Every golfer, no matter what level, wants more distance and better contact. If you read that first sentence and thought, “No I don’t” then you might want to check your pulse. We all know that if we could just hit the ball a little farther and a bit more solid, that could shave a stroke or two off our game.
If you look at the swings of golf pros and top amateurs, there are a lot of different ways to hit the ball well. Some seem to break every rule in the book, yet still manage to get the ball in the hole. That’s one of the beautiful things about golf; it doesn’t really matter what it looks like, just as long as it does the trick.
Now, that being said, there are some things almost all great golfers possess. One being their impact positions look incredibly similar even when the process to get there was a little unorthodox. Another thing you’ll see in most, if not all, is creating width in their backswing.
Maybe you’ve heard that before, or maybe this is the first time you’ve ever heard that phrase. Regardless, you instinctively understand the concept, even if you can explain it or don’t currently do it in your swing.
What Does It Mean To Get Width In Your Backswing?
Creating width in your backswing is what gives a golfer the leverage and consistency to hit the ball far and hit it solidly.
So what is it? Basically, it’s the distance between your chest and the golf club during the backswing. A “narrow” swing is one where that distance is small. On the other hand, a swing that is “wide” has a larger distance.
Your height or arm length doesn’t matter, though. Sure, a player that’s tall and long will be able to create more depth than one that is short, but you can’t change those characteristics. So, you want to create as much depth as you can, not try to keep up with another golfer.
Width at Address
At the address position, there’s already some depth that exists. Unless you’re starting your swing by pressing the grip against your sternum, you’ve got something to work with right from the start. As the swing starts, though, is where that width really starts to matter more. The question becomes, are you maintaining your width, increasing it, or decreasing it?
Width in the Takeaway
When you bring the club back on the takeaway, that distance between the club and your chest is likely to change a bit. If it’s getting further away from your body or staying the same, that’s probably a pretty good indication that you’ve got some decent width. But, if that distance is lessening, it’s going to be difficult to hit a quality golf shot.
Ideally, at the top of your backswing, that distance should be at its greatest. If not, you’re probably leaving yards and accuracy on the shelf.
The Width – Tetherball Analogy
Think of it like a tetherball pole. If you’ve never played the game, it’s fairly simple. There’s a vertical pole with a rope tied with one end to the top. Then, on the other end of the rope, there’s a ball that’s about the size of a soccer ball.
Two players try to grab the ball and throw it the opposite way around the pole in hopes of wrapping the whole rope in their direction. Anyway, a strategy is to throw the ball hard and let it wrap quickly around the pole before the opponent can stop it.
In order to make the ball fly fast, the rope has to be taut. That tension in the rope is width. There is distance between the top of the pole and the ball. The less distance, the slower then ball will fly.
The same thing is the case in golf.
Why Is It Important To Get Width In Your Backswing?
The more width you’re able to create in the backswing, the faster and more consistent you’ll be able to swing the golf club. The width helps create leverage and power to explode through impact and hit a solid shot.
You’ve probably seen some golfers take the club back to the top of their back swing and something just doesn’t look right. The club and arms almost seem to “hug” their body and fold at the top. It might even look a little “loopy,” swinging inside and outside the target line. Maybe that’s you and you’ve never noticed because you don’t regularly see your own swing.
What happens when the backswing gets narrow is the club never has the opportunity to gain enough speed. Instead, golfers with a narrow swing must use their arm strength to hit the ball as far as they can. Of course, every golf swing uses some arm strength, but a wide swing also uses the body’s length, and often times torque, to create distance.
Minimize the Narrowing Effect of Bent Arms
When the arms bend and the backswing narrows, it brings inconsistency into play.
Think back to the tetherball example. If you were to throw the ball with a rope that wasn’t tight, what would happen? Sure, you could get the ball moving decently fast, but not as fast as you could if it were tight. Also, what path would that ball take? Who knows?! It’d be so random and unpredictable. The ball would fly until the rope got tight and then it’d snap back in the opposite direction over and over again until it came to a stop.
The same is true in the golf swing. If your width isn’t maximized, it’s nearly impossible for you, as the golfer, to guide the club down the same path every single time. One time you might hit the ball thin, then next it’s fat, the next you may hit it great. Who knows?! It all depends on how lucky you get.
Now, luck is great and sometimes necessary in the sport of golf, but we shouldn’t rely on it. Instead, keeping your hands as far away from your body during the backswing will allow it to travel more consistently along the same path and create more speed along the way.
How To Get Width In Your Backswing
That leads us to the biggest question of all. How do you get width? Well, we started talking about it a bit earlier, but it involves keeping your hands as far away from your body as possible throughout the backswing. In order to do that, at least at the beginning of the backswing, you need to keep your elbows straight.
Now, it’s important to remember that, when I say “straight” I don’t mean “locked.” Locked arms are hard to transition and not ready for an athletic move like the golf swing.
At the address position, too often I see amateur golfers with arms that are bent. If your arms are bent at address, you’re probably too close to the ball. A good way to make sure you’re the right distance from the ball is to relax your arms and just let them hang freely down from your shoulders as you grip the club. That level of “straightness” in your arms is what you want to maintain, at least for the first half of your backswing.
Now, anyone who tells you to keep your left arm straight throughout your golf swing probably has good intentions, but the reality is, you can’t and shouldn’t maintain that the entire time. That’s another thing I see quite often; golfers swinging in a really uncomfortable way because someone somewhere told them to keep their arm (or arms) straight at the top of their backswing. It works in theory, but not in the real world.
In the second half of your back swing, you back arm will start to bend and the lead arm ought to stay relatively straight. A little bend coming into the lead arm isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s necessary. But, even with the bend, you can still create width between you and the club.
Correct Shoulder Turn = Width
Another thing to focus on to create width is your shoulder turn. The more you’re able to turn your shoulders back in the backswing, the more you’ll be able keep your arms back and away from your body. Flexible shoulders can help this process significantly. In my experience, most golfers have stiff shoulders and it impacts their ability to create width in their backswing.
The other thing to acknowledge is that your wrists will hinge in the second half of the backswing. That’s ok too. Even though that hinge brings the club slightly closer to your body, you need the angle created by the hinge to create power.
Drills To Get Width In Your Backswing.
Now, that information is all great, but if you can’t actually do it, it’s no help. So, let’s talk about some drills you can practice to get the right feel for creating width in your backswing.
Drill 1: Shoulder turn
This drill is fairly simple.
- Grab a club and place it horizontally across your chest.
- Hold it there by folding your arms over the club and your chest.
- Set up in your address position (minus the arms) and take some imaginary golf swings with everything except your arms swinging a club.
- Notice where one end of the club points when you get to the top of your backswing. Use this as a measuring tool.
- Wherever that mark is, try to go farther the next time.
The farther it goes, the better turn you have. Improving your shoulder turn will allow your arms to create the width you need.
Drill 2: Draw the line
For this next drill:
- You’ll need to place another club on the ground behind the ball, pointing directly down your target line. Make sure it’s sitting a foot or two behind the ball.
- Then, as you hit some shots, slowly take your club back and try to “draw” your club down the club on the ground as long as possible. This will help you keep your arms long for the first half of the backswing.
As you do this, make sure not to sway any different than you normally would. Your goal is to just keep the club head as close to the club on the ground for as long as you can, which forces you to keep your arms long.
Drill 3: Headcover Drill
Your driver or 3W headcover does a lot more than just protect clubs and can be helpful in a variety of drills on the driving range. The next time you need to improve your width, this drill is super helpful and easy to do.
- Put your head cover underneath your right armpit (assuming you’re a right-handed golfer).
- Using a mid-iron, swing at half speed with a few practice swings.
The goal here is to load up quickly on your backswing, then drop the headcover at the start of your downswing.
As you get better with this drill, you can hit a golf ball with it as well. When it’s timed properly, this will ensure you have plenty of width throughout the swing and should lead to better ball contact.
Drill 4: Elbow and Grip Drills
Another drill that you can use without any training aids is this one taught by YouTube golf guru, Chris Ryan. As he says in the video, when you lose width in your swing, it makes it very difficult to make consistent contact with the golf ball.
To avoid this and maintain your width, I encourage you to watch this video and do the drill he discussed at the end. The goal here is to keep your elbows in the same position as they were at the start of the backswing. Here’s how…
- Without a golf ball, grab a mid to short iron on the range.
- Before hitting any shots, try to feel like you’re pushing the grip down the ground at the start of your backswing. Because as he mentioned in the video, when the grip goes down, the club goes up. This will help you in the middle part of your backswing as you load up and hinge your wrists.
- Then, during your swing, try to squeeze your elbows so they stay together at the top of your backswing. This will help you stay connected and maintain plenty of width as you start your downswing.
Drill 5: Check Your Position
For this last drill, we’ll have you check the position of your hands at the top of your backswing to make sure you have enough width and are in the correct place.
- To find the perfect top of the backswing position, set up to a golf ball like you normally would.
- Then, without moving anything except your arms and hands, lift the club directly up and set it on your back shoulder. The butt of the club should be pointing down at the ball and the head straight up in the sky. You want the end of the grip to be touching your shoulder.
- Then, make your normal turn, but now you move your body, but not your hands and arms. You should find yourself at the top of a backswing, with your hands and club still resting on your back shoulder.
- From there, simply “push” your hands up and away from your shoulder.
- Take them away until you’ve created as much width as you can between you and the club.
If that feels natural, you probably have a pretty good position at the top of your backswing. If it feels different than you normal would, you probably need to work on your backswing so that it looks like this drill.
Conclusion
There you have it! I’m confident that if you’re able to turn your body and shoulders, keep both arms straight for the first half of the backswing, allow the back arm (right arm for most golfers) to bend in the second half, but keep the front arm relatively straight, you’ll be improving your scores in no time. Do all that, and you’ll pretty quickly experience more consistency and distance.
