Is Your 60% Swing Killing Your Approach Shots?

What is a best swing solution?  Taking a full speed swing with an 8 iron or a slower swing using a 6 iron at 60% of your swing speed?   Both can be the right answer depending on the situation but there is a problem that you have to overcome.  If most of your shots are made with your full speed swing, how do you properly GEAR DOWN to hit a three quarter speed or half speed or quarter speed swing without leaving your club face open or closed and hitting your shot well wide of your target?

You may not realize that when you slow down your swing, your hips, shoulders, arms and hands should be firing at the same consistent rate as your full swing.  When just one part of your body gets out of sync you can’t help but leave your club face open or closed.  That’s why you may notice that the pros seem to swing all of their clubs at about the same speed until they are too close to the green.  That’s also why pros use up to 4 different pitching wedges?

Swing Speed is generated by whipping your wrist release while your arms rotate at 85%.

Solution to Maintain a Full Swing:

Pros want to swing at their “normal” full swing speed FOR CONSISTENCY.  That’s not at 100% or 90% of their swing speed.  They are not trying to kill the ball with their top swing speed. They know that it will often guaranty a poor shot.  They want to swing at their normal 85% swing speed for consistency and to control the speed of their wrist release (whooosh).

Pros know when they are hitting a distance that is between clubs.  They have to either back off on their speed risking a mishit or they adjust their club.  They want to keep their “normal” swing speed AND RHYTHM, so they choke down on clubs for less distance and swing at their normal 85% speed.

Solution to Adjust for a Partial Swing Speed:

Pros like Jason Day hit up to 600 balls a day on non-tournament days.  They need the extra practice time to consistently release their hips, shoulders, arms and hands for each speed that they need to hit each club for a variety of distances while keeping the same sequence and rhythm for each of their body parts.  YOU DON’T HAVE THE PRACTICE TIME THAT THE PROS DO so don’t expect that you can achieve a variable swing the way they can swing.

If you have to slow down your swing to hit a shorter distances, practice hitting with a slightly open stance and more pressure on your leading foot to help you reach your normal impact position.  Just focus on finishing your swing from the inside and straight up your target line.

“Ball Beating” at the driving range is crazy for the Weekend Warrior.  Practice different shots.  Learn to hit a few draws, a few fades, a few full swing and half swing shots with many of your clubs.  Seve Ballesteros learned to play every shot with 1 club when he was a young boy.  That’s a great example for all of us.  Practice with GOLFSTR+.  It’s a great training aid to learn 6 swing solutions with a controlled swing speed.  Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com