How To Shorten Backswing in Golf? (3 Tips)

Written by Todd in Online Golf Instruction

There are three tips that can help you finally shorten your backswing:

  1. Try to reduce your backswing in half
  2. Keep your muscles relaxed
  3. Turn back and turn through

With this great game of golf, we are always on a journey to get better.  Regardless of our last round, there are times when we want to hit the ball straighter or further or make more putts.

Today’s topic is perfect for the golfer that is ready to take his or her game to the next level!

  • Do you feel like your golf swing is too long?
  • Can you sometimes see the golf club out of the corner of your left eye on your backswing?
  • Do you lack consistency?

If you answered yes to any of these questions it might be time to shorten up the backswing. 

Why Shorten a backswing in golf?

A shorter backswing can lead to the following:

  • A tighter dispersion on shots
  • More consistency
  • More shots hit on the center of the clubface, leading to more distance
  • More fun playing golf vs always looking for your golf ball and having to hit punch out shots.

How To Shorten Backswing in Golf?

My Journey: In May of 2022 my swing was still long. By July of 2022, my top of the swing position was drastically improved. The key? I felt like I was only swinging half way back when in reality I was making an ideal length swing. My swing issue was my arms continued to swing up even after the body had fully rotated. On some days I played great golf, on others I struggled. Once I made this improvement I improved my birdies per 18 holes to 4.0 from 2.0. The driver was in play more often and I dialed in my wedges. Of course a hot putter helped! Break out that smartphone and take a side view of your swing and make some simple adjustments using the tips described below if your swing is too long!

Too long of a backswing can be devastating for some golfers.

Tip #1: Try to reduce your backswing in half

When you read that tip, you might think, “I could never do that.”  The reality in golf is that feel is not real.  It will take the feel of a backswing cut in half, just to simply shorten it by several inches and maybe get you back to parallel.

This past winter, I spent a significant amount of time training for speed.  At one point, I recorded a 117 mile per hour swing during my training sessions with my driver.  However, when I looked at the swing that I had recorded and tried to take my swing to the course, my swing felt and was very long.

I loved the new speed, but what if I could dial it back just a bit, find more fairways and still have new speed in my game?

I had taken my swing from 101-104 miles per hour up to 117mph through training with SuperSpeed Golf.  

Currently, I am living in the 107-112 mph range with my driver.  I “feel” a swing that transitions when my front arm gets to parallel on the backswing.  The reality is that my swing is actually quite longer than this, but shorter than it was previously.

This feel of a short swing, helps me hit the ball on the center of the face and maximize the increased swing speed that I gained this past winter.

The key takeaway here is that I have to feel a swing that transitions or ends the backswing much shorter than it is actually taking place.  It might take more months to finally shorten my swing to parallel, but right not I am carrying the ball 270 with what feels like a very controlled swing.

Short golf swing vs long backswing (Which is better?)

Fred Couples had a long swing, but had great tempo. You can swing longer, it just might be more difficult to control the results.

Tip #2: Keep your muscles relaxed

One of the greatest speed and accuracy destroyers in the golf swing is tension or tight muscles.  It is also difficult to have a shorter swing if your muscles are tight because you struggle to square the clubface up at impact.  This results in shots that you might block right or pull off of.

When you attempt the shorter swing feel from tip 1, go ahead and make sure you keep your muscles relaxed in the backswing and into transition.

I would recommend going to the driving range, getting a bucket of balls and commit to hitting what feels like half golf swings with loose muscles with the driver.  

You might be surprised at the distance that you still have and the accuracy that you gain!

Make sure you select your target and take a peaceful swing with little tension.  The ball will jump off the clubface and fly towards your target.

Tip #3: Turn back and turn through

Often one of the biggest causes of a golf swing that is too long, is the lift that takes place after the body has completed the turn in the backswing.  Golfers will make a good backswing and then lift the arms another several inches because it feels powerful.  This lift is unnecessary and causes dispersion issues due to the inconsistencies that result.

If you take the mindset that you are going to turn back and then turn through the shot without additional arm lifting taking place, you might be surprised once again at your distance and accuracy.

How to play target focused golf?

Find a place to test out the new feel or a shorter swing.

Next Steps: Test It Out

Time to grab the driver and head to the driving range. Make sure you have your cell phone, so you can capture your golf swing.

  • Warm up, stretch and get loose.
  • Pick a target somewhere 150-200 yards away.
  • Try to hit the ball to that target with a “half swing” (The reality is that it will be more than a half swing because feel is not real in the game of golf).
  • Keep your muscles relaxed and let the club work back and through as your turn back and turn through
  • Assess the quality of the strike the distance you are hitting the ball
  • Record your swing from the “caddie view” and compare it your “full swing”

Predictable Results

  • You will more than likely hit solid shots that fly a similar distance to your “full swing”
  • You will gain accuracy and confidence that you can actually hit a ball towards your target vs hitting and praying that the ball flies straight.

Continue to work on this “half swing” and develop a swing that allows you still have quality distance but possess a swing that allows you to keep the ball in play at any course you play throughout a season.

My goal moving forward is to continue to gain speed, but keep my swing under control.  Mastering the driver swing that feels like a “half swing” is a key to dialing it when I am playing golf.  I can train in my simulator for speed and then take the “foot off the pedal” slightly when I head to the course.

What if you struggle with having enough distance?

You can still hit the ball a long way with a shorter backswing! Have you ever seen Jon Rahm swing?

You owe it to yourself to check out this overspeed training approach explained below!

I spent many years wondering how I can increase my swing speed.  When I was playing junior golf, we weren’t fortunate enough to have some of the training aids and knowledge that is now available.  Smart people have studied the golf swing and have created training aids and protocols to help all golfers increase their distance!

At around the same time, the statistics from the PGA Tour have become more clear and the importance of speed is acknowledged by many to be a key to being the best on the PGA Tour.

Within the past several years, there have been several products hit the market to make speed gains possible.  While many people for many years waited for the latest driver to come out to gain an additional 5-10 yards, you can now do this even with your current clubs.

Did you know that with the SuperSpeed Training System you can gain 5-8% increase in swing speed as early as the first training session?  This would allow you to gain somewhere between 10 and 30 yards depending on your current swing speed.

SuperSpeed Golf – Use Discount Code Golfjourney365 for some savings!

The SuperSpeed Training System is based on three different swing speed sticks all weighing at different weights.  There is a green club that is 10% lighter than the average driver, the blue club which is 5% lighter and the red club which is actually 5% heavier!

Following their prescribed protocols the golfer completes the training every other day.  The total time to complete most of their protocols is between 10-15 minutes.  Most people can find the time to make this happen.  The golfer will also need a swing radar to measure their progress. 

The science behind the SuperSpeed Training System is based on overspeed training.  Overspeed training has been around for several decades now and has been used by olympic athletics in the sport of Track and Field.  

The science behind this overspeed training is based on the premise that your brain will only allow your body to move as fast as it feels it can stop safely!  So, you get to work and swing the clubs as fast as possible, retraining your brain to allow you to swing your driver faster.

For more permanent results, the golfer should continue these training protocols for several months.  The initial 5-8% is great and can become more permanent with the right length of training.  The golfer can expect to continue to break down barriers every several months at a 1-2% increase.

My own experience has been an increase of 7-10 miles per hour on average from between 98-101 all the way up to 106-109.  My goal is to hit the PGA Tour average of 113 mph in the coming months.  I will continue to train every other day and watch in amazement as I am hitting drivers longer now than ever before!

Phil Mickelson (a senior golfer now) has been known to increase his swing speed in the past year or so and is close to 120 miles per hour in his swing speed.  There are potential results for golfers of all ability levels and age!  

Check the current price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!

Original Swing SpeedAfter 4-6 WeeksNew Carry DistanceTotal Distance
95102245265
100108259279
105113271291
110118283303

My Secret To Golf Improvement

Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently.  About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage.  I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.

This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer.  I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day.  I can practice or play rounds of golf.  I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.

It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.

Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:

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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