Watch part 2 now to see how you're moving your body in the opposite direction of the pros!
After all your struggles with overswinging, you're about to learn an incredibly simple fix for it.
You can easily stop overswinging with this article and video!
If you've taken golf lessons before and have struggled with overswinging, especially, you've surely heard your instructor tell you to:
- stop at 9 o'clock or
- feel like you're not swinging the club very far.
Either way, you feel like you don't have any power because you're so used to having the club so much longer in your swing.
And none of that seems to help you any for someone to tell you to swing shorter; it doesn't work that way.
You're doing something wrong mechanically that's allowing you to overswing, and that's what you need to correct.
What Causes an Overswing in Golf?
So, the simple thing that we need to understand is that first of all, a typical overswing gets across the line.
Demonstration of "across the line."
So, when we're talking about getting across the line, what we mean by that is, rather than the club pointing straight down the target line, or even a little left of it, my club is pointing right of the target.
Now, in order to create that move, I had to do a couple of things:
- I had to let my hips turn a little further. That's a very common problem for an overswinger, they let their hips turn too far. If that's you, you need to go back and work on Move 1 - The Takeaway.
- I had to let my arm, my right arm (for a righty), fly away from my body. That's the only way I can get my club pointing to the right of my target instead of pointing down the target line.
We're not going to talk about the hip movement part first because that's just a function of making a better golf takeaway. So, go back and watch and work on Move 1 if you're letting your hips turn too far.
But now, the part with your arm flying away from your body so that your right hand starts to turn toward the ground, that's not a good position to be in.
What's that going to do to the club when I get my hand like that?
I'm going to get into a "John Daly" position at the top.
That's solely because of the flying right elbow. No other cause for it; it's basic "Mechanics 101."
Get the elbow in front of you to avoid crossing the line.
Now, I'm going to pull my right arm back in front of my chest, trying to keep my hand in the same spot.
What happens to the club?
It's pointing down the target line or appearing a little bit laid off, even.
Now, the trick is, figuring out what are you actually doing in your swing that's causing your elbow to fly away, and what do you actually want to do to prevent that from happening.
It's a very simple fix.
The simple fix starts with remembering what we talked about in Move 2 - Completing the Golf Backswing. We talked about shoulder elevation then right elbow flexion, which is what's keeping your arms in front of your body instead of swinging all over the place.
The Simple, Secret Fix for Overswinging in Golf
There's now one little piece that you want to add. Once you do this right elbow flexion, you're going to take your upper arm (i.e. your bicep and humerus bone), and you're going to rotate it clockwise.
Just twist your arm clockwise, kind of like a rotator cuff exercise. That's all you're doing.
Forget anything else; don't make it more complicated. We're not talking about swing plane or anything else like that.
You're just taking that humerus bone and rotating it.
So, now let's put your arms in those positions that you do during Move 2, then you're going to rotate that bone to about 1 or 2 o'clock.
Now, if you've had rotator cuff or shoulder injuries, you may have limited flexibility here. That is going to inherently steepen your plane.
You'll need to work with your individual instructor or watch this video about getting on plane at the top of the swing to work around that.
Assuming you do have normal flexibility and range of motion, that's going to allow the little bit of needed rotation to occur.
Bonus Benefit of Stopping Your Overswing
And if you're paying attention to your muscles—and by now you've hopefully realized that's kind of important in the golf swing—you should feel some tension in the right side of your back, around your lats and shoulder area, because the bones that allow this type of movement are actually turning down "into the box."
You surely remember the discussions about the box; so, that's what's actually happening here.
Not only is it giving us the benefit of getting the club on plane and keeping us from getting across the line and long, but it's also locking your arm in front of your body and getting you in the box.
Now, let's put it all together.
Get Out of Your Chair and Try It!
From address, you're going to do your right elbow flexion, a little bit of shoulder elevation, and if you turn to the top, you'll notice that your arm's pretty vertical.
Now, just do that little rotation move, and it really locks your arm in place.
Rotate your upper arm a few degrees clockwise to lock your elbow in front of you.
So, if you're sitting in front of a chair, actually stand up and do this. Get that little bit of pivot with your arm.
Now, see what happens to the club when you do that. Your arm starts vertical, then you allow it to rotate just a little bit.
So, now there's no way, unless you do something really ridiculous with your wrists, to get the club across the line.
Physically and anatomically, it just can't happen.
So, this move is a very, very small move. It's maybe a half-inch to an inch rotation of your upper arm, but it's biomechanically locking your arm in place, where it needs be, in front of your body and keeping you from ever overswinging.
It would be impossible for you to overswing unless your hips go crazy, but even there, it will still limit it dramatically.
Feel Like You're Flipping a Coin Over Your Shoulder
So, during Move 2 is when that little bit of rotation—and I've talked to people who need a visual for it, like flipping a coin over your shoulder, that's kind of the feeling. It's not a locked down, tense feeling.
It's like taking a coin and just flipping it over your shoulder. That's the rotation that's happening.
So, now as you do it in your golf swing, you're just kind of flipping a coin back towards the target...as you rotate, flip that coin.
And now, you'll have a very hard time overswinging.
So, work on this rotation piece as part of Move 2. It's a very subtle piece; it's very natural.
Just let it kind of feel like you're flipping a coin over your shoulder, and you'll never swing the club across the line or past parallel every again!
