Brad Faxon In Person Lesson with Wayne D – Simplifying The Backswing

After the online video I sent Brad regarding a new swing he sent to me, his interest was piqued enough to want to make the drive down to Boca from his home at Old Palm in Jupiter for a face to face.  Brad has always been interested in trying to figure out how to get the club more on plane at the top and has taken lessons (paid lessons) from many instructors, which, as you can see by his first swings, have been unsuccessful in achieving any lasting results.  There is an increasingly popular belief that fixing a backswing is not a top priority in improving the results of a swing, but in my mind the backswing and transition sets up the approach to impact, which then of course dictates the release pattern.  I have always told Brad that his ball striking could improve if he got his backswing more on plane as opposed to being across the line as it would uncomplicate the maneuvers he needs to square the face at impact.  That is not to say there have not been great players who have had odd backswings (there are many), but the fact that they were (or are) excellent ball strikers means that the way they compensated and the mechanisms they used to get back to the ball are, for them, repeatable and efficient.  Brad is one of the finest putters who has ever played the game, and his short game is also at a high Tour quality level.  If his ball striking measured up to his play around the greens, he should be winning on the Champions Tour, especially given that he is in great physical condition.  In the video we start with a few set up changes, and then work on some stop and go drills trying to take some of the steepness out of the shoulder movement in the takeaway while loading more immediately to the right.  When Brad stays taller as he gets to the top, he can keep his keep his upper right arm more in front of him and his elbow lower, which as you will see in the position he achieves when he stops at the top, puts the shaft nicely on plane and simplifies what the transition needs to do to get the hands in position to deliver the club to the ball.  One thing Brad never fails to do is to achieve a beautifully sustained impact, and it is my belief that a more on plane backswing would uncomplicate his approach to impact and have positive results in his overall ball striking.