Swing Length

Have you ever seen the swing of Senior PGA Tour player Allen Doyle? It's fascinating. If there is ever a player who illustrates that you do not need to have a parallel clubshaft at the top of your swing, it's Allen. He barely takes the club past waist level.

Out of all the over-analyzed things in the golf swing, "length of swing" is right up near the top. It's confusing to hear about getting the club in that perfectly parallel slot at the top of the swing when it's obvious there are so many good players who do not achieve this position.

Swing length is often mentioned when talking about distance. This is when average players start to worry. They think they need to have a long swing in order to hit the ball far. That’s not the case. The important thing to note about your swing length is that it can be as short or as long as you want, as long as it’s not done recklessly. For instance, if you have a long swing, but achieve this position because you collapsed your arms or made a reverse pivot, then that is something you want to correct. However, if you achieve your long swing because you simply have a large shoulder turn, then leave it as is. By the same token, if you have a very short, abrupt swing, but do so because you are rigid and have no wrist or lower-body motion, then you need to address those problems. If you look at the good players who have very short swings, they always have tremendous lower body motion, as well as good wrist action, which allows for them to generate clubhead speed with such a short swing. 

You need to focus on the essentials of the swing. The problem with "swing length" is that it is not an essential. It is different for many great players. If your length of swing is not reckless, then don’t worry about changing it.