How to Shorten Your Backswing in Golf

By Jamie Faidley under Swing

Most of the golfers I know dream of hitting the ball long off the tee, but in trying to maximize distance they pick up a lot of bad habits. One of those is lengthening their backswings more than their flexibility allows.

Ideally, the length of the backswing is determined by your shoulder and hip turn. Your arms, and therefore the club, should be in sync and stop going back when your shoulders stop turning.

So what are some common causes of overswing? The two I see are bending the right elbow and lifting the arms off of the body. Here is how to fix each.

If your elbow is bending past 90 degrees at the top of your swing, you are going too far. This will cause your hands to get too close to your head.

Have a friend hold a club at the spot where if you overswing, you’ll hit it. This gives you feedback for when you have taken your swing back too far.

If you lift your arms off the body after your shoulder turn has stopped, try putting gloves in your armpits. When you lift your arms the glove will fall down and you’ll know you didn’t keep them tight enough to your body.

When taking a long swing the possibility exists for your to pure one and hit it a long ways. However, by taking this more compact swing you will hit the ball more solidly and will be more consistent with your shots.