Canadan

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How many of you deal with this swing flaw? Are you familiar with how far back you go and if you go past parallel, do you feel it?

Was having a chat about it this weekend with my Dad, who snapped some video. At what I thought was an abbreviated backswing, I'm easily past parallel. It's time to start getting away from it, and it seems like there won't be any real trick other than repetition to save me.
 
the first and only lesson I ever had pointed this out to me. after some swings, instructor told me to take a 3/4 swing which he videoed and I was still past parallel. It took repetition of taking what felt like a 1/2 backswing for a long time. I lost a little distance, but much easier to repeat and less OTT risk.
 
This is why video is so huge in correcting swing issues. What we think/feel is typically so different that what is actually happening. Its kind of mind blowing when you see it.
 
This is why video is so huge in correcting swing issues. What we think/feel is typically so different that what is actually happening. Its kind of mind blowing when you see it.
So true. I video all the time as I use to be way past parallel. Now my buddies give me a hard time for really short swings, however the misses are much less then before.
 
This is something I struggle with as well. I can still get a little long and will catch myself from time to time, especially with driver. My timing has to be PERFECT for that to work. I spent a good amount of time working on getting my irons backed down a bit first, then some on the driver. It's something I try to keep an eye on in warmups and dial it back if needed.
 
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This is why video is so huge in correcting swing issues. What we think/feel is typically so different that what is actually happening. Its kind of mind blowing when you see it.
I took one on every hole with the fam Sunday evening. This one was supposed to be a shorter swing hahahaaha

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i would consider selling an organ just to GET to parallel let alone past parallel
 
I took one on every hole with the fam Sunday evening. This one was supposed to be a shorter swing hahahaaha

View attachment 9014051
You were just trying to bomb it out there on 9 to have an eagle look haha

Seriously though yeah thats a long way past parallel, makes its harder to time things perfectly for sure.
 
I’ve gotten so in my ways with going past parallel that if I try to avoid it, it makes my swing worse. Especially my driver swing. My iron swing is pretty consistently parallel, but my driver is bad.
 
I feel your pain Dan, I went through a similar thing a few years ago (although my swing wasn't as long as yours)

During lessons my instructor would stand with an alignment stick and get me to take a backswing until my arms hit the stick to show where I was at parallel
One thing he said to me to try and work on it was to over-exaggerate it and feel like you are swinging for a little chip shot
I do still sometimes fall back into the bad habit, but it often results in a bad shot when I do, so it is an instant cue to remind me to shorten the swing
 
I do not go past parallel, but the last 1/4 of the swing still presents issues with swing plane.
 
I took it back a long way until about 7 years ago. Now I am at parallel with my driver and a little short with my irons.
 
I took it back a long way until about 7 years ago. Now I am at parallel with my driver and a little short with my irons.
How did you fix it?
 
the first and only lesson I ever had pointed this out to me. after some swings, instructor told me to take a 3/4 swing which he videoed and I was still past parallel. It took repetition of taking what felt like a 1/2 backswing for a long time. I lost a little distance, but much easier to repeat and less OTT risk.
This is pretty much identical to my story, except mine was just a couple weeks ago and I'm still trying to fix it.
 
If I were to get serious about changing my swing, this is one area I would tighten up a little. I tend to have a longer swing and have a flexed wrist at the top. I'd like to work on keeping a more neutral wrist, tighten up the backswing and have angle between wrists and club at the top. Then I need to figure out how to actually rotate my lower body instead of pulling from the top.

That all sounds like a lot of practice... I think I need a backyard net.
 
Yup, unfortunately for me though, when I get past parallel, I get across the line and get a little loopy getting back to the ball. It's weird.
 
I'm not flexible enough to even get TO parallel, let alone past it! :LOL:

I've intentionally gone to a much shorter backswing - the longer I make my swing, the more moving parts I introduce into it and things go increasingly more wrong. A shorter backswing gives me better control of the club and I actually hit the ball just as far because I make contact with the sweet spot more often.
 
I'm not sold that getting past parallel is a problem.

I'm more convinced that how a golfer gets past parallel can be more of a problem.
 
I'm not sold that getting past parallel is a problem.

I'm more convinced that how a golfer gets past parallel can be more of a problem.

You're probably more right than wrong. There was a certain professional, whose name shall not be mentioned here, that was WWAAYYY past parallel that did ok. Won a couple of Majors.
 
I think everyone is different. I don't believe past parallel is a huge issue per say. I think it depends on the results. If you are struggling with contact or face control than sure it's a problem. I was past parallel for a while, hitting a carry of 275-280 with driver and slight fade. I had trouble with it, my coach pointed to being past parallel as an issue but I lost around 10-15 yards of carry even while working on my hip turn. I've changed to a slight DJ setup with about a parallel back swing.

For me it isn't about being past parallel. That's just a symptom. The problem is picking my arms up too steeply and coming to far from the inside.
 
I used to be long and loose well past parallel and it was because my left arm broke down not because I am super flexible. Back then I played enough that my timing was good and I was consistent. I definitely knew it because at times I could definitely see the clubhead out of my peripheral vision and at times I could feel the club shaft bounce of my neck.

These days I have lost a bunch of flexibility and that isn’t an issue anymore.
 
Im keenly aware of it when i do it because i was so past parallel when i was younger. Now, I avoid it like the plague if i can.
 
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