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BackswingSpeed, Power, and Distance Driver Expert ⏱ 3 min 🇬🇧 Video in English, summarized

How to Lengthen Your Backswing with Chris Como

To hit a long drive, you need a fairly wide backswing, and many golfers have stiff backs from sitting too much. Chris Como, writing for GolfPass, offers three adjustments: one at address and two to focus on during the backswing. The goal: more time and space to accelerate.

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Chris Como
Chris Como · his YouTube channelFree lesson selected by Fred P.

To be continued

19 minSame problemPause at the Top of the Backswing: Matsuyama ExplainsHideki Matsuyama · Expert2 minSame problemVictor Dubuisson's Swing: Stance, Swing Plane, and BackswingVictor Dubuisson · Expert2 minSame problemJustin Rose's ball drill: rotating without liftingJustin Rose · Intermediate

What the lesson shows

First setting, at the following address: move the back foot back relative to the line and spread your feet apart, especially the back foot. This gives you more room to rotate your pelvis. Second point: We’re often told to rotate our hips without ever stretching our glutes. Chris Como suggests first feeling a slight pelvic misalignment, which alone would resemble a sway, and then to turn to feel Stretching the leg and the back of the buttock.

Third point: Be aware of your shoulder blades. In the backswing, you need to feel the rear shoulder blade, which pulls backward and the pectoral muscles stretching to gain even more range of motion. Taken together, these three elements give him a significantly longer backswing, more time to bring the club back from the inside, and therefore more speed. Since he naturally tends to have a swing that’s too short, he can safely exaggerate this motion.

The Exercise, Step by Step

  1. Place a stick toward the target and move your back foot slightly behind it.
  2. Spread your feet slightly apart, especially your back foot.
  3. At the start of the backswing, feel your pelvis shift slightly backward.
  4. Next, turn and feel the stretch in your leg and the back of your hip.
  5. As you lift, pull your rear shoulder blade backward while feeling the stretch in your pectoral muscle.
  6. Combine these three sensations into a single backswing, then hit your drive.

Key Takeaways

A fairly wide backswing is necessary to increase the speed of your drive.
Stepping back and opening your back foot gives your pelvis more room.
A slight shift of the pelvis, followed by a rotation, stretches the gluteus maximus.
Pulling your shoulder blade backward increases your range of motion.
A longer backswing gives you more time to swing through from the inside.

Mistakes to Avoid

  • Taking a backswing that's too short due to stiffness.
  • Rotate your hips without ever stretching your gluteus maximus.
  • Simply shifting the pelvis without rotating afterward, which results in a sway.
  • Forgetting the role of the shoulder blades in upper-body range of motion.

Driving Range Mode

Keep it in plain sight, on the rug.

  1. Stance with the back foot set back and feet spread apart
  2. Slow lifts, focusing on stretching the gluteus maximus
  3. Lifts by pulling the rear shoulder blade backward
  4. Drives that combine all three sensations

Your Questions

Why move your back foot back at address?

Chris Como explains that this gives the lower body more room to rise. Opening the back foot also helps the pelvis rotate further.

How can you prevent a pelvic shift from turning into a sway?

The shift is just the first step: next, you need to turn, focusing on stretching your leg and the back glute.

What role do the shoulder blades play?

Pulling the rear shoulder blade backward stretches the pectoral muscle and increases your range of motion. According to Como, most golfers aren't aware of this.

Learn More

All “Backswing” videos →Find the lesson that's right for youAll “Speed, Power, and Distance” videos →Find the lesson that's right for you Bryson DeChambeau's Drive: Unweight, Load, PushTo drive the ball far, DeChambeau doesn't try to swing faster; instead, he puts more power into the club: he shifts his weight, plants his feet firmly on the ground, and then pushes through the swing. Viktor Hovland's Ball Striking: Height and TriggerOn the driving range, Hovland explains how he gained speed, how he gets the ball higher or lower with his 7-iron, and what trigger sets off his swing. Use the Ground to Hit Harder: Pavon's DrillPavon gains speed without changing his swing: he learns to push off the ground at the right moment using a weight-transfer exercise. Chris ComoAll of his lessons

Video posted on YouTube by its creator (Chris Como). Best Golf Tips selects and summarizes the best free lessons, without hosting them.

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