Face-on
Short backswing.
A short backswing leaves the club well short of level at the top. Parallel is a description, not a length you have to copy.
By Dwain Kinghorn · Updated
Face-on · Club in frame · Top, Transition, Downswing
Understanding the idea.
Short backswing names where the club is when the body has finished turning. On a face-on recording, stop at the Top. If the clubhead is still well below the shoulder line, and the shaft points steeply down instead of along the ground, the swing is short of parallel. That is the observation. It is not yet a verdict.
Length has more than one source. The club can look short because the turn was small, because the arms stayed narrow, or because the hands stopped early. Those pictures ask for different experiments, and a short top that still returns the club to the ball can be a perfectly usable swing. Look closer when the cramped top leaves no room to deliver the club, so the golfer has to snatch or reroute to reach the ball.
Compare Top, Transition, and the start of the Downswing on the same take. At the top, ask where the clubhead arrived. A moment later, ask whether that top gave the club a way back, or whether the next move is a rescue. Pair the frames with contact. A longer-looking top that makes the strike worse is not progress.
Do not grade this from the shaft's slope alone. A shaft that has carried on well past level can lean at a similar slope to a shaft that never arrived. The clubhead tells those two apart. Watch the clubhead against the shoulders and the ground.
A phone video cannot measure this in degrees, cannot see grip pressure, and cannot show the ball's flight. Blur at the top hides the clubhead. If the club leaves the frame, you do not have the picture.
How to read this pattern.
Golfers arrive at different tops. Proportions, the club in hand, and the shot all change how far the swing needs to go. A soft wedge often looks shorter than a driver, and that can be appropriate. A compact top that produces the strike the golfer wanted is not a problem because it fails a silhouette.
Parallel to the ground is a familiar reference. It is not a standard of a correct swing. Chasing it can make a golfer overturn, lose balance, or throw the club past a top they could already use. Read the top you have, then look at the strike. Change the length only when the short top is what makes the delivery difficult.
A practice cue.
Let the club arrive at a top it can leave smoothly.
Try the exercise.
Arrive, then leave
Use a mid-iron. Set the camera face-on and far enough back that the club stays in frame at the top. Make a smooth rehearsal with no ball and let the club stop at the top long enough to see where the clubhead is. Do not adjust it while you are paused. Step away and rebuild.
Hit easy shots at a modest target. Keep the same club and the same aim. The only task is to let the club finish its trip up and then change direction. If you notice a stretch for a longer top, use less effort and swing again. If the club feels stuck up there and the strike gets heavy or thin, give the club a little more time to go up, and stop there. Do not add a stack of body instructions.
After a few shots, look at the Top frame and the strike together. Keep the version that returns the club cleanly. Discard a longer top that only looks more complete.
What to record
On the replay, name where the clubhead is at the top and whether the next move is a smooth change of direction. Keep a longer top only if the strike improved.
Practice set: 5 rehearsals with no ball, then 2 sets of 6 easy mid-irons.
Keep in mind: The club changes direction from the top it actually reached.
Review the result.
For a practice comparison, record 5 full mid-iron swings from a face-on view, keeping the club in frame. Use the same setup for both sets; label shorter drill swings separately.
Record five full mid-iron swings, face-on, with the club in frame. Compare Top, Transition, and early Downswing. Note where the clubhead is, and whether the next move is a change of direction or a rescue. A phone still cannot measure the angle. A shaft slope by itself can confuse a very long swing with a short one, so keep the clubhead visible.
Watch these clips.
These demonstrations offer another way to understand the idea. Each video opens at the selected starting point and continues playing; use the note below it to focus your viewing.
An indoor backswing lesson. Pause when the body has finished turning and see where the club is relative to the shoulders and the ground. Use it to practice looking. It does not assign you a length.
Face-on, he keeps a gap under the lead arm on the way to the top, which he calls a number seven. A narrow arm swing often makes the club look short. Width and length are related, and they are still separate checks.