My dad believes that golf's backswing has nothing to do with how far or how well you hit a golf ball. He believes that it does nothing useful and only gives you a greater chance of error. He thinks if we eliminated the backswing we'd all play better. Perhaps he is right? Does the backswing do anything? Is it generating potential energy or something like that? Yo, Physics people, got an answer?
I'm a golfer people and I will tell you the back swing is a integral part to the entire motion that the body creates making it a golf swing. The entire swing is a coiling of your body like a spring and letting it rip when you go back. Thats the best I could explain it! BTW how could you hit the ball without going back at all?! You do mean the backswing and not the follow through riight?!
Even though it has been over 8 years since I had college physics, I believe that the backswing generates more force (potential energy) and as a result, greater kinetic energy or momentum . What you said in your initial post about potential energy is correct, I believe. However, physics guys like DoD and francis 4 prez could answer this question pretty easily.
Do you really need the backswing to coil up? I guess that's the question? At the top of your swing you come to a dead stop anyway. My dad is relying on the fact that all your power is generated in the down swing. So he thinks you should just start your swing at the top in order to avoid the troubles that loom in the backswing. He has never tried this mind you.
Not only coil up, but around too, your body is turned around like a coil. Your back facing the target. It would be pretty hard to start there even without a littl backward motion. At the top, you let the other side of your body release, and bring the swing through building power. If you do this correctly a ball can go a long way effortlessly. Sometimes it looks like the pros are hardly hitting the thing and it sounds so quiet. Some of those pros are little guys and just simply whack the **** out of the ball too! Crazy! BTW, they always mention clubhead speed, Like Speed of the club= power, not power =power. SO I guess the idea too is to build speed by contorting your body rather than putting all your weight into to it. A golf club just isn;t that heavy, nor is a golf ball!
This may have nothing to do with anything, but I do recall Bruce Lee knocking a guy down with only two inches between him and the target. He called it the two inch punch. It makes you wonder.
I think he's right that no power comes from the backswing -- as you mentioned, the club comes to a stop at the top of the backswing, so there's no energy from that. However, the backswing helps you get your body & the club into the proper position for your actual swing. I guess you could concievably just start in that position, but its an odd stance, and I'm guessing you wouldn't get it right very often and you'd be extremely inconsistent.
I disagree that no power comes from the backswing -- when you backswing, then make the forward swing, the club head makes a whipping action, getting you more speed. When you initiate your backswing, the club head bends the shaft, so that your hands are a bit further into the backswing than the clubhead. When it's stopped, the clubhead keeps going, due to the kinetic energy. Then, when you make your forward swing, the clubhead is still not exactly on the same plane as your hands, yet you now have the opposite direction as before. This leads the club shaft to bend further, creating a whipping effect, leading to increased club head speed.
Here's what I know about golf swings. Mine SUCKS ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only can I hit a slice like nobody's business but I can also not generate power like nobody's business. I swear, my friend is just barely stronger than me in real life but he can hit a golf ball about 80 yards farther than me. It's ridiculous. I must do everything possible not to generate club head speed. Maybe I should try this whole no backswing approach. On to the question. Obviously the backswing itself doesn't create any power but I assume if you just started straight from the top it would be a little harder to twist your body as far as you do through the natural motion of the backswing. Also I'm not sure about the club head bending the shaft at the top because I think you are supposed to have a little pause at the top. I think the bending just comes from the acceleration caused by starting the downswing. And about that two inch punch, I've heard about that but how exactly does it work. Do you mean he just puts his fist two inches away and then moves it fast enough in that span to knock the guy down. That would be pretty cool to see.
4 prez, that's correct. two inches. No backswing. He just slammed his fist into the guy and the guy fell backwards onto the ground. They have actual video footage of it. The guy was pretty big and it looked like he was knocked off his feet with a cannonball. I don't think it was a scam because it was Bruce Lee and all, but you never know.
As far as the 2 inch punch goes, Kareem Abdul Jabbar talked about it in one of his books - apparently he was pretty tight with Bruce Lee. Kareem said it was called the 4 inch punch though. He went on to say that after Lee taught it to his wife, Lee's wife hit Kareem with it and rocked him. As far as the backswing goes the whole point of it is to have a slow movement that is consistent and gets you and the club where it needs to be for the downswing. You can also use it to control the distance of your shots and your ball flight (hook, slice, low or high). The notion of having your backswing recoil into your downswing for added power or momentum is not a good one. Ideally you want to start your downswing slowly and smoothly. This will help you accelerate through the ball - which is crucial. If you accelerate too quickly too soon in your downswing, you will run out of accelerant (the potential energy stored by your backswing) before your club reaches the ball, causing distance loss and inconsistent contact. In addition, a violent move at the start of your downswing also throws you off balance, once again causing distance loss and poor contact. francis 4 prez, the best advice I can give you is to make sure you have good balance when you take your stance and try to keep all your muscles relaxed. It also is likely that you are starting your downswing with your hands, which is a no-no. Happy swinging everybody!
I'd say it's about 100% likely I'm starting the downswing with my hands. It's just that I can't seem to stop doing it (along with a million other bad things). I know my dad must be frustrated as hell watching me play golf because he's always trying to teach me new things that he sees pros and such say and I just can't seem to pick them up. Really the frustration comes from the fact that I'm very coordinated when it comes to just about all other sports but I seem to have a massive mental block when it comes to golf. I mean one time I'll say, OK start the downswing slow, but then I don't turn my wrist. Or I turn my wrist but I don't move my hips. And on and on. I can't do it all at once I tell ya. The most successful swing I have is when I do about a half back swing and then just power through. I don't do it off the tee but in 100-110 yard or shorter situations its really pretty effective at giving me some control over direction (me + full back swing+ irons=off to the left in the trees or rough). I don't know if any of y'all have ever gone to Melrose 3 par Golf Course (short little holes 80,90, 100 mostly) but using that swing I actually shot a 59 which was 4 better than my friend who can kick my ass on a real course. Man that was sweet.
The back swing does add power, but I think the key here is that it adds scope for error. Once the club is lifted to shoulder height, potential energy is maximized, so taking the back swing further does not add PE. However, generally speaking , the longer the backswing, the faster the club head will be moving when it hits the ball. It is not a direct relationship - most of us would probably reach a max club speed with a much shorter backswing. Strong people with a good swing can get much more benefit out of a long swing. The point is probably that - you can get enough power from a a shorter backswing, and reduce the chance for something going awry with a long one. I have a friend who is a Pro and gives lessons - he says the biggest mistakes people make, in order a) Try to hit the ball to hard/far b) Clubs too long - ie choke up on the club to make it shorter and your game will improve And remember - drive for show, put for dough.
That's true, a lot of people get in trouble when they try to do their equivalent of a John Daly backswing. A full shoulder turn is much more important than having a long backswing. I think I should go golfing today =) I think I'll post a clutch city golfers thread soon, and maybe some of us in Houston can hit the links together?
Anyone who has taken any martial arts knows that power comes from the hips, not the arms.. thats where Lee's power came from. As far as golf, hips are an important part of generating power. The back swing is necessary for proper alignment to hit the ball FLUSH with the club head perfectly aimed at the target. With your dad's theory, you could not only generate much less power (the backswing helps creates a proper rhythm to produce sufficient club speed) but you would slice or hook the ball almost everytime. Tell your dad to go take a few lessons and he will understand. Through experience, I can still drive the ball just about as far when I take a 3/4th's swing as a full swing... my accuracy is also much better with a smaller swing. Many golfers have problems taking the club back too far; finding the best point to stop the takeback all depends on the individual's swing.
