’m looking forward to implementing the change. By the way, i bought Pete’s video lesson as Christmas gift for myself. Come the new year, a better swing,
ter
Glad you got the video lesson from Pete. Funny how people would rather struggle than get us to look at it and make sure they are doing things right. Stay focused and it will be a great 2016.
Paul,
i still intend to get a lesson from the master, but with this i’ll be farther along so that you can improve my swing without having to start from scratch.
ter
Hey Paul. Brandle Chamblee writes on p.76 of the current Golf magazine his observations on the swings of the ‘old masters’ Nicklaus,Jones,Hagen,etc that they lifted their left front foot in the backswing to get more club speed presumably with the more primitively clubs aand recommends that more current average players adopt it. If you don’t have access to the mag I could scan this piece and send it along. I’d be interested in how this would affect your ‘coil’ thinking–. Pat
Like anything, times change. Back then we didn’t understand the golf swing as we do now. I am okay with the heel lifting a little but you cannot lose the ratio between the shoulders, hips, knees and feet. You need torque. You coil and uncoil. This gives you power and consistency.
He is telling amateurs to do that so they take a longer swing. If you do, you will get the arms in play and will continue to just whack at the ball with your arms. The things is, I guarantee you have hit one shot in your life 30-50 yards farther than any other shot and it felt effortless. Why not learn that swing. Oh yeah, I teach that swing.
Other advice: Never get lessons from Tour Players or Rocket Scientists. They have no clue what they are talking about. Unless you have taught tens of thousands or people you have no clue.
The left heel lift serves two purposes:rotate more ,and more important ,use better ground leverage in the forward swing by driving left heel and left leg into the ground ;
See the beautiful swings of MICKEY WRIGHT and GENE LITTLER ,US OPEN CHAMPIONS .
Paul,
I’m working on coiling first as I tend to coil while lifting, which is not consistent and has the club coming back on an upright path. I do this mainly with my longer clubs, such as the driver. Are there any videos which address this? If not should I do your video analysis I see on your website or is there something else?
You need to have the arms turned off at setup. Coil the shoulders until they letter Y between the arms and club pass the back leg. Once past this leg you need to hinge the club to the top until you train it to go up there. Sounds like you are lifting up too high so you may need to tuck the back armpit a little more. I like people to feel they can drop a grapefruit from under the armpit:
I’m really struggling with this
I’ve not once ever felt tight in the lat mussel
Doesn’t matter what I try my hips have hardly turned and I still don’t get it
I only feel tight in my back shoulder
Or end up with pain in my lower back
I’m not sure what to do
I’m at a loss with the game at the moment
It’s really beat me down!
Quit struggling. It’s not that hard. Coil your shoulders with a stable lower body. Feel it where you feel it just so long as it’s tight. I have had the odd person who feels it just above their right hip. This is until I grab their lower body and get them to crank the shoulders. Then they feel it in the forward lat. If it hurts you’re doing it wrong. Just slowly start to get it by stabilizing the lower and doing your backswing. At least this will start to get the lower body moving less. Get used to this then feel the flex in the back knee. By then it should be looking pretty good so you should start feeling the tighter coil. In other words just work on it in pieces and at a slower pace. You don’t have to do it all a once.
Paul,
i find when i coil back and get that tightness in my left arm, it is difficult to turn them powerless. Does turning them off come with repeated practice, or is there some way you figured out how to overcome this?
thanks,
ter
Hi Paul,
i watched the tip you suggested and i have come away with this conclusion: You are “locking'[ your shoulder from address to backswing to follow-through. When I look at Iron Byron i thought the arms were to be free at the shoulder like the wrists are free. So i would take the club back to where my shoulders stop and my arms would continue back to their natural stop. Then i start the uncoiling with my lower body. When i did it right, my arms followed in the uncoiling. What you are saying is the arms don’t go any further back than where the shoulders stop turning. If i have misinterpreted your teaching in this tip, then a bit more explanation is needed. Sorry to be a problem student.
thanks,
ter
You coil your body back. The arms starts moving. The club gets to about 3/4 back as you are still coiling. As you continue to coil you must also allow the wrists to fully hinge. By the time they do that you would have coiled approx 90 degrees or however far you can coil back. Once coiled you uncoil with the lower body the other way.
So the moral of the story is, I want you to coil back as far as you can coil back. This will differ from person to person. Some are tight some are more flexible. You need to find out how much you can coil back the the wrists fully hinged. Once you do, this is the top of your backswing.
When I see people with a backswing that is too short they rarely do this short backswing with wrists that are fully hinged. They sometimes just don’t coil back enough. When people do a long backswing they are looking for power in their arms. So they coil to the point they cannot coil anymore then they keep lifting their arms up. So the arms end up moving more than the shoulders told them to move. Now the arms have to pull down to catch back up to the shoulders resulting in hitting with the arms.
Find out how far you can coil until you feel this tight feeling. Fully hinge your wrists. At this point when you do both of these things you are at the top.
Hi Paul,
i guess i am not asking the question correctly. This is very important to get an answer for me, because i may have been doing this wrong for the past two years.
i understand about the wrists, that is not the problem. Do the arms swing back independently, or are they locked in place at address with the shoulders? i have seen you swing the club from side to side and the arms are relaxed, so i assumed that was the way they were in the swing. Please clarify because if i am doing it wrong i want to clean it up now. i tried a few shots with the arms locked to the shoulders and i couldn’t hit a thing. i topped them all.
thanks,
ter
My arms are connected to my body. I feel pressure under both armpits at address. I do nothing with my arms as I coil back. At 3/4 I still feel this pressure under the left armpit. My right is tucked and about 1″ from my side so there is no real pressure under this armpit. As the club continues to the top the left arm rides up the pec muscle but there is still pressure under this armpit. If you are not doing this at this point you could and would lift the club into position until it goes there on its own. People who swing back too flat would have to literally lift the club up into position for a couple of weeks until they have it mastered.
Hi Paul,
i watched all of those tips and the Stay Connected tip which really clarified it for me. i have been doing it wrong. i think at one time i was doing it right, but may have lost it trying to work on some other tip. Is there a conscious aspect to the lead arm rising up on the more upright swing or is it something that is a result of the back elbow becoming untucked?
thanks,
ter
If your swing was too flat you would consciously lift it up into position slightly above the shoulder line. Once you have trained it to go up there, it would go up there on its own.
You can either lift it or think of the back elbow. It’s up to you. I got in about 2 weeks after I tried a flat swing for a while.
Paul
Ineed something to help me quit peeking at my
Backswing i think it is making me get on my toes when i coil up help please some times i doulble swing
Also. just look at the label or a dimple on the ball as you go back. You need to see this as you hit the top. If you lose sight of it you are going too far back. Remember, it is supposed to be a tight coil as you go back.
Excellent basic lesson on the “torque ” and amount of torque to obtain .
To get the best out of the torque ,fix solidly the lower base of the spring into the ground .To do so ,brace the right leg immediately at address .and keep it braced when you turn ,then push off the right instep in the forward swing so as to plant energetically the forward left foot into the ground while pulling the left leg straight up (Or kicking the left cheek back ).You must use the leverage of the ground to get the best effect ;You can train the left leg bracing process by putting a golf ball under your right outstep. .40 years ago JIM Mc LEAN even Invented a”tilted shoe” to teach the bracing of the right leg
This is one tip I really like Paul and indeed when I follow your advice on the range I find my swing is so much better and I marvel the difference it makes ! My main difficulty is(,and I’m sure am not the only one)is that my lovely loose, effortless and fully coiled swing goes AWOL whenever I get onto the course. Is there any advice you might have which could help me with this situation please ?
You want to start by playing a few rounds of golf by your self, probably at the evening time when there are less people on the course. Keep 3 golf balls in your pocket and then if your first one doesn’t work then try a couple more but you have to try the effortless swing on the golf course. Go slower and then force yourself to do the new swing. You need to see for yourself and trust it on the golf course. When on the golf course there are consequences vs the driving range, so having the extra balls and not keeping score will allow you to focus on the swing not the result.
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30 Responses to “Power Leak Series – Backswing Coil”
December 20, 2015
LarryRobertsGreat tip. I have been feeling like I was getting stuck and could not get back to the back without pushing or slicing the ball. I tried loosening my wrists more to compensate, but that resulting releasing too much or hard and snap hooking the shot. I believe you have hit on the problem I am having is over rotation of the hips, loss of power, and pushing the ball some. Yesterday, before reading this tip, I hit some good drives and short irons by feeling like I had turned my shoulders more while using a little wider stance. I did feel more tension due to torque of the shoulders relative the hip turn. Thanks for the good tip. Merry Christmas!!!!
December 22, 2015
Paul WilsonLarry,
Merry Christmas Too!
Glad you liked it. As soon as you see these flaws showing up just check the DASHBOARD under CURES. All cures are listed there. I really want people to know how to fix their own swing.
Torque is very important in no only distance but consistency too. Keep feeling it on every full swing.
December 21, 2015
BruceJespersenUsing this Spring analogy to get your torque, when you unwind using your right foot do you further increase the tightening of the spring when moving your right knee towards your left knee. You at one point demonstrated using a headcover by turning it using it to look like a spring then you let it unwind but did you turn the bottom of the headcover to further tighten the spring when going in the opposite direction for the downswing At what point in the downswing using your lower body to initiate the turn would you say the spring starts to unwind toward impact.
December 22, 2015
Paul WilsonBruce,
Unwinding in the other direction compresses the spring to make it uncoil faster. Long drivers actually move in 2 directions at once compressing it further. You would be unwinding as the arms hit parallel to the ground. By then your hips are back to the ball and the shoulders are still coiled. Take a look:
Full Swing Top Down View: https://ignitiongolf.com/full-swing-top-view/
December 24, 2015
terrybadgerPaul,
i can only echo what Larry said above. i felt there was a disconnect between my shoulders and legs and i may have asked you about it in an narticulate way, or maybe i didn’t fully understand your reply. In any event, this is brilliant. i can easily watch for this. All of the consequences of the problem that you mentioned are what i have been experiencing. i’m looking forward to implementing the change. By the way, i bought Pete’s video lesson as Christmas gift for myself. Come the new year, a better swing,
ter
December 24, 2015
Paul WilsonTerry,
Glad you liked it. Thanks.
Glad you got the video lesson from Pete. Funny how people would rather struggle than get us to look at it and make sure they are doing things right. Stay focused and it will be a great 2016.
December 25, 2015
terrybadgerPaul,
i still intend to get a lesson from the master, but with this i’ll be farther along so that you can improve my swing without having to start from scratch.
ter
December 27, 2015
Paul WilsonTerry,
Just let me know if you can make it. It would be a pleasure working with you.
December 29, 2015
NoahShawI now realize that I turn my hips too much. What are some drills to stabilize my hips.
thanks.
Noah
December 29, 2015
Paul WilsonNoah,
This is very important. Here you go:
How To Stabilize The Lower Body In The Backswing (belt buckle at ball): https://ignitiongolf.com/stabilize-lower-body/
Flex Back Knee: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-back-knee
Flexed Back Knee Holding Knee: https://ignitiongolf.com/lower-body-stability/
Let’s Go Surfing: https://ignitiongolf.com/lets-go-surfing/
Less Movement Going Back Equals Better Shots: https://ignitiongolf.com/less-movement-going-back/
January 12, 2016
PatRobinsHey Paul. Brandle Chamblee writes on p.76 of the current Golf magazine his observations on the swings of the ‘old masters’ Nicklaus,Jones,Hagen,etc that they lifted their left front foot in the backswing to get more club speed presumably with the more primitively clubs aand recommends that more current average players adopt it. If you don’t have access to the mag I could scan this piece and send it along. I’d be interested in how this would affect your ‘coil’ thinking–. Pat
January 13, 2016
Paul WilsonPat,
Like anything, times change. Back then we didn’t understand the golf swing as we do now. I am okay with the heel lifting a little but you cannot lose the ratio between the shoulders, hips, knees and feet. You need torque. You coil and uncoil. This gives you power and consistency.
He is telling amateurs to do that so they take a longer swing. If you do, you will get the arms in play and will continue to just whack at the ball with your arms. The things is, I guarantee you have hit one shot in your life 30-50 yards farther than any other shot and it felt effortless. Why not learn that swing. Oh yeah, I teach that swing.
Other advice: Never get lessons from Tour Players or Rocket Scientists. They have no clue what they are talking about. Unless you have taught tens of thousands or people you have no clue.
July 19, 2019
RaymondCHASTELThe left heel lift serves two purposes:rotate more ,and more important ,use better ground leverage in the forward swing by driving left heel and left leg into the ground ;
See the beautiful swings of MICKEY WRIGHT and GENE LITTLER ,US OPEN CHAMPIONS .
April 17, 2016
MichaelFanninPaul,
I’m working on coiling first as I tend to coil while lifting, which is not consistent and has the club coming back on an upright path. I do this mainly with my longer clubs, such as the driver. Are there any videos which address this? If not should I do your video analysis I see on your website or is there something else?
April 17, 2016
Paul WilsonMichael,
You need to have the arms turned off at setup. Coil the shoulders until they letter Y between the arms and club pass the back leg. Once past this leg you need to hinge the club to the top until you train it to go up there. Sounds like you are lifting up too high so you may need to tuck the back armpit a little more. I like people to feel they can drop a grapefruit from under the armpit:
Elbow Position Backswing: https://ignitiongolf.com/elbow-position-backswing/
Too Flat: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-are-you-too-flat/
Headcover Under Which Armpit?: https://ignitiongolf.com/headcover-which-armpit/
Swing Plane – Upright or Flat?: https://ignitiongolf.com/swing-plane-upright-flat/
Those are the tips that should help. Flattening the backswing isn’t that tough.
I would certainly do a swing analysis. For $20 there is no guessing. Everyone should be doing them.
May 18, 2016
DavidCalvertI’m really struggling with this
I’ve not once ever felt tight in the lat mussel
Doesn’t matter what I try my hips have hardly turned and I still don’t get it
I only feel tight in my back shoulder
Or end up with pain in my lower back
I’m not sure what to do
I’m at a loss with the game at the moment
It’s really beat me down!
May 18, 2016
Paul WilsonDavid,
Quit struggling. It’s not that hard. Coil your shoulders with a stable lower body. Feel it where you feel it just so long as it’s tight. I have had the odd person who feels it just above their right hip. This is until I grab their lower body and get them to crank the shoulders. Then they feel it in the forward lat. If it hurts you’re doing it wrong. Just slowly start to get it by stabilizing the lower and doing your backswing. At least this will start to get the lower body moving less. Get used to this then feel the flex in the back knee. By then it should be looking pretty good so you should start feeling the tighter coil. In other words just work on it in pieces and at a slower pace. You don’t have to do it all a once.
July 23, 2017
terrybadgerPaul,
i find when i coil back and get that tightness in my left arm, it is difficult to turn them powerless. Does turning them off come with repeated practice, or is there some way you figured out how to overcome this?
thanks,
ter
July 24, 2017
Paul WilsonTerry,
Powerless arms is you not hitting or helping the shot with your arms. You are confusing this will floppy arms.
What Is Powerless Arms?: https://ignitiongolf.com/what-is-powerless-arms/
So you need to be more away coming down and not trying to help the shot.
July 25, 2017
terrybadgerHi Paul,
i watched the tip you suggested and i have come away with this conclusion: You are “locking'[ your shoulder from address to backswing to follow-through. When I look at Iron Byron i thought the arms were to be free at the shoulder like the wrists are free. So i would take the club back to where my shoulders stop and my arms would continue back to their natural stop. Then i start the uncoiling with my lower body. When i did it right, my arms followed in the uncoiling. What you are saying is the arms don’t go any further back than where the shoulders stop turning. If i have misinterpreted your teaching in this tip, then a bit more explanation is needed. Sorry to be a problem student.
thanks,
ter
July 25, 2017
Paul WilsonTerry,
You coil your body back. The arms starts moving. The club gets to about 3/4 back as you are still coiling. As you continue to coil you must also allow the wrists to fully hinge. By the time they do that you would have coiled approx 90 degrees or however far you can coil back. Once coiled you uncoil with the lower body the other way.
So the moral of the story is, I want you to coil back as far as you can coil back. This will differ from person to person. Some are tight some are more flexible. You need to find out how much you can coil back the the wrists fully hinged. Once you do, this is the top of your backswing.
When I see people with a backswing that is too short they rarely do this short backswing with wrists that are fully hinged. They sometimes just don’t coil back enough. When people do a long backswing they are looking for power in their arms. So they coil to the point they cannot coil anymore then they keep lifting their arms up. So the arms end up moving more than the shoulders told them to move. Now the arms have to pull down to catch back up to the shoulders resulting in hitting with the arms.
Find out how far you can coil until you feel this tight feeling. Fully hinge your wrists. At this point when you do both of these things you are at the top.
July 27, 2017
terrybadgerHi Paul,
i guess i am not asking the question correctly. This is very important to get an answer for me, because i may have been doing this wrong for the past two years.
i understand about the wrists, that is not the problem. Do the arms swing back independently, or are they locked in place at address with the shoulders? i have seen you swing the club from side to side and the arms are relaxed, so i assumed that was the way they were in the swing. Please clarify because if i am doing it wrong i want to clean it up now. i tried a few shots with the arms locked to the shoulders and i couldn’t hit a thing. i topped them all.
thanks,
ter
July 27, 2017
Paul WilsonTerry,
My arms are connected to my body. I feel pressure under both armpits at address. I do nothing with my arms as I coil back. At 3/4 I still feel this pressure under the left armpit. My right is tucked and about 1″ from my side so there is no real pressure under this armpit. As the club continues to the top the left arm rides up the pec muscle but there is still pressure under this armpit. If you are not doing this at this point you could and would lift the club into position until it goes there on its own. People who swing back too flat would have to literally lift the club up into position for a couple of weeks until they have it mastered.
Watch:
Connection: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-head-cover-armpit
Headcover Under Which Armpit?: https://ignitiongolf.com/headcover-which-armpit/
Back Elbow Position At The Top (grapefruit): https://ignitiongolf.com/back-elbow-position-top/
Elbow Position Backswing: https://ignitiongolf.com/elbow-position-backswing/
From the top down and through there is still connection under the armpits as my body is making my arms swing down and through.
Sounds like you should have Pete check out your swing. We do offer this service so you are not guessing. More info here:
http://paulwilsongolf.com/las-vegas-golf-lessons/swing-analysis/
Hope I explained for you.
July 28, 2017
terrybadgerHi Paul,
i watched all of those tips and the Stay Connected tip which really clarified it for me. i have been doing it wrong. i think at one time i was doing it right, but may have lost it trying to work on some other tip. Is there a conscious aspect to the lead arm rising up on the more upright swing or is it something that is a result of the back elbow becoming untucked?
thanks,
ter
July 30, 2017
Paul WilsonTerry,
If your swing was too flat you would consciously lift it up into position slightly above the shoulder line. Once you have trained it to go up there, it would go up there on its own.
You can either lift it or think of the back elbow. It’s up to you. I got in about 2 weeks after I tried a flat swing for a while.
July 18, 2019
chrisstitesPaul
Ineed something to help me quit peeking at my
Backswing i think it is making me get on my toes when i coil up help please some times i doulble swing
July 20, 2019
Paul WilsonChris,
Peaking in the backswing as in looking up as you go back. If so, this is you trying to relieve the tightness of the coil. Watch these tips:
Pros Know Its A Tight Coil: https://ignitiongolf.com/pros-know-tight-coil/
6 Things That Stop Torque: https://ignitiongolf.com/6-things-that-stop-torque/
Also. just look at the label or a dimple on the ball as you go back. You need to see this as you hit the top. If you lose sight of it you are going too far back. Remember, it is supposed to be a tight coil as you go back.
July 19, 2019
RaymondCHASTELExcellent basic lesson on the “torque ” and amount of torque to obtain .
To get the best out of the torque ,fix solidly the lower base of the spring into the ground .To do so ,brace the right leg immediately at address .and keep it braced when you turn ,then push off the right instep in the forward swing so as to plant energetically the forward left foot into the ground while pulling the left leg straight up (Or kicking the left cheek back ).You must use the leverage of the ground to get the best effect ;You can train the left leg bracing process by putting a golf ball under your right outstep. .40 years ago JIM Mc LEAN even Invented a”tilted shoe” to teach the bracing of the right leg
November 4, 2021
AndrewO'RourkeThis is one tip I really like Paul and indeed when I follow your advice on the range I find my swing is so much better and I marvel the difference it makes ! My main difficulty is(,and I’m sure am not the only one)is that my lovely loose, effortless and fully coiled swing goes AWOL whenever I get onto the course. Is there any advice you might have which could help me with this situation please ?
November 16, 2021
Paul WilsonYou want to start by playing a few rounds of golf by your self, probably at the evening time when there are less people on the course. Keep 3 golf balls in your pocket and then if your first one doesn’t work then try a couple more but you have to try the effortless swing on the golf course. Go slower and then force yourself to do the new swing. You need to see for yourself and trust it on the golf course. When on the golf course there are consequences vs the driving range, so having the extra balls and not keeping score will allow you to focus on the swing not the result.