What does Overswinging cause in golf? What are some ways to help fix it?

Many times people people confuse a long backswing with an overswing. I often here coaches trying to shorten a long swing telling a student to only go back 3/4 or 1/2. I believe this is the wrong approach and a bit of a conundrum. We have heard many of the great players talk about the importance of finishing ones back swing. An overawing is bad because something is breaking down.

3 signs of an overawing:

– The hands come apart as the clip is going back
– The elbows splay apart (usually in conjunction with hands coming apart)
– The trail arm bends more than 90 degrees

As a coach if I see one or all of these problems I will attack. I never tell a student to “shorten” their swing. I will do many things to widen the swing if it is breaking down. Some things to try:

– Place a dime on top of the lead hand thumb and cover and hold it in place with the pocket of the top hand and keep from letting it fall out while hitting balls. This teaches the all important connection of the two hands. Feeling the opposing forces between the two hands as if wringing water out of a towel is so important for backswing structure and clubface stability.
-Feeling the elbows squeezing together as the swing nears the top helps create structure.
– Feeling the trail arm staying straighter at the top will usually widen the swing and actually only allow that arm to bend 90 degrees. Inflating a child’s “swimmy” and placing on the trail elbow is a great training aid to keep the trail arm wide.

If you have good arm structure, proper hand connection and width, go ahead and take that club back and finish your backswing.

Ever feel like your swing is out of SYNC? If so, it’s typically because your arms and body are out of SYNC due to the arms overswinging on the backswing.
Understand that the arms really don’t swing on the backswing–they raise slightly, the trail elbow folds, but no more than about 45′, and the arms also rotate slightly clockwise (right hand golfer) which is the way they are designed to work. The rotation of the body moves the arms/club and gets them around but not behind the body.

For most folks the swing is moved and controlled from the “inside out”–think of a merry go round–the motor (your chest) in the middle rotates and moves the horses (your arms) on the outside.

This is one of the hardest things to fix in a golf swing for a couple of reasons:

1. Unless you are videoing every swing you can’t see it. And what feels right is not!
2. The perception that a longer swing is more powerful and it’s really not.

The best way to fix this is by making a lot of lead arm only swings with the club upside down (grip the head end and swing the grip end) in front of a mirror. With rotation of the chest, a slight raising of the lead arm while keeping it straight, you’ll find that when the chest stops turning the arm will stop swinging. Stop at the top then add your trail arm to the shaft and check the position. You’ll see something that looks like the picture of John Rahm that I’ve attached. The result will be a much shorter, “tighter” backswing with very little trail arm bend and a lot of width. The swing will get a little longer than this when gripping the grip end, but it doesn’t need to get much longer or you’ll OVERSWING.

In the attached picture of John Rahm look at how his shoulders have turned 45′ in the second frame and how straight both arms are. Then in frame three the shoulders and chest have continued to turn to about 80′ and the arms are still fairly straight, now the wrists are starting to hinge. At the top he’s fully WOUND and the swing looks short but it’s not because he doesn’t allow the trail elbow to fold as much as many other players. The entire sequence is dictated and moved from the inside out and the arms DO NOT OVERSWING.

An over swing in golf can cause many issues, with the biggest issue being inconsistency. From my view an over swing is when someone moves laterally off the golf ball or shifts their weight so much to the trail leg that the weight gets on the outside of the back foot.

The collapse of the trail side knee is another common sign of a over swing. Once that occurs it is very difficult to make consistent swings and the ball flight can suffer in many different ways and paths.

When discussing an over swing the balance, temp, correct timing all suffer as a result.

I hear many students tell me that they over swing because their swing is too long and I do not think a long swing is a bad thing. A longer golf swing can often translate into a very successful long career and that is often seen on the Professional Tours. A long swing that stays in balance and does not move the player off the ball or over shift their weight to the outside of the trail foot can be a very good thing.

Take a practice swing , stop at the top of your backswing . Now swing the club down and through the hitting area.. smooooth ! That’s tempo ! Practice swings should be at 50% speed and actual swings 75%. ( we all know one will actually add 10% when they go to hit the ball) Always remember to swing in balance. If you’re losing your balance after you strike the ball , you’re swinging too fast. Tempo is what a good swing is all about !!!!!

Overswinging is the “cancer” of the golf swing…The best way to fix it, is to swing the club like a 90-year-old person…The only way to stop it…It’s going to take some patience and discipline…Find a PGA instructor and tell them what I just told you…

Over Swinging and how we can Fix It.

1st, if you go to a Driving Range with a Friend have them stand behind you and hold an alignment (if you have) off your back shoulder and you want to just want to touch it. At home stand against the wall make a back swing (with just your hands) you want your hand to touch the wall.

Also try this one start at address with a golf club (7or6iron), rest the SHAFT on Back Shoulder, TURN, Lift and push your Hands away from your Head/ shoulders.