Hi Alex, There are lots of people out there on RU-vid who claim to offer 'game changing' tips. However, this video was a REAL game changer for me. I now realise that, for the past 43 years, I have misunderstood the shoulder turn. I had one session at the range after watching this and then took the technique to the course and bingo, the light came on. Thank you. 👍
Albert D I watched this video 3/25/2022. I went to the driving range and tried your video. WOW. I then went and played I could not believe the difference in distance and accuracy. I am 77 years old and have never consistency hit the ball this well. Thank You
Thanks for the short swing videos. Approx 4 years ago I was playing off 14 with a short swing and got seduced by playing partner comments re how much further / better I'd hit id with a full swing. Well after 31/2 years of frustration and not enjoying golf, handicap had reached 19 and I decided to try and "rediscover" my old swing. There were not too many sites that spent any time on short swing golf and how to optimise it and I came across this website by chance. While still a work in progress, my handicap index is now back to 15 and I'm starting to hit better irons off my shorter swing. Videos like this realy help and I hope to continue improving my ball contact and power optimisation without having to overswing again. Keep up the great work of simplifying the golf game so that more people can not just play to their potential but can really just enjoy playing the game.
Thanks for the great videos. They are simple and easy to understand. My question is how to keep rear shoulder down in backswing. I have tendency to come over the top and slice.
This reminds me of how I used to swing before I “learned” a longer swing. I was way more consistent back then. I think I’m going back to this style. I’ll bet I’ll find the sweet spot more often. Thanks Alex. Good work you’re doing here.
I'm really enjoying your teaching! Refreshingly simple. I'm going to give it a try. I'm 76 and hoping against hope that I can play some decent golf while my body is still workable. Thanks ever so much for giving me new hope!
I will be 67 years old next month and have being losing distance and consistency due to stiffing body. Just tried your short back swing method on a practice range and I can’t believe the distance and accuracy it brought while feeling relaxed all the way. Looking forward to bring this swing to the course tomorrow :)
@@TheArtofSimpleGolf I may have made three or four extra greens in regulation by using the short back swing method. The whole game felt much less stressful. Thank you! Now only if I can miss fewer short putts...
73 yrs old and tackling this issue. I have been holding the Y from one of your previous lessons back and through and it is helping. So I will certainly try this in addition
Took this to the range last night and omg what a difference it has made to my swing. I'm normally over the top which causes me to hit out of the heel with at least 2 shanks a round. I use athletes foot spry on the club face when trying this trill and every ball was out the middle even some towards the toe which is unheard of for me. Alex thank you so much.
feel you pain tony...dont play the ball too far back/keep your head from moving sideways/on followthrough push your left hip back out of the way and finish left
Great lesson I use a short swing now that I’m a senior and suffered the yips with the driver now I have more control and consistency and longer distance so this works. I think most amateurs over swing and therefore inconsistent.
New to the channel.. love learning how to crush the ball with non effort just the proper sequence and coordination. All is spit on accurate and simple to lear. We done.
This is close to what my main problem is. I have lower back problems that prevent a full backswing. This is giving me some hope that I can make my short backswing more productive and consistent.
I call this stack and tilt. I think this is great for geezers like myself. I've been trying this the last couple of years and I do hit my irons more solid.
Great video! I like your towel example. The motion you are trying to convey is like “snapping” the towel, where the tip of the towel (analogous to the golf club) lags the arm motion that is holding the towel.
Alex where have u been !!! This is just awesome !! I can’t wait to try this !! I’m done with the full swing now this seems to be so much easier and more effective 😀 please keep up the awesome vids they are so helpful 😀😀😀
All my playing partners ask me how I hit it so long with such a short backswing I'm 56 and can still rotate further but I have found the short backswing helps my consistency it's actually longer than it feels
I've hit my best & longest shots with that loosening method. I think I didn't keep up with it as I was so focused on the distance my sequencing did match up as I thought I had to go even faster so I can go farther but that turned into frustration. I'm glad you posted this video so that I can focus on this method again starting with pitch shots and then work my way up.
This video addressed two swing fads I got caught up in - Stack and Tilt and the Nick Faldo preset drill. The Faldo drill has me presetting my wrists as the first move in the take away and swinging down the line, which works great but it is difficult to get any tempo when you stop to hinge the wrists in the take away. The stack and tilt inside move causes different problems, namely hooks and over draws, sending the ball left because of the single plane swing. Your video addresses pieces and parts of my faults and critiques both of my swing faults in a way that no other video has done before. I would love to hear your thoughts on whether we should be down the line in the take away like Faldo, or taking the club more inside like S&T.
We have some vendors of takeaway, but like this one covers a little, with flow and pressure, the ckub will be exactly where needs be without putting in anywhere
Great instruction for us short back swingers! What has always been more important to me than huge distances is the control I have with the shorter back swing. I struggle sometimes with the proper weight transfer and reverse pivot! This video has some keys that will help…thanks!
I have been looking at stack and tilt lately as a way to get solid contact on my irons. As an old guy, I just don't seem to be able to get my timing down with shifting weight and making big turns, plus I don't want to be practicing all the time. Golf would be much more fun if when I go to play I could depend on getting good contact on the ball and some decent distance. I like the method you're demonstrating.
i love the common sense and desire to simplify which you are extraordinarily good at. I do want to complicate your discussion of the backswing a little bit (as a fellow coach). I think you want to resist the idea of a tllt in the backswing in favor of the more accurate idea of a side bend. A tilt can be accomplished by moving the left shoulder towards the ground and by itself that does nothing to load any relevant muscle group. The key idea is a side bend which is a reduction in the distance between left shoulder and hip while not fundamentally lowering the pelvis much if at all. If the pelvis is moved closer to the ground it is through left knee bending. So the feeling is more of a crunch (left sided crunch) than a tilt which is very important because it maintains so much more of the overall structure of the body. The forward tilt at address is replaced by a combination of extension and a left side bend. That is what your swing illustrates perfectly. And it is why the backswing looks so centered. I would also add that it is not enough to side bend; it matters when in the backswing you do it in order to load the muscles and to extend them on the right side of the body. A golfer can usually sense the right time by trial and error. If it is too early as it is some rehearsals, you won't feel any loading of the muscle group; and if it happens too late much the same occurs and one has to fight to secure dynamic balance. I love the overall idea that rather than thinking of backswing as a turn or a rotation of any sort, the look which seems to be a rotation or turn is really the collateral consequence of winding up that is a kind of coiling or what Pete Cowen describes as a spiral staircase. it is the best way to achieve 90+ degrees of shoulder 'turn' or better thought of as having your back facing slightly to the right of the target and creating an appropriate hip movement and creating hip depth which is very important as well. But the movement must be dynamic which just means it is not about hitting a position, but about loading up muscle groups and creating potential energy. keep up the good work. where are you teaching these days if I may ask
Looking forward to this. Sounds interesting. I don’t have much flexibility owing to back problems and probably bad genetics so either this will be the solution or it’s off to Yoga classes lol
Thanks for this. I have used a shorter backswing for a while now. I'm not that old yet, but somewhere along the line I figured out that it goes just as far while decreasing variables. I still need some work though!
@@TheArtofSimpleGolf I tried some shots letting the wrist go back first and hit some really solid ones. Took a bit to get used to the timing but I think you're on to something there. I hit a drive 335 (it was dry and downhill) so us shorter backswing guys can hit bombs too! 🤣. Ask Jon Rahm. But joking aside I think I'm going to keep thinking about this, especially next time I can go hit a lot of balls. Thank you!
Great stuff once again. I'm lucky if I play 2-3 times a year at this point. Hope to get that to 6-12 times a year. I'll be turning 60 soon, and have never figured out how to take turf with my irons.
Thanks! Glad it resonated… it’s just to keep the sequence and use body with flow rather that stall the body and flip. Still need release through. It depends on flight of shot too
I think Alex and Padrig H. have a lot in common. I play decent golf for a senior and my focus is 100% on the quality of the strike .A little off line is ok with me as long as it is a solid strike Alex by the way , you are
Are you beating yourself up either trying to make a bigger backswing or frustrated at distances and consistency with your shorter swing? Let us know below. Get your free series here www.theartofsimplegolf.com/free
I golf once a week on a league, i`m a 12 handicap, not great, but I only play once a week, I am 60 years old now. I now find I do much better with the short backswing, when I am hitting the ball terribly my partner reminds me that I had the club way past my shoulder, way over my head, as soon as I get back to my 3/4 backswing, I play much better.
I'm going to give this a try out on the course today. I'm in my late 40's but my body is beat and I suffer from back pain. I can't get full rotation in my back swing and it's messing with my timing. I don't know if it's a body thing or a brain thing.
I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH how important this concept is. You will never, ever, generate club head speed with your arms. I used to watch my dad hit balls and was AMAZED how the ball EXPLODED off the the club head with just a TINY back swing! But you've got to have a supple grip and start moving your momentum forward BEFORE you complete the back swing. You swing with your HIPS!! NOT YOUR ARMS. You're arms are along for the ride, okay?
Would this work with driver and fairway woods? It seems easy with irons due to the weight of the club head but i have tried it with my driver and woods and it feels awkward because of the lack of weight in the club head. Maybe you can post a video trying to demonstrate this swing with a driver. Thank you !
You could be holding on the forward shaft lean too long or maybe even just ball position a little further back… or maybe staying too low through the shot and not extending up to finish Just some ideas that it could be
I played Wednesday, I've been working on a shorter backswing, i hit all my irons beautifully, crisp, as long if not longer than a full swing, however when i tried with my driver i was hitting it all over the place, one smothered low left, next big low pull hook, next way right in tree's, and last one high and nowhere. I switched to my 3 iron of the tee, was absolutely fine flew fairly low and a slight draw, guess I'm asking does it work with driver and what the set up would be using a shorter swing.
Well great for the irons well done! As for the driver... hard to know but it may be set up, or just shifting weight too low and forward. Imagine a wall in front of your left foot. The arms and club can go through it but not the body.
@@TheArtofSimpleGolf cool, I'll admit to only practicing with irons like this, I'll have a session at the range with driver and 3 wood, thanks do love your tips
Alex. At the top of the backswing where is the pressure? Is it on the right heel. You said 60 percent of the weight is on the left side at address.Does this stay the same even on the backswing. Im struggling to get this. How can the pressure be on the right heel on top of the backswing yet the weight is 60 percent on the left side John
Hi Alex, why is it that I'm pretty OK on the range, but really terrible on the course; slicing and topping my drives in a few tee shots, hitting behind the ball with my irons, hybrid and 3 woods , which do not often happen on the range? It's so frustrating. Please help
You need to be much more strict when you practice. Apply pressure, switch clubs every shot and targets. Play the 9 holes of your course on the range and choose the clubs and shots as a good assessment
You need to be much more strict when you practice. Apply pressure, switch clubs every shot and targets. Play the 9 holes of your course on the range and choose the clubs and shots as a good a estimate as you can. Bridge the gap
After experimenting with Dechambeau's ideas for the past six months, I have managed to reduce the number of variables to zero. Basically, my golf swing is now just a setup position - I never actually even attempt to hit the ball. Haven't hit a bad shot in those six months and am enjoying golf again, although I'm finding that it's not very good value for money. Also, I am struggling to find playing partners as my local club have introduced a 'time-out' rule over how long my 'shots' are allowed to take. It seems as though there will always be haters against those who discover 'the secret'.
This video has made me realize that my backswing is too flat. My shoulders are not tilted enough from time to time. And it's hard to tilt the shoulders correctly when you're flat going back.
I see you are a Ben Hogan fan also, I believe they where producing a great product for average golfers I was deeply sadden when heard they closed the door again,
@@TheArtofSimpleGolf Louisville Kentucky? I thought you was based here in England. Gutted! Guess I'll keep watching you on RU-vid. Either way, glad I've found you. Thank you man.
@@tonyguest581 well I’m from there are go back usually couple of times a year. Usually let folks know and do some sessions etc. Online lessons and coaching are available too :)
I changed my swing out of necessity I have bone spurs on my spine my irons are much longer and straighter I'm up about I club all thru the bag my driver I'm still working on it
Indeed:) Always work out.. just depends on the goal. Spent a few months getting bigger and not worrying about leaness. Metabolism was a little slow for past couple of years so had to do something to reset it as it were:)
@@TheArtofSimpleGolf used to watch your vids, just come back to you and could really see the difference in body shape, being someone who has lifted for 25 years and used to own my own gym business its clear to me, a lot of hard work, well done.
Hey so Mike Austin had a great drill for this: slip a rope through an eye hook or the like at floor level (think jump rope) and pull the rope back and forth through feeling the hip and shoulder turn.
Yes I have seen that. Like the lawnmower feel. I do see though that when many folks try that, the trail arm just pulls back too far behind getting stuck
