Three Quarter Swing V Full Swing

[Jensen]

A mate of mine who plays off 5 said I would be better using a three quarter swing instead of my current full swing. He said that I would have more control of my golf ball. He said that after the three quarter point the club then has a long way to play catch up on the downswing and more things can go wrong.

Well I played twice at the weekend shooting Net 73 on Saturday using Full Swing, Par 71, in better weather conditions. Then on Sunday shot Net 71 using Three Quarter Swing in worse conditions, meaning I played to my handicapp of 16. However I feel Sunday could have been even better had it not been for stupid chips from 20 yards into bunker and also getting used to the Three Quarter Swing.

I felt that I faded some shots a bit more on Sunday as I was focusing so much on stopping at Three Quarters that on the downswing I didn't really complete the swing and in addition my right hand did not come on top to square the face up as I was so focused on stopping at the Three Quarter Point.

In honesty I felt that I did strike the ball better when I fully committed to shots on Sunday.
My mate said that not all pros do a full swing and notice that Eduardo Molinari, Steve Stricker and Comillo Villegas only have Three Quarter Swings.

I know that my post may have answered my own question, but I would be interested to hear other members comments/thoughts. In addition what method do you adopt ie Half Swing, Three Quarter or Full Swing

Cheers

 

[dufferman]

I've also been told this - I have lessons and have been told that not only does it give me more control and accuracy, but actually I'm barely losing any distance. It's worth sticking with and seeing how it affects your game in the long run.

Did you notice a loss in distance?

 

[Ethan]

This is common advice for the many amateurs who overswing (like me) and sometimes lose control of the clubhead. With a 3/4 swing you still make a full shoulder turn but you probably stop some looseness in the wrists creeping in and you give yourself a better chance of making solid contact. I am planning to try to make some swing changes over the winter, with a 3/4 swing to a flat wrist position followed by a downswing led by the lower half with relatively passive hands.

 

[bobmac]

I think your mate was talking about a 3/4 backswing
Try that with a normal length follow through and see if it's any better.

 

[Minhoca]

I think your mate was talking about a 3/4 backswing
Try that with a normal length follow through and see if it's any better.

This is correct. 3/4 backswing to full follow through and balanced finish. Short follow through is for low trajectory shots.

 

[BoadieBroadus]

anything that stops a mid to high hcap golfer from thinking he has to swing as long and as hard as he possibly can will generally reap huge benefits score wise. i had great success bringing my handicap down from 18 to about 11 with a slightly shorter swing. It doesn't really cost all that much distance, but i was relentlessly straight all season...

now i'm working on getting that extra bit of turn while still feeling in control and continuing to see improvement...

 

[Jensen]

Did you notice a loss in distance?

Not really strangely some shots might have been a bit longer, but too early to confirm. Plan to stick with it and see how it pans out.

Thanks for all your input.
Cheers

 

[Jensen]

I'm gonna go to the range tomorrow and look at that this three quarter lark a bit more tomorrow.

 

[joe nustedt]

I'm a high handicapper and find a shorter swing results in more accuracy and further distance. My problem lies in once that I've hit a few good shots I start increasing the swing again trying to get a bit more out of it...

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I've been working on not turning so much with the hips. I still turn but it feels to me as though I'm not. A full turn of the arms against a firmer base gives me a better contact. It is starting to stop that overswing and lift in my swing that those that have seen it on video will know is one of several big issues

 

[Jensen]

Well I went to the range today and tried this three quarter swing lark. Admittedly the swing is probably a bit more than three quarters, but I keep the wrists firmer at the top to stop the club going to parrel, and the results were impressive. I found the strike was so much cleaner and true, the club was striking the mat and I was getting that right crisp sound of ball then mat. The mark left on the face was more around the middle and I found no loss of distance.
The later shots weren't as good but I did hit 100 balls at the range which led to rangeitest, ie quicker tempo with less thought more going through motions
On the whole I was impressed and will now swing like this on the course. I certainly had more control.

 

[6inchcup]

i have only ever had a 3/4 swing from being a nipper and got down to low single figures,not as long a most but straight and true, the golden rule is tempo,nice and smooth with a full follow through and balanced finish the loss of distance is compensated for by keeping the ball in play.

 

[Jungle]

I converted tonight.

I was fed up trudging over to the other fairway to retrieve my wayward drives so implemented a shorter backswing. Bingo, hit the next four fairways ( the correct ones for a change.) I was still trying to have a full follow through aswell.

Finished the night on the 10th a 333 yard par 4. Tee shot right up the middle, a pitch onto the green and an easy two putt. Normally I'm trying to scramble over tree lines etc.

I'm a believer!!

 

[thecraw]

I had a lesson last week where I was told to shorten my backswing. I swung to what I thought was 3/4. On camera it was parallel even though it felt miles shorter too me. Its harder than you think to put in a controlled 3/4 backswing when your already swinging past parallel!

 

[bobmac]

I had a lesson last week where I was told to shorten my backswing. I swung to what I thought was 3/4. On camera it was parallel even though it felt miles shorter too me. Its harder than you think to put in a controlled 3/4 backswing when your already swinging past parallel!

Totally agree.
Which is why I use video and my laptop for all my lessons now.
Sometimes it's the only way some folk will believe what they are actually doing

 

[chrisd]

I feel that mine is now a half swing and I know that it is a 3/4 position in reality and that is where I get the best control with no loss of distance because the contact is better.

 

[ScienceBoy]

I use my laptop for all my lessons now

Mainly to play solitaire while they swing away right?

 

[m9wst]

recently joined the forum, so hi, i had a lesson last week and this is exactly what i got told too, didnt realise until i saw the the slo-mo video how much past parallel my club went (especially the driver) few slightly odd drills later and asks me to make a half swing and then shows me on the screen and the club is past a half swing but not quite parallel, surprised me a bit, but no complaints from me, if anything i've gained distance because i had a very early release causing my shots to fly very high. just need to remember i dont need to take the skin off the ball for it to get there. for what its worth i would recommend trying it, plenty of tour pros to look at...stricker, dufner etc

far more technical first post than i intended...cherry broken.

Westy

 

[MadAdey]

I am in the 3/4 swing way of playing. But like has been said if people actually looked at their club position at the top of the swing they would see that they do actually get close to parallel when they think they take a 3/4 swing. I was always taught it is better to have control over the club when hitting irons rather than going for distance. At the end of the day you have 14 clubs in the bag so there is no excuse to be taking a swipe at the ball, if a 3/4 swing is not eneought then hit one more.