Golf vs Baseball Swing (Complete Overview)

Written by Todd in Online Golf Instruction

Many kids are fortunate enough to play baseball growing up.  Not as many people are fortunate enough to start the game of golf at an early age.

If you have played baseball as a kid and are now taking up golf, you have an advantage.  There are many similarities between the golf and baseball swings.

It was once thought that the baseball swing would mess up your golf swing, but with the high speed cameras available and tools like launch monitors, we are able to have a better understanding of what is taking place in both swings.

In fact, playing baseball will help not only with your hand eye coordination, but certain positions are pretty similar in both swings.

Let’s dive right in and look at the similarities and differences in the Golf swing vs the baseball swing.

Golf is becoming a more athletic sport. The golfers on the professional tours have much more athletic looking than in the past. Many former athletes, including former baseball players are now taking up the game!

Golf vs Baseball Swing

What are the similarities between the golf and baseball swing?

The golf and baseball swing both have a load, a proper swing sequence, a pressure shift, an impact position and a release.  Although completed at different heights, both swings have a lot in common.

5 Similarities in Golf vs Baseball Swing:
  • The load
  • Swing sequence
  • A pressure shift
  • Impact position
  • The Release

Golf vs Baseball Swing Similarities: The Load

Both the golf swing and the baseball swing have an element or time when the athlete either takes a backswing in golf and loads up in baseball by having a slight rocking back onto the back leg.

The similarities between these two is that the weight or pressure will shift to the inside of the back leg in both swings.  This sets the golfer and the baseball player up for an explosive move.  In both sports, the overall speed of the swing is vital.  If you can’t swing fast enough it is difficult to create enough ball speed to either fly towards the hole or to get through the infield.

On this load in both sports, the weight will shift to the inside of the right leg as the shoulders get into a position to deliver the bat to a quality point at contact.  Without the proper load in either sport, the athlete will have a little chance of having enough speed or poor sequencing and timing.  In both sports, the timing and sequence is vital to the overall success.

Golf vs Baseball Swing: The Swing Sequence

Now that the golfer and the baseball player are loaded up and ready to start the swing, the swing sequence becomes very important.  The proper swing sequence helps with timing, delivers the bat or golf club with consistency and helps produce enough power to play the sport.

The swing sequence in both starts from the ground up.  High speed video will show the feet and legs starting as the baseball player loads back or the golfer nears the top of the backswing.  While this might feel different from golfer to golfer, the reality is that the swing starts from the ground up.

As the feet set, the legs move which starts the hips clearing out.  From there the upper body is able to fire and turn open to deliver the arms and hands to the desired position at impact.  If the golfer or baseball player improperly fires the sequence their chances of success diminish as solid contact and power are difficult to match up.  

In baseball you will often hear the batter was out on their front foot and roll their wrist over resulting in a weak ground ball.  Or you might hear about the golfer that fired too soon and rolled their hands over and hit the snap hook.  Both result from poor sequencing, which could have been a result of a poor load.

Golf vs Baseball Swing: A Pressure Shift

Early in the downswing in golf and the motion towards the ball in baseball the pressure will shift back to the front side to allow maximum speed and to help the athlete to square up the bat or the clubhead with the ball.  This pressure shift is important as it starts to help the swing sequence properly and unload the stored up power that was created in the load or the backswing.

The best golfers get to that front side and unleash the hips to maximize the speed. Oftentimes for the best golfers and best hitters, the pressure shift happens naturally as the athlete attempts to hit the ball.  This all starts with the proper load or backswing. 

How long does it take to get good at golf? (7 tips to help out!)

Golf vs Baseball Swing: The Impact Position

The moment of truth in both sports.  In both sports, the golfer and the baseball player must keep their head behind the ball, have a slight bend in the back arm and have a quality balance in their pressure. 

If you studied the impact position of a Barry Bonds in his prime and Tiger Woods in his prime, you will see powerful positions with the head behind the ball, the hips and chest open a bit and the arms ready to release and fire through the ball.  The weakest of golfers cast or throw the angles away too early and end up in a weaker position.

The major difference between the two is the ball is on the ground in golf, while in baseball the ball is around waist high.  The load, proper sequence, and pressure shift helps set the golfer or baseball player up for this power position.

Golf vs Baseball Swing: The Release

For many years in both sports, the rolling of the wrists were taught to both golfers and baseball players.  As the best swings of the past were studied, we saw a more bent back arm at impact with the best speed happening at the ball and beyond.  The release has started by impact, but has not reached its full extension until after contact.  

This helps the golfer maintain speed and clubhead stability through impact and beyond.  It helps the baseball player stay through the zone and to give the best chance for quality contact.  The baseball player is able to stay through the zone and drive the ball.  The golfer is able to control the curve of the ball by maintaining quality club head control and not flipping through the ball.

Tiger has spent time talking about playing golf as a kid.

Does Playing Baseball Hurt Your Golf Swing

No, in fact it can help with additional power and speed and ultimately develop the hand eye coordination to become an elite athlete.

It was once thought that the baseball swing would hurt your golf swing.  However, with all of the commonalities in the two swings, it can help develop the swing further and build up additional power and speed that is essential in both sports.

If you are a really handsy hitter in baseball it could start to hurt your golf swing as too much flipping through the ball could be bad.  If you are a complete pull hitter, you might start to come over the top.  However, there are some drills to help with this issue.

Fixing the Over the Top Motion in Golf as a Result From Playing Baseball

The one common swing fault that we see in golfers that have played a lot of baseball in the past is the over the top golf swing.  Former baseball players when playing golf can get anxious at the top of the swing and start too early with the upper body.  Remember the section on proper sequence? 

The lower body and mid section will start before the upper body.  In order to fix this, the golfer must remain patient at the start of the downswing and have a feel of the back staying towards the target for a second longer.

Here is a good drill:

  • Set up an alignment stick straight down your target line about 3-5 yards in front of you.
  • Set up a second alignment stick 3-4 feet right of that alignment stick.
  • Now hit the ball in that gap.
  • The goal is to be able to hit it in this gap 7 out of 10 times.


If you are coming over the top, you will have not chance with this drill. It wil train you to stay patient at the top and deliver the club from the inside.

The baseball feel that this can be compared to is hitting the ball back side or over the second baseman’s head.  This feeling of staying through the shot and allowing the lower body to clear out first can be helpful for the baseball player playing golf who is coming over the top and fighting the slice.

Still struggling as a former baseball player? Check out our 5 tips to help make the transition to golf.

What is the difference between the golf swing and baseball swing?

The major difference is the height at which the ball is hit.  In the golf swing the ball is on the ground or on a short tee.  In baseball the ball is somewhere between the knees the chest when contact is made.

Other similarities in Golf and Baseball

Recently, both sports have really started to turn towards analytics and using launch monitor to measure ball speed, angle of attack, and spin rate.

All three measurements are talked about during many games on television.  The overall goal of both the golfer and the baseball player is to produce a powerful swing that produces quality ball speed.  The angle of attack and spin rate impacts overall distance a ball travels in both sports.

The great thing about golf right now is the affordability of these portable launch monitors that can be used at home or at the driving range and golf course.  These launch monitors can provide the following information to get you instant feedback on your swing:

  • Ball speed
  • Spin rate
  • Spin axis
  • Carry distance
  • Path
  • Launch angle
Here are three launch monitors that I would recommend (Between 500 and 2000 dollars):

If you visit any PGA Tour event you will see the majority of golfers using a launch monitor at some point throughout the week during their practice sessions.  It helps with keeping your swing online and determining what clubs you are hitting the best! It gives great feedback on ball speed which is very important in golf.

The SkyTrak has been a game changer. Instant feedback is so helpful!

Speed is Vital In The Golf and Baseball Swing

In order to reach the highest levels in both sports, athletes in both sports must have enough swing speed to play the games at the highest levels. Exit speed in baseball and ball speed in golf ultimately impacts batting average and extra base hits in baseball and the total driver distance and carry distance of golf clubs in golf.

The analytics in both sports have become very clear and highlight the importance of both stats.  In golf, the further you hit a driver, the shorter shot you have into the green.  The shorter the approach shot, the higher chance of hitting it closer to the hole.  The closer to the hole, the better chance of making more putts.

I would highly recommend the SuperSpeed Golf Training system if you are looking to increase your swing speed in golf.  This game changing training aid utilizes the science of overspeed training and protocols to train your body and mind to swing faster.  I was able to gain now close to 10 miles per hour in my golf swing.  The impact is important as I am left with more and more wedges into greens, increasing my chances for birdies!

Complete SuperSpeed Golf Review

Next Steps: Golf vs Baseball Swing

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you?  I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor.  Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed.  Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier.  Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system?  It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

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