No Backswing Backswing

[BrianW]

Take a look at this article , especially the video link on the page. I think this will have a lot of merit for those that are hitting inconsistently.

The No-Backswing Golf Swing | Instruction | Golf.com

[TeachingPro]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

Hmmm, that drill has been around for a long time and I use it quite a bit with students who struggle with timing the transition and of course to help students get into the correct position at the top.

But: actually using it in play is interesting. I don't see why not... The only down-side I see is a significant loss of power but for those who struggle with consistency, there are benefits to it too and as the article says new equipment is less-and-less reliant on power.

For someone who really can't complete the backswing or the transition correctly, sure - I don't see why they shouldn't use it.

[TeachingPro]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

Thinking about it now, there is another benefit:

Players who simply can't get the nerve to take the club away - just setup at the "top", pump to create some power and lag and then down into impact.

Hmmm, it never crossed my mind to take it from the lessons environment to a playing environment before but for some players, I think it's great.

[BrianW]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

Yes I can see their point that it almost eliminates fanning the club, taking it outside, opening or closing the face etc on the back swing. Just start from the takeaway, pump the shoulders round to 90 degrees and come back down.

[Timothy Slaught]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

Hello All:

This theory is very similiar to the age old pump drill advocated by most of the high profile instructors such as Leadbetter, Smith, Harmon & McClean.

The premise of getting in to a solid backswing position to start is a good one and it is practical to rehearse all correct golf positions in a static and slow motion fashion to acquire the correct feel. This is why you see top players rehearse these positions at times during the round or in pre-shot routines.

I really do not believe that many will begin to play from the top of backswing position. Still, it makes sense to practice from this position because we can form a technically correct position from which to move into impact. Once we learn what this proper top of backswing position is and ingrain it, we can learn the next step which is how to get from a correct set-up position to that good backswing position we learned.

It is true that much can, and does go wrong to get from set-up to the top. Generally it is a timimg issue for the better player as they usually have good fundamentals to begin with. This disconnect of the arm and body swing can be corrected with the No Backswing drill because when using this method the armswing and body rotation is matched automatically. It clearly proves that the more syncronized we are to the top, the more reliable we will be into transition from a timing standpoint.

For the higher handicap, the No Backswing theory can correct many flaws as well. With this level player, body angles, most importantly the correct pivot can be a addressed as well as the correct bend of the right wrist and arm at the top. Timing which is also an obstacle to the average player is corrected as stated above.

Instead of thinking toward using the No Backswing on the course, try the benefits in practice and integrate it with a correct move to the top as you gain a better understanding. The backswing motion does not need to be delibrate or slow per say. You just need to match up your swing so the club reaches the top as you complete the arm swing and shoulder turn. The tendency is to mismatch these speeds and the club invariable moves out of position at the top (across the line and, or past parallel) as the arms continue to move well past the shoulder turn. The No Backswing drill helps this timing issue greatly.

[BrianW]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

It's not promoted as a drill but as a way to play. The idea is not to start at the top and then come down, it is to set yourself in the halfway back position then pump the shoulders round to a full shoulder turn (No lifting)then straight into the downswing. This is somewhat different to the pump drill.

[Timothy Slaught]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

Brian:

Yes, I have the magazine, saw the video, bought the t-shirt.....not.

I realize that this is not the Pump drill per se but a very close facsimile.

I understand that the magazine promotes this as a new way to swing but if I were a betting man....and I am....I bet this will not catch on as a new radical way to swing on the course. I personally think it has great merit however as a drill.

As my wife tells me constantly.....I will probably be wrong... in my prediction of the "No Backswing" golf revolution...and many other things but golf is rooted in tradition and we traditionally set up to the ball in the accepted position and it has been this way for hundreds of years. There is a reason for this.

On the same topic, Moe Norman, perhaps the most consistent ball striker to play the game started his swing from about a 18 inches behind the ball.
He claimed this was the most effecient startig point for the gofswing.
Ryan Moore, on the US PGA Tour actually starts his swing with the old Seve Ballesteros drill where he has the clubhead cocked straight up from the ball and from there moves to the top in this pre-cocked position. Maybe we will see some more outside the box methods in the future.

However you do it is still a matter of how many...not how.


Tim S

[slater170]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

not for me!
want to play the game as intended not using a practice drill swing!

[ubizmo]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

I'd play this way in a New York minute if I could make it work. But I've tried it, and find it very difficult to hit the ball this way. In fact, I find it hard to believe that it can correct 70% of swing flaws.

It seems to me that the "no backswing" is really an interrupted backswing. You take the club back--that's a backswing--then you stop and make sure it's in position. Then you pump it a little higher and swing. The trouble with this, when I do it, is that the interruption makes it very likely that my spine angle is going to drift one way or another. But I guess others have a better experience with it.

I don't actually see why it would cause a loss of power. The final hoist of the club should provide the same coiled tension as the conventional backswing. If I could manage to strike the ball cleanly this way, I'd certainly give it a try in actual play.

[BrianW]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

I'd play this way in a New York minute if I could make it work. But I've tried it, and find it very difficult to hit the ball this way. In fact, I find it hard to believe that it can correct 70% of swing flaws.

It seems to me that the "no backswing" is really an interrupted backswing. You take the club back--that's a backswing--then you stop and make sure it's in position. Then you pump it a little higher and swing. The trouble with this, when I do it, is that the interruption makes it very likely that my spine angle is going to drift one way or another. But I guess others have a better experience with it.

I don't actually see why it would cause a loss of power. The final hoist of the club should provide the same coiled tension as the conventional backswing. If I could manage to strike the ball cleanly this way, I'd certainly give it a try in actual play.

Todd

I agree with their thinking that a great deal of swing flaws take place during the first phase of the back swing, if you can get to the half way back position with the club on plane then you have a good chance of keeping it correct.

You should not lift to the top from here though, you should only pump your shoulders round to 90 degrees then start down. It's not supposed to be a panacea for all faults but should be able to eliminate many common ones.

If playing badly I always look first to my takeaway, the problem is often there.

[bill reed]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

hi
there use to be a pro played like that in the 70s and 80s, think it was G Bland or G Brand on the uk tour.
he would pause at the top looked strange but it worked for him.
bill

[BrianW]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

Brian:

Yes, I have the magazine, saw the video, bought the t-shirt.....not.

I realize that this is not the Pump drill per se but a very close facsimile.

I understand that the magazine promotes this as a new way to swing but if I were a betting man....and I am....I bet this will not catch on as a new radical way to swing on the course. I personally think it has great merit however as a drill.

As my wife tells me constantly.....I will probably be wrong... in my prediction of the "No Backswing" golf revolution...and many other things but golf is rooted in tradition and we traditionally set up to the ball in the accepted position and it has been this way for hundreds of years. There is a reason for this.

On the same topic, Moe Norman, perhaps the most consistent ball striker to play the game started his swing from about a 18 inches behind the ball.
He claimed this was the most effecient startig point for the gofswing.
Ryan Moore, on the US PGA Tour actually starts his swing with the old Seve Ballesteros drill where he has the clubhead cocked straight up from the ball and from there moves to the top in this pre-cocked position. Maybe we will see some more outside the box methods in the future.

However you do it is still a matter of how many...not how.


Tim S

Tim,

I will not use this method myself as I don't think I need it. I can think of a number of people that it would help though, I see so many people with inconsistent swings caused during the initial phase of the backswing.

Slats,

The game was intended to hit the ball to the hole in the shortest number of strokes. If this helps some people then all power to it, even if they only use it until they gain a better understanding of the backswing positioning.

[kevinhendrix]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

We are doing a hammering thing around impact with the club onto ball......when would you ever begin hammering something, i.e. a nail into a post with the hammer already at the top waiting to come down attacking the nail.......never

There is also no correct position at the top of the swing to be in.......as many players have demonstrated playing at the highest level of the game...

kevin mcdonald pga

[BrianW]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

We are doing a hammering thing around impact with the club onto ball......when would you ever begin hammering something, i.e. a nail into a post with the hammer already at the top waiting to come down attacking the nail.......never

There is also no correct position at the top of the swing to be in.......as many players have demonstrated playing at the highest level of the game...

kevin mcdonald pga

Kevin,

1) This method is nothing to do with hammering or 3skills golf

2) If you read the article it does not ask you to start at the top of the backswing, it starts at the halfway back position then gets you to pump your shoulders on to a full turn then start down.

3) Taking the club away to the inside, the outside or rolling the wrists are cardinal sins in the golf swing. The clubface should stay square to your body.

4) There is a correct position for the clubface at the top and that is not too open or shut. OK, some top players have had quirky swings and make compensations to correct them, good on them! Would you suggest to someone learning that they paid no attention to how they position the clubface at the top?

5) I would not disagree that people play their best round of golf without a head full of swing thoughts, that's not the point! You need to get yourself in a reference position to start your swing, once you are there then you swing away. Does your 3skills method of training not put swing thoughts into peoples heads?

6) Finally: I have ordered your "Nail it" book Kevin and look forward to reading it with an open mind, maybe you can also open your mind when considering something a little different. I take it you never wrote the book, Amen to that!

[bill reed]

Re: No Backswing Backswing

hi kevin
i dont see how the hammering a nail into a post has anything to do with the golf swing. if you use a hammer you use your hand, wrist and arm only. no hips movement or weight shift from foot to foot. you would never try and use your golf swing to hit a nail into a post so i dont see how one relate's to the other as there so diffrent. the only thing i see wrong with the stop and pump swing is that you have a pause in your timing and rhythm, but i have used leadbetters interactive and used the punp swing with a 5 iron and did not lose any distance and i did feel like i was in more control on the down swing. but i would not feel cumfortable playing every shot like that but if i can hit the ball well like that then almost anyone can.
bill