Is My Back Swing Too Short?

[Mark.c]

Hi there,

I am getting back into golf after a fairly long break and I'm trying to work on my swing. I a hitting the ball straight (most of the time) and I'm happy with my distance in general. When I took a video of myself I realised that I have a pretty short back swing. I have tried to lengthen it but it's just not very comfortable (I'm not very flexible) and I don't notice much change in distance. Is it a problem to have a shorter back swing, should I try and lengthen it and hope that its becomes more comfortable for me or is it ok as it is if I'm not struggling with the flight of the ball and distance?

Any advice on the back swing on any other aspect of my swing would be GREATLY appreciated Oh and not sure if it's helpful, this was with an 8 iron.

https://youtube.com/shorts/hk-lAwXEV8M?feature=share

 

[Blue in Munich]

There’s a fella here with a short backswing, doesn’t seem to have done too badly for himself;

The ball doesn’t care how long your backswing is. If you can repeat that motion consistently and generate enough speed using it then your backswing is long enough in my book.

 

[BridgfordBlue]

By no means an expert but nothing wrong with a short backswing if you’re happy with the distance and the direction! Looks like you’ve got a very strong grip but if you’re returning it square then I wouldn’t mess with it.

Only thing I’d say is you look like you’re gripping the club very low, you’ll be giving up some potential distance because of that.

 

[bobmac]

Only make a change to fix a fault.
If you're happy with distance and direction, don't fix it.

 

[Mark.c]

There’s a fella here with a short backswing, doesn’t seem to have done too badly for himself;

The ball doesn’t care how long your backswing is. If you can repeat that motion consistently and generate enough speed using it then your backswing is long enough in my book.

Thank you so much, this is a great video. Its nice to know im not the only one, and he's not bad either

The slowmo is so useful as i noticed how much more he is leading with his hips than i am. im striking the ball and then my hips are following. Thanks for the reply, its really helpful and gives me something to work on.

 

[Mark.c]

By no means an expert but nothing wrong with a short backswing if you’re happy with the distance and the direction! Looks like you’ve got a very strong grip but if you’re returning it square then I wouldn’t mess with it.

Only thing I’d say is you look like you’re gripping the club very low, you’ll be giving up some potential distance because of that.

Thank you for the reply. its so useful to get others opinions as i guess we are always too critical of our swings. Also as im fairly new its hard to know what is just "different" to what i see from others swings and what is generally wrong / a bad habit that will hinder my progress. Ill definately play around with lossening my grip a little as see what happens, i agree about how low my grip is as well, i guess im losing club length which is giving me less speed and distance as you mentioned. Many thanks!

 

[Blue in Munich]

Thank you so much, this is a great video. Its nice to know im not the only one, and he's not bad either

The slowmo is so useful as i noticed how much more he is leading with his hips than i am. im striking the ball and then my hips are following. Thanks for the reply, its really helpful and gives me something to work on.

You’re welcome.

 

[FuzzyDuck]

I play with a senior that can only half swing but still seems to launch the ball a mile. He was the first person I ever saw reach our long par 4 in 2.

 

[Orikoru]

You definitely don't need a long backswing, especially if it means you then struggle to strike the ball well. I purposely shortened my backswing a number of years ago and started striking it better. You don't lose too much distance if the tempo and strike are good. Rahm is the perfect example as shown above.

 

[Region3]

Ill definately play around with lossening my grip a little as see what happens

Before you end up watching your club fly down the range, I think he meant strong as in your hands more clockwise on the grip than is considered ‘neutral’.

If you search YouTube for strong vs weak golf grip or something like that you should find something that explains it better than I could.

 

[BridgfordBlue]

Before you end up watching your club fly down the range, I think he meant strong as in your hands more clockwise on the grip than is considered ‘neutral’.

If you search YouTube for strong vs weak golf grip or something like that you should find something that explains it better than I could.

Yep exactly that. I wouldn’t mess with it though if it’s giving you consistently good results.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

If you can make the ball do what you want it to do (i.e. fade, straight or draw) then No, your backswing is not too short. BTW in my thinking how FAR I hit the ball is secondary to my developing the skill of hitting the ball.

 

[Doh]

Looks to be short simple swing l like it.i notice that there is not much shoulder turn which could be a reason why you have a short swing.Thats just a observation if you are happy leave it alone.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Rather than trying to lengthen the swing, why not try to become less stiff and more mobile

This guy and the ETPI guys are worth a follow

https://twitter.com/x/status/1588878341159161856

 

[Deleted member 23270]

One thing I would maybe look at is your posture. You have your weight very much back on your heels and it looks like your balance might be slightly off.