 All errors in the golf swing can be traced back to some cause. Many golfers have a problem with overswinging, or making a backswing that is way too long for them to maintain control.
Overswinging is the root cause of some of the most common swing mistakes made by club golfers. Overswinging is generally thought of in terms of taking the club shaft beyond the point where it is parallel to the ground at the top of the backswing.
The pieces and parts of an overswing may include too big a body turn (pic 1), a collapsing left arm (for right-handers), cupping or overcocking the wrists (pic 2), opening the
fingers of the left hand, collapsing or totally straightening the back leg, a reverse pivot (leaning the spine toward the target with the weight on the forward leg at the top of the swing) and more.
 Overswinging becomes a major problem because the more moving parts one has and the further out of position one gets, the more difficult it is to bring the club back to the right impact position at the right time, let alone do it consistently (or even the same way twice).
That said, if you can perform well and with consistency in spite of an overswing, then congratulations on having great hand-eye coordination and athletic ability.
There are a few notable overswingers who have succeeded on Tour – John Daly (pic 3), Tom Watson and Nancy Lopez immediately spring to mind. You can’t argue with their results and whether or not they would have been better players  without their overswings is something to be argued at another
time. But it is not folly to suggest these players were not taught to swing the way they do, as the odds of consistent success for the majority of golfers are drastically reduced by overswinging.
CAUSE AND EFFECT
There are several contributing factors resulting in an overswing. I have mentioned overactive wrist hinge as well as excessive coil and pivot as major causes of overswinging.
These faults come about because the player mistakenly believes these elements will aid in generating more power, a la John Daly. But in reality these moves that lead to an
overswing do not generate power, they make the swing become uncontrollable and lead to a poor impact position.
For more information purchase a copy of the March Issue of Golf Australia.
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