Slowdown the downswing

[Grabster]

Hoping someone can help me with this.

I find that my downswing is way to fast.
The longer the club the worse it gets.
I'm not sure if its the longer club length that generates momentum but.....

I think it just comes to muscling the downswing.

It feels like my arms get so fast that I sometimes don't get off my back foot because the speed makes it difficult to transfer the weight forward.

The shorter clubs I can keep myself in check so I'm wondering why I get suckered into swinging so fast with the long clubs.

Any suggestions on how to make this stop?

H

[Sunny D]

That was/is my tendency as well. My takeaway was too slow and my downswing too fast.

I can only share what one professional had me do which really worked for me. His point of view was that we all have a slightly different tempo to our swings. My tendency was to get out of tempo with my woods. So first he had my hit my favorite iron - my 7. Then he took out a metronome and set the timing of it to match my tempo. (the count was two beats for the backswing and one for the downswing) Then he had me hit my driver. The tempo of my swing was way off the tempo of my irons it was glaring. So I strated trying to match my swing to the metronome and for me at least it works. I have the tempo pretty much in my head now so when I take my practice swing I focus on that tempo. One last bit you can download a metronome to your IPOD - sometimes early in the year I practice at the range with earbuds in and focus are re-establishing that tempo.

[Break68]

That sounds like a great idea, I will try it with my ipod, thanks.

[jvincent]

Just to chime in.

Grabster, I think what you want to say is that you are trying to slow down your TRANSITION instead of slowing down your swing. As SunnyD points out, tempo is key here.

You want to get the club set at the top of your swing so that when you start your downswing the rest of your body is ready to make that motion as efficiently as possible.

[nokids]

I think it just comes to muscling the downswing.

The shorter clubs I can keep myself in check so I'm wondering why I get suckered into swinging so fast with the long clubs.

I try to keep in mind that a long iron like a 3 iron is heavier than a PW, so the backswing is going to take more time and the downswing is going to take more time. If a PW shot takes 2 seconds to complete, the 3 iron probably takes 2.5 seconds to complete. Just be patient with the long iron, swing at 80% power, and let the club/gravity do its job.

For myself, I feel like I can swing Driver, Woods 100% and have no problems. But on the irons, I never try to hit it at 100%. 3 iron - PW, I swing at 80%. I keep the tempo smooth, and if I need more distance I take a different club. I get into trouble with tempo, slices, fat shots, skulled shots when I try to hit a ball too hard. I lose my form.

[jvincent]

Actually a 3-iron is lighter than a PW if you are talking about total weight.

[nokids]

Actually a 3-iron is lighter than a PW if you are talking about total weight.

I wasn't sure. But in my mind it definitely feels like it's the heavier club.

[Grabster]

Thanks for the help.

I will try the iphone app and headphones at the range. Very curious to try it out.
I would for sure say that tempo is rare with longer clubs. Maybe this will help.

[sandbagger]

Actually a 3-iron is lighter than a PW if you are talking about total weight.

Well actually the longer shaft on the 3 iron increases the force needed to swing the club because torque is proportional to the distance from the fulcrum to the head of the club... haha im just kidding i have no idea which is heavier.

To help with your swing. I cant tell without seeing it, but it sounds like your swing is very "arms oriented". you need to remember that turning your shoulders and hips is very important. Initiate your transition with your hips and that should help to control your tempo.