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Why we don't need a backswing...

Cutting your golf swing in half could be the next big technological advance

Posted: 30 March 2007
by Golfmagic correspondent

Does Tiger need a backswing?

Forget about square-headed drivers, putters with grooves in the face and irons with moveable weights. Cutting your golf swing in half could be the next big technological advance.

Among over 100 club professionals, gadget makers, engineers and scientists at a conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this week was golf coach TJ Tomasi, from Nantucket, who claimed that golfers would improve if they started with the club poised at the top of the swing, instead of taking it there from the address position.

"Since no research exists to the contrary, it's possible the typical backswing is not needed to hit good golf shots," Tomasi said, describing the experiment that he and fellow golf pro Jim Suttie recently conducted at Twin Eagles Golf Club in Florida.

Tomasi, who also holds a doctorate in education, said that holding the club in the correct position at the top of the swing, (like a baseball batter or a cricketer waiting for the ball to be delivered), avoids the 'kinesthetic clutter' of the backswing.

In his study, 29 golfers took 10 radar-tracked swings - half with a backswing and half without. Tomasi reported that except among professional golfers, there was no statistically significant difference in the accuracy or distance of the shots.

He claimed that if instructors taught the "no backswing" technique, accuracy would improve, though it would take much more to persuade golfers to ignore deeply-rooted tradition.

Some golfers may remember how Sandy Lyle and Gordon J Brand went through phases of pausing at the top of the backswing with some success, while PGA Tour pro Ryan Moore finished second in the 2006 Buick Championship, despite injury to a hand which meant he couldn't take the clubhead back and had to start every shot by setting the club at the top of the backswing.

"Golf has become the most scientific sport in the world," said Ben Shear , director of strength and conditioning at the Golfer's Edge training facility in New Jersey. "This is not about just golf; it's about the laws of the universe, and you can't deny them, if you want to be good at the sport."

New motion-sensing technologies appear to be the next revolution, giving athletes and scientists the chance to understand the physics and biomechanics behind feats of strength and speed. It also gives them a way to quantify the results of time-honoured practices.

"There are teaching methods we've used for years and now we have the tools to see if they really work really well," said Kim Blair , director of the MIT Centre for Sports Innovation.

A study to be presented today found that among a sample of 85 golfers, only 15 per-cent could accurately aim at a hole from six feet away.

Ah, putting! Now that's another story...

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Bob Warters

Has this half swing idea got merit or is it half-baked? Do you have any strange idiosyncrasies in your golf swing? A loop at the start, a twirl at the finish, perhaps? Some of us kick in the right knee to spark the swing action while others forward press. Tell us your swing oddities, here and what works for you. ED
Posted: 30/03/2007 12:27

Aces_up1504

The article does make sense, It doesnt matter how the club gets to the top of the swing as long when its there is in the correction position to start the down swing whether it be by the usual backswing or just "placing it there".

My question, how do you know its in the right postion if your just placing it there. That the beauty of the backswing, if everything is correct the downward swing will follow the same path (i think)

The golf swing is all about rythm and carnt see any rythm being generated just on a down swing.

Although if you worked on it, i couldnt see why you couldnt produce the same results as per a normal swing
Posted: 30/03/2007 14:01

Kevin Quinn 2

I just checked the date and its not April fools day yet - maybe this article was posted a couple of days early
Posted: 30/03/2007 14:10

Sham 28

AW!! come on ED. don't start changing things just as I start to get better, don't tell me I have to learn it all over again from scratch, methinks you are tellin fibs. :O)

(damn he's got me thinking about it now)
Posted: 30/03/2007 14:35

TERRY BUTCHER

This does not surprise me. Have thought exactly the same over many years but never actually tried. Going to have a practice on the range and maybe still shave some off my 10 handicap even though senior citizen. Never too late for something new. At least may get a laugh at the club.
Posted: 30/03/2007 14:40

The Regulator

I think there is some logic. Whenever I start getting erratic I often find that I'm over-doing the back-swing and causing my left elbow to fold. Concentrating on keeping the elbow straight-ish resolves it, and although I worry that my back-swing is suddenly shortened, there is no obvious loss of distance.
I have found that coiling some power into my body as I rotate back has more impact on distance than a longer back-swing.
My 10-year son can drive the ball as far as me and most adults I play with, but he achieves this by an enormous back swing (and good timing) because...he is flexible enough to do this with his left arm kept straight. Benefit of being young and bendy
Posted: 30/03/2007 16:40

Taz

Five years ago, when I was getting nowhere and couldn't use a driver I had lessons from an old pro (if you know what I mean) - he got me to start my backswing very deliberate and slow, with the briefest of pauses at the top, before launching feet, arms, legs, hips, dick, head, shoulders and hands into my usual maelstrom of movement.......... I ain't called Taz for nothing.

It worked - and when I start getting wayward slowing down the backswing until it is merely a blur helps no end.

:o)

Posted: 30/03/2007 18:16

Sean McDonald

Ah Taz - I'm the same, but I do think dick should be last and travelling on a parallel plane to shaft and clubhead - if only to improve balance, for me anyway ;o)
Posted: 30/03/2007 21:58

Robert Lee 4

I use half and quarter swings for most of my shots under 200y which equates to about 80% of my round.

ask yourself this does a half swing only move the ball half the distance of a full swing? in my experience its more like 75% and with aggression which you can never get away with on full length swings you can push this to 80%, but difference in accuracy and consistency is hugely improved, just club up to get the additional 20% in distance.
Posted: 01/04/2007 14:53

Jim Hacker

I thought the back swing was there only to set the club at the top anyway as long as you take it slowly, so there’s no reason other than habit why it shouldn’t work if you desperately want to try it.

Most golfers have a steeper plain angle when setting the club at the top anyway and bring the club back onto the correct plain in the down swing.

Question is why would you want to try it? If your smooth enough with the back swing and have a good technique instead of trying to annihilate it from the get go, there's nothing to be gained.

And don’t give me that rubbish about Nick Price, he was a one off. :0)

Posted: 01/04/2007 15:21

Ken Mavor (??.?)

Eight months ago I injured my right arm which stopped me completing a full backswing. My usual swing consisted of quite a full back swing and then I'd let rip. Just been down to the driving range and still cannot physically wind up on the backswing. The ball does go the same distance but I seem to lack a wee bit of directional control. I have an appointment with a consultant in 2 weeks time to get a diagnosis but it seems to me that I will still be able to hit the ball well enough to live at 12 handicap. My swing has slowed down quite a lot becuase of the injury but does not seem to have affected distance. Time will tell if I can get back to a full back swing but I'm hoping I can still be competitive with out it.
Posted: 01/04/2007 17:03

Razzer (14.6)

Very interesting and i think the guy has a point, especially when you think that cricketers, baseball players etc dont do a back swing to set the bat etc, and the ball they are hitting is a moving target, a golf ball stays still. It would be good if we could see a video clip of what he means in action. Could you look into it for us Bob. Ta Razzer.
Posted: 03/04/2007 17:51

James Gardiner

A number of years ago I used to do this at the driving range. I would take the club to top and check the position of the wrist, make adjustments and then complete the downswing. As I did make a sort of backswing to get to the top could this be classed as "backswing not required". Jim
Posted: 03/04/2007 17:59

Montys Bra

Didn't that Texan golf coach Dalton McCready prove this in his training video about 10 years ago, It doesn't matter how it gets to the top but how you bring it down and through. Half swing, full swing its still army golf for me..left, right, left...
Posted: 04/04/2007 10:28

Ringer

There is a process of "loading" and "Timing" that require a backswing. Both the body AND the golf club need this.
Posted: 05/04/2007 00:41

Henry T

Whoever attempts to disassociate the backswing with the downswing is wrong in my opinium. A backswing sets up the downswing. A backswing that is wrong will never groove the correct path coming down. The backswing governs how the clubhead impacts the ball on the downswing. This sets up a draw, a fade, left or right, distance, height and vitually every ball path. A backswing coils your torso in producing the torque necessary for the swing. The backswing and downswing goes hand-in-hand. One cannot function without the other.
Posted: 05/04/2007 01:55

The23rdman

I agree with Ringer and Henry that the backswing is an integral part of the dynamic whole.

In reality there is no real cut of point from one to the other in a decent swing as something is always moving. We just compartmentalise the swing into sections for ease of instruction.
Posted: 07/04/2007 16:11

Ringer

Just as a point of interest to the thread...

I find that the start of the forward swing before the end of the backswing is essencial for swingers... where as hitters can have a pause at the top and it won't effect them nearly as much. It all has to do with the loading action of the club and how that loading affects the subconcious reaction via the feel in the hands.

Hitters can probably do just fine without a backswing, although I don't recommend it. Swingers on the other hand simply cannot produce the motion without a backswing. Swingers have to create a sharp change of direction in order to make the shaft flex. They create slow and gradual accelleration. Hitters are much more abrupt during the forward swing and therefor don't require a loading of the shaft at the swings transition.

I hope this clarifies some issues some of you may have had when trying to determine if you should "pause" at the top, or try to start your forward swing with your lower body before the backswing is completed.
Posted: 10/04/2007 00:39

Shelley Dudley

There is definite merit in the idea that a backswing is not the "be-all and end-all" of a golf stroke. In fact, this is the way my UK golf pro taught Yankee me. When he took me on as a student, he knew that I play baseball, but was a newcomer to the game of golf. He taught me how to set my golf swing at the top of the stroke, similar to a baseball swing, taught me how to doublecheck the alignment of the club at the top of the swing to make sure it's properly set, and then to start my swing with the downstroke. It worked beautifully and was an easy way for me to translate skills I'd learned from one sport to another. When I later added in the backswing, I found that the length hit was only marginally longer and that it took me a short time to regain the accuracy I'd originally had with my initial swing. I'd highly recommend this method for learning accuracy!
Posted: 13/04/2007 12:59

Creosote

In a one plane swing the backswing is very important. In a two plane or three plane swing the backswing is unimportant as you re-align the swing plane on the downswing anyway.
Posted: 13/04/2007 22:27

David Ashfield

I have recently been having lessons from a pro and the first change he made was telling me not to try making a full swing just to take the club back to 90 degrees i was told that the takeaway, body turn and wrist hinge was more important for power than a full back swing. I find a slight pause at the top of this shortened swing seems to get my timing just right i am hitting the ball miles further. Apparentley the longest hitter on tour does not have a full backswing and most of the pros are trying to shorten theirs there is no way most of us are supple enough to make a Tiger swing so maybe there is something in not having a back swing.
Posted: 25/05/2008 20:34

Somchai (19 UNofficial)

mine was short. I hit long. I was not consistant. Now its long, I hit longer (due to combination of factors) and I am MORE consistant but still await the magic jedi level of ball control.

I'll say this: learning the new swing recently, I was drilled on 9 o'clock backswings so I could swing slow enough to feel what I was doing and make adjustments. It had helped.

Posted: 26/05/2008 16:54

Greenfly

I've just started using the no back swing method for training and am wondering should I play it on the course as I hit the ball longer (much) straighter (a little) apart from looking a lemon is there any reason not to play it tommorow

Posted: 03/06/2008 16:29

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