What is a 3/4 swing?

Hi to All,

In a recent edition of Golf Digest, David Ledbetter offered some tips on pitching. He suggested using three different wedges and using either a half-swing or 3/4 swing to control distance. In an accompanying photo, he is seen using one of his wedges with the shaft nearly vertical and his arms parallel with the ground. The photo caption refers to this as a "half swing". If so, where should the shaft and arms be positioned for a 3/4 swing?

Thanks in advance.

Jack T.

3/4 is where the arm is about 20 degrees past level (a full swing should be about 45 degrees past level, some people are more or less flexable...so take you max and go backwards from there...reducing your arm hight to parallel for teh 1/2)

If you think of it like a clock with 3 oclock on the left, 6 is pointing straight down, the position you described has your hands pointing at 9:00; a 3/4 swing would have your hands going around 10:30.

omg... Plz... u dont need a watch to swing a club, thats just confusing. You'll never get it the same all the time anyway. Just break up your swing in too quarters and go from there. Its all about feeling and touch.. soft hands etc.

The key is to have partial shots with all of your wedges, have them so that you can repeat them and know their exact distances. It really does not need to be exact, just so you know how far to take the club back and how far the shot will go.

Bob

OMG SMDYBALMB. You're right, you don't need a watch and neither does he. I do. Ever since I read Pelz's short game bible, the thought of my hands on a clock face has worked well for determining my backswing length. You also did a great job of explaining where 3/4 would be. I should have been clearer in my original post, I admit, and said in relation to the photo of ledbeeter, if his arms are parallel to the ground and he is calling that his half swing...just break your swing up in too quarters and go from there.

OP, Sorry if I was confusing in my earlier post. Like others have said...the key is to knowing that your half swing will go X amount of yards everytime and your 3/4 will go Z amount of yards everytime...well not exact but within a yard or 10 (all up to you and your ability as to how exact you want to be). If your target is Y, then you have a place a little farther in your backswing than X but not as far as Z.