The Spin Axis - Golf Podcast 057: Five Main Causes of an Overswing (And How to Fix Them)
Apr 7, 2026
They break down five common swing faults that make the backswing too long: excessive trail elbow bend, over-rotating the pelvis, rolling the club inside and lifting late, a wide takeaway with delayed wrist hinge, and swaying with reverse tilt. Short, practical fixes and feel adjustments for timing, body rotation, and arm structure are discussed to regain control without losing power.
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Overswing Is A Sequencing Problem Not Just Length
- An overswing is rarely just 'too long' and usually stems from earlier sequencing and loading errors in the backswing.
- Erik Barzeski notes most golfers lengthen the swing by how far the club travels, not by increasing body turn, revealing hidden causes of long swings.
Video Your Swing And Shorten Trail Elbow Bend
- Do video your swing to check for excessive trail elbow bend and hands behind the head at the top.
- Jayson Nickol and Erik recommend keeping the trail arm near 80° of bend (tour average) to shorten felt length without losing actual club travel.
Tube Drill Proves Less Elbow Bend Feels Shorter
- Tyson and Erik use a tube-on-arm drill as a proof of concept to show players how little elbow bend they actually need.
- Players often still bend ~65° inside the tube, convincing them the reduced-bend feel still produces adequate club length.