Have you ever heard that you should swing to parallel in golf?
Which means when you get to the top of your golf swing, the golf club is parallel to the ground.
I heard this advice for many years.
However, recently there seems to be an abundance of longer swings on tour as well as some short swings on tour. I spent years trying to shorten up my backswing as I often got “too long” according to the major golf publications and everyone else that arbitrarily picked parallel as the ultimate stopping place for your backswing.
Which leads to the question…
Which One Is Better?
On one hand you have Jon Rahm who looks to barely take the club back before he is starting his downswing and Phil Mickelson who swings well past parallel and played great golf into his 50s and won a major championship.
If you check out many of the old time swings such as Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus you will notice swings that go past parallel and these golfers played great golf late into their golf careers.
Short Swing vs Long Swing in Golf: Which one is better for your game?
If I had to choose, I would recommend a golfer go with a longer swing to help ensure they can enjoy golf as late into life as possible. The free flowing swing of a longer swing can help produce quality speed late into life and keep the body from positions that could lead to injury.
However, great golf can be played with a short, compact swing that produces quality contact.
When I look at what the fundamentals of the golf swing are, I can conclude that whatever length swing helps you meet the three fundamentals below is best for your game.
3 Fundamentals of Golf
- The golfer must be able to control the low point of the swing.
- The golfer must be able to control the start line and the curve of the ball.
- The golfer must have enough speed to be able to play the length course they are playing.
Below, I will get into the benefits of both the longer swing and the shorter swing and give you a way to best measure what is best for your golf swing.
But first, let’s talk about what the great golfers do regardless of where the club ends up at the top of their back swing.
They all get a full shoulder turn. The front shoulder turns to at least 90 degrees. The appearance of how long the swing is depends on how much the arms stay connected or in front of the chest at the top of the backswing.
What Are The Benefits of the Longer Golf Swing?
There are three major benefits:
- Speed
- Longevity
- Athletic Motion
#1 Speed
The longer the swing, typically the easier it is to generate more speed in the golf swing.
The longer backswing gives the golfer more opportunity and time to generate speed. Another key component in the longer swing is that it gives the golfer more tipe to turn both the hips and the shoulders further back.
The golf swing that is quick and short, might not get a complete turn, leading to some poor sequencing in the downswing. The days of the golfer restricting the hip turn are long gone as more and more video is clear that the best golfers of all time have a complete shoulder and hip turn, putting the golfer in a powerful position to hit the golf ball with plenty of speed and power.
Resource: Weirdest Swings of All Time: Top 10
#2 Longevity
If you look at the golfers that have competed at a high level late into their careers and were able to stay injury free, one commonality you will find is longer, fuller golf swings that allowed the shoulders and hips to turn freely.
The top two that come to mind in recent history are Phil Mickelson and Jack Nicklaus. Also, throw Ben Hogan and Sam Snead into the mix and you have some great company for some of the greatest golfers of all time.
As amateur golfers, many of us will get to play more golf in retirement than during the working years. Develop a swing today that keeps you swinging with enough speed and injury free to help expand your golfing years and the quality of those years.
Resource: Best Swings of All Time (Our Top 15)
#3 Athletic Motion
The human body is an amazing thing. Give yourself a task and the body and mind can respond with some pretty impressive accuracy. The best golf swings are athletic, free flowing swings that allow the body and athletic ability to take over. The golfer that tries to hit every position in the golf swing will often end up driving himself or herself crazy with video analysis. Instead, take an athletic swing, let the hips and shoulders turn and let the club go!
If you think of other athletic motions like throwing a baseball or skipping a rock, the athlete doesn’t stop to think how far to turn his or her hips and shoulders, instead they take the arm back, let the body flow and let it go!
Here is a video of many swings by Fred Couples (one of the longer, free flowing swings of all time!)
What Are the Benefits of the Shorter Golf Swing?
These are three major benefits:
- Accuracy
- Low Point Control
- Maintenance
The best golfers in the world are able to maintain accuracy and low point control even with longer swings, but if you are an amateur that only plays 5 times a year, the longer swing might get you into trouble. If you don’t get to practice or play a lot, the shorter, easier to maintain swing might be best for you!
#1 Accuracy
The shorter the swing, the less time for the golf club or body parts to get out of sequence. One of the most beautiful parts of Jon Rahm’s golf swing is that it appears to be really simple to reproduce on a regular basis. Another simple swing that comes to mind is Matt Kuchar. His arms appear to stay very connected and short as he hits that simple fade all day down the middle with the driver.
The golfer with the shorter backswing might increase their accuracy because of less time to get in trouble with the golf swing. The shorter backswing can also have the arms more connected with the body and potentially use the body as the turning point to use the bigger muscles in the golf swing. THe longer swing can do this as well, but must reconnect at some point in the downswing.
#2 Low Point Control
Once again, if you are someone that doesn’t play often and you struggle with the low point control in the downswing, I would recommend a shorter swing. The shorter the swing, especially when the weight is kept more on the front foot, can lead to better low point control.
For the golfer who doesn’t have time to practice and wants to hit the ball solidly, the shorter swing might be the way to go.
Resource: Short Swing: A Deeper Dive into Benefits
#3 Maintenance
The shorter the backswing, the potentially easier it is to maintain your swing. Some of the most simple and consistent swings on tour are often those golfers with the shorter backswings that are able to time and time again reproduce the swing they want, resulting in a consistent stock shot that the golfer can use time and time again.
With the shorter swing, there is less room for error leading to less potential time spend trying to fine tune the swing to ensure you are ready for your next round of golf!
Here are swings by Jon Rahm – One of the shortest, most powerful swings on tour today!
How To Measure What Is Best For Your Game?
Here at golfjourney365, we believe in exploring what is best for your game and then measuring it using some actual data. I would highly recommend a launch monitor for any serious golfer or the golfer simply looking to get better utilize some wonderful technology that is now available. The great news is that you don’t need to spend the money of a Trackman to get some rather impressive data that includes:
- Ball Speed
- Carry Distance
- Spin Rate
- Spin Axis
- Launch Angle
Here are my top 3 recommend affordable golf launch monitors:
My number one choice is the SkyTrak. It has been a game changer!
Here are some simple steps you can take to measure the long golf swing vs the shorter backswing to determine what is best for your game.
- Take 50 swings with a shorter backswing and record the following data:
- Ball Speed, Spin Axis and Start Line (hit intended start line, yes or no)
- Take 50 swings with a longer backswing and record the following data:
- Ball Speed, Spin Axis and Start Line (hit intended start line, yes or no)
- Continue to repeat this process as your practice and work on the length of your golf swing.
- Next play a round of golf with shorter backswing
- Play a round of golf with longer back swing
What round did you shoot a better score, hit more greens in regulation and what was the distance comparison with the driver and approach shots?
Commit to one approach for your next 5 rounds and record key data.
If you are unhappy with your level of golf, try your next 5 rounds and record key data.
Make the decision what is best for you, based on what you value. Potential checklist:
- Which swing provided the best distance
- Which swing provided the best accuracy
- Which swing provided the easiest maintenance
- Which swing provided the most natural feeling swing
Overall, the golfer must decide what is most important to his or her golf journey and what their performance is. Using tools like a golf launch monitor can be a great help as you can look at key data and make educated decisions based on actual results from striking a golf ball.
Closing Thoughts: 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:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.
