Hi Paul. This was helpful because I realize I’ve been breaking down the left arm to reach a point beyond parallel. Frequently, I can see the driver club head in the corner of my left eye and sort of sling it down from there, using my arms. I’ll concentrate on the shoulder turn and stop as soon as the shoulders stop turning and see what happens.
I have been unable to increase my club head speed by turning my hips faster. My backswing may be a little too long although I think I keep my left arm straight. Could this be why my club head speed is not going up?
Any other ideas or drills for increasing my club head speed?
A long backswing will have you pulling the club down with your arms. The harder you hit the tighter your wrists, the slower the club will swing. So you need to have the driver parallel on a 90 degree shoulder rotation.
Turning your hips faster is 1 way to increase speed. There are many others. Loose wrists would be the next thing. Keep in mind if you just increase your hips alone you will hit pushes and push fades because your release is not timed for a leg drive that hard. You need to watch this tip asap.
In the DASHBOARD there is a whole section on distance. On the original site there is a whole section on the distance. Just hover over the red navigation bar under SWING TIPS.
Greetings COACH I was pleased when you wrote play and not keep score because I did that very thing the next day after my disaster round,and when I play alone I never keep score.The result is like night and day.I agree,as you said, you are only looking for good shots.My struggle is taking that thought when I am in a group,it does happen now and then and I can feel it. THANKS PAUL
You just have to do it enough times that you can do it all the time. Keep doing the positions and take advantage of swing analysis with my assistant Pete. Can’t get a better deal than what he is offering right now. This way you will know exactly what to work on.
I think everyone has a phone with video. I would suggest you do a whole series of “freeze frame” positions so we can compare your positions with ours. E. G. Lag angle half way down, hand and club face position at impact. Hip rotation at impact. Heel position at impact, etc. It seems impossible to stop your videos to see where you are. I would like to compare my lag angle with yours half way down. I think I am casting too much. Not sure my hips are turning as much as yours at impact. All of that would be helpful. Enjoy your tips and have gotten a lot of improvement in length with the Driver (not with irons yet) I am committed at age 84 and still flexible to lower my handicap!! Anyway just a suggestion. Thanks for this tip.
There is a whole series on this called “Paul’s Swing”. Once you log in, please go to the search bar and type that in and you will see an entire series from all different angles of my swing. Here is the first one:
Well, I have a long back swing and to shorten it changes my timing i.e., the time from the top to impact. So how does one cope not only with shortening the swing but also the timing?
Roll your wrists and hook it first. Shortening your swing gets your body moving. Body affects direction, wrists affect spin. So you hook, hook, hook then shorten it up to get the body moving and straighten it out. To shorten it maybe takes 3 practice sessions. Done. Move on.
I notice when coiling a proper extended back swing near 90 degrees in a loaded position my upper body swings back spontaneously on plane without any conscious effort from the lower body. . . demonstrating the difference between swinging with the arms and letting the arms do what they want as a result of torque. Is it actually necessary to feel you are starting the down swing with the lower body?
You need to uncoil your spring (body). You do so with the bottom of the spring. If you are not uncoiling it with the lower you will not uncoil it as fast.
Above you referenced swing timing for distance. Can you review swing timing where your belt buckle should be at the time your club hits the ball and is there a thought you should envision that synchronizes the hip turn and where the club head should be as well as the release. I know this gets into too much or not enough lag, but sometimes I feel my body has turned to fast and the club lags to contact and I hit a weak shot, especially with the driver or the longer clubs
Paul, I am in my 70’s and I don’t go all the way back; probably that is because my shoulders might go back only 75 degrees. Now with irons, I noticed that a lot of pros don’t go all the way back at all. I’ve watched Bubba with his irons and he went back maybe half ways and hit the ball a good distance.
Yes, they are pros and are firing the lower body hard and fast. You are not a pro. You are not doing this. In the video I said when I do a short swing it takes everything I’ve got to get power this way. When I was younger I could do it too. Not anymore. It hurts and takes every ounce of energy I’ve got.
So if I have a hard time hitting it a long way with a short swing there is no way you are going to do it. For the sake of a couple of weeks of learning it you will have so much more power in the future.
Longer clubs create more momentum going back so they may be longer. Driver around parallel. Everything else a little shorter but you are not really thinking about it. You are coiling. Once you feel tightly coiled, you are at the top.
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20 Responses to “Power Leak Series – Backswing Length”
December 18, 2015
RonCalabreseHi Paul. This was helpful because I realize I’ve been breaking down the left arm to reach a point beyond parallel. Frequently, I can see the driver club head in the corner of my left eye and sort of sling it down from there, using my arms. I’ll concentrate on the shoulder turn and stop as soon as the shoulders stop turning and see what happens.
Thanks, Ron
December 19, 2015
Paul WilsonRon,
Yes, this is certainly too long. You may have to feel a 3/4 backswing to get it to parallel. In other words, over do it to get it just right.
December 18, 2015
BobShanteauI have been unable to increase my club head speed by turning my hips faster. My backswing may be a little too long although I think I keep my left arm straight. Could this be why my club head speed is not going up?
Any other ideas or drills for increasing my club head speed?
December 19, 2015
Paul WilsonBob,
A long backswing will have you pulling the club down with your arms. The harder you hit the tighter your wrists, the slower the club will swing. So you need to have the driver parallel on a 90 degree shoulder rotation.
Turning your hips faster is 1 way to increase speed. There are many others. Loose wrists would be the next thing. Keep in mind if you just increase your hips alone you will hit pushes and push fades because your release is not timed for a leg drive that hard. You need to watch this tip asap.
Golf Swing Timing For More Distance: https://ignitiongolf.com/timing-more-distance/
In the DASHBOARD there is a whole section on distance. On the original site there is a whole section on the distance. Just hover over the red navigation bar under SWING TIPS.
December 18, 2015
johnhoyleGreetings COACH I was pleased when you wrote play and not keep score because I did that very thing the next day after my disaster round,and when I play alone I never keep score.The result is like night and day.I agree,as you said, you are only looking for good shots.My struggle is taking that thought when I am in a group,it does happen now and then and I can feel it. THANKS PAUL
December 19, 2015
Paul WilsonJohn,
You just have to do it enough times that you can do it all the time. Keep doing the positions and take advantage of swing analysis with my assistant Pete. Can’t get a better deal than what he is offering right now. This way you will know exactly what to work on.
October 21, 2021
GaryMarpleI think everyone has a phone with video. I would suggest you do a whole series of “freeze frame” positions so we can compare your positions with ours. E. G. Lag angle half way down, hand and club face position at impact. Hip rotation at impact. Heel position at impact, etc. It seems impossible to stop your videos to see where you are. I would like to compare my lag angle with yours half way down. I think I am casting too much. Not sure my hips are turning as much as yours at impact. All of that would be helpful. Enjoy your tips and have gotten a lot of improvement in length with the Driver (not with irons yet) I am committed at age 84 and still flexible to lower my handicap!! Anyway just a suggestion. Thanks for this tip.
November 16, 2021
Paul WilsonThere is a whole series on this called “Paul’s Swing”. Once you log in, please go to the search bar and type that in and you will see an entire series from all different angles of my swing. Here is the first one:
Paul’s Swing – Front View: https://ignitiongolf.com/pauls-swing-front/
December 18, 2015
KenPerezWell, I have a long back swing and to shorten it changes my timing i.e., the time from the top to impact. So how does one cope not only with shortening the swing but also the timing?
Later, Ken
December 19, 2015
Paul WilsonKen,
Roll your wrists and hook it first. Shortening your swing gets your body moving. Body affects direction, wrists affect spin. So you hook, hook, hook then shorten it up to get the body moving and straighten it out. To shorten it maybe takes 3 practice sessions. Done. Move on.
December 18, 2015
PeterEspositoI notice when coiling a proper extended back swing near 90 degrees in a loaded position my upper body swings back spontaneously on plane without any conscious effort from the lower body. . . demonstrating the difference between swinging with the arms and letting the arms do what they want as a result of torque. Is it actually necessary to feel you are starting the down swing with the lower body?
December 19, 2015
Paul WilsonPeter,
You need to uncoil your spring (body). You do so with the bottom of the spring. If you are not uncoiling it with the lower you will not uncoil it as fast.
Uncoil 1: https://ignitiongolf.com/uncoil
Uncoil 2: https://ignitiongolf.com/uncoil-follow-up
December 19, 2015
RandyGormanAbove you referenced swing timing for distance. Can you review swing timing where your belt buckle should be at the time your club hits the ball and is there a thought you should envision that synchronizes the hip turn and where the club head should be as well as the release. I know this gets into too much or not enough lag, but sometimes I feel my body has turned to fast and the club lags to contact and I hit a weak shot, especially with the driver or the longer clubs
December 20, 2015
Paul WilsonRandy,
My hips are upwards of 45 degrees open at impact. Here are my hips at impact:
Impact Hip Rotation (at camera): https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-hip-rotation/
Holding Your Lag Angle Too Long?: https://ignitiongolf.com/hold-lag-too-long/
Timing:
Golf Swing Timing For More Distance: https://ignitiongolf.com/timing-more-distance/
Maybe those will help.
December 20, 2015
KennthBovaPaul, I am in my 70’s and I don’t go all the way back; probably that is because my shoulders might go back only 75 degrees. Now with irons, I noticed that a lot of pros don’t go all the way back at all. I’ve watched Bubba with his irons and he went back maybe half ways and hit the ball a good distance.
December 20, 2015
Paul WilsonKen,
Yes, they are pros and are firing the lower body hard and fast. You are not a pro. You are not doing this. In the video I said when I do a short swing it takes everything I’ve got to get power this way. When I was younger I could do it too. Not anymore. It hurts and takes every ounce of energy I’ve got.
So if I have a hard time hitting it a long way with a short swing there is no way you are going to do it. For the sake of a couple of weeks of learning it you will have so much more power in the future.
July 11, 2019
RICKOshanaShould the lead arm be straight with the full back swing?
July 16, 2019
JimBremhorstShould the length of the backswing be identical for every club on full shots? How do I prevent over rotating hips in my backswing?
July 20, 2019
Paul WilsonJim,
Longer clubs create more momentum going back so they may be longer. Driver around parallel. Everything else a little shorter but you are not really thinking about it. You are coiling. Once you feel tightly coiled, you are at the top.
Backswing Length: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-how-long/
Slack: https://ignitiongolf.com/slack/
July 20, 2019
Paul WilsonJim,
Stable lower body here:
How To Stabilize The Lower Body In The Backswing (belt buckle at ball): https://ignitiongolf.com/stabilize-lower-body/
Let’s Go Surfing: https://ignitiongolf.com/lets-go-surfing/
Flexed Back Knee: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-back-knee/
Back Knee Flex – Sit On A Chair: https://ignitiongolf.com/back-knee-sit-on-chair/
How To Feel Stability In The Lower Body (back knee flex) https://ignitiongolf.com/lower-body-stability/
Hips: https://ignitiongolf.com/turning-hips/
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/