[EdZ]

Is it necessary to give up yardage in order to gain consistency or accuracy? I'm not talking about swinging easy vs. swinging hard. As a high handicapper whose also pretty long, I wonder if making swing changes geared toward consistency will cost me yards. I know, I know, "it's not how far, it's how many" . But nobody wants to get shorter, right??

Ask any good player and they will tell you they very rarely swing 'all out' for any shot, so in that sense, yes, most give up some yardage for accuracy.

I like Annika's key of "swing six" - meaning she likes to think of swinging at 60% in pressure situations.

For me, when I am really feeling the 'heavy' feel of lag pressure, it "feels" like my backswing and downswing are the same tempo. Very smooth and even and heavy. The result of that effortless power feel is generally about 80% of an 'all out' motion which I almost never do - except to reach a long par 5 if, and only if, the situation calls for it and the conditions allow for it - and I can KEEP MY BALANCE and HOLD MY FINISH until the ball stops.

That said, working on your swing will hopefully produce more efficient impact, so while you may give up some yards in the short term as you work on certain areas, once you learn to compress a ball there is no doubt you will be hitting it at least as far as you are now, and likely much farther and more accurately. It is a difference you can 'hear'.