Understanding the purpose of the left arm in the golf swing and how to properly utilize it are critical factors in shooting low scores. Take a look back at some of the greats and their trail elbow at address. Why Keeping the Left Arm Straight in a Golf Swing Matters. Place your left hand on the club in the correct position. Just by keeping your lead arm (the left one) slightly higher than your right one, you're going to make the ball turn over and draw. The Solution: Check your flexibility and if you feel this is a physical issue get on a stretching routine to loosen up your mid and upper body. 1- From the Takeaway 9 o'clock position, the right forearm will begin to roll clockwise. The setup determines the . Externally Rotate Your Right Arm. From half way back the left arm rotates so the shaft of the club points at the ball. To the end of the grip. To correct this, Glenn Hall, a famous instructor, helps us with understanding this properly by clarifying that the hand must be used to hit the ball but the lead arm leads the swing. A little bend here is ok but the goal is to maintain your width. The move could be summed up as 'turn, then point the club . Then stand slightly behind the spot where you'll take your stance, looking at your target. Maintain the arms in front of the chest. For this reason we need to try to keep the path from changing during the swing to produce consistent results. Now place a tee (or a small coin . General Albums. Now, taking your golf posture, rotate your arms and hands so your palms face to the sky. 1) THE PRE-SET. Note that, when you place the address the golf ball, there will be some natural cupping (wrist extension) in your left wrist, and your right wrist will be flat see Figure 1. What this means is that you want your arms to be relaxed and free of any tension throughout the entire swing motion - they should simply transfer the power generated by the rotation of your torso. This connection helps maintain the link between the torso and arms in the down swing which acts as a sling shot as the torso transfers energy to the arms. The trail arm plays a 'crucial' role in your golf swing, says Top 100 Teacher Jon Tattersall, who has a swing thought that might help. Watch School of Golf Tuesdays at 7 p.m. But here's the keyhe was not saying to be connected at the side of your chest, but connected on top of your left breast. Try practicing with your right arm only: Fold your right arm, get it into neutral, rotate a little and turn to . Given the number of people who are right-handed, naturally, more golfers would say left is the proper dominant hand and arm when in-game. Swing the Club into Plane. The left arm plays a crucial role in the golf swing. They keep the right forearm above the left arm in the backswing when looking at the swing from the face on. Keeping a straight left arm during your golf swing is critical for creating width, speed and consistency, but it should be done so without tension. So a lot of people stretch for the ball. So a lot of people stretch for the ball. Learning and maintaining the master setup position is absolutely essential if you're going to improve your game using the Peak Performance Golf Swing. At that point, the club's butt end (the end of the grip) points directly along the target line. The result is a shortened swing arc and a collapsed left arm. This is in contrast to positioning them in line with the ball or behind the ball. I recently went over the master setup position of the Peak Performance Golf Swing. This phrase is often used as a mental cue to keep the elbows tucked in and tight to the body. At address the club face is normally aligned vertically, square to the swing plane. This will facilitate getting back to this ideal position at impact and should lead to a successful trapping of the ball. Focusing on the elbow-to-elbow cue at various . Step 3: Keep your right arm bent at impact. Appointments with Paul can be booked via Powerscourt Golf Club Reception: Tel (01) 204 6033 or the Golf Shop . Where your left arm starts in the setup will determine where it ends up when you get back to impact, so it's critical that you're in the right spot when you . The problem that most golfers have in trying to generate extra distance is that they unconsciously flex their upper arms and forearms at address . Johnston actually says that, "The left arm just hangs and is inert until the right arm stretches it and creates leverage.". This is not correct. Fri, 05/31/2013 - 12:00 -- Don Trahan. Bryson Dechambeau Swing Speed. Today, I want to focus solely on the left arm position at address. A straight left arm encourages rotation, and is the primary driver of power, speed, and consistency in golf. May 21, 2014 at 7:34 am. The Role of the Left Arm Part II. For most people that I've found in my lessons and everything, normally a hand span away from your belt. Some golfers swear by it, while some are skeptical of its importance and others simply cannot complete a swing with a straight left arm. On the downswing, the left arm remains relatively straight. Jordan's is a swing that the Occasional Golfer can imitate with success. The other major contribution the left or front arm makes is . To the end of the grip. Keep your left elbow pointing to the ground to eliminate angles in the swing Jimmy Ballard: Listed as one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers Golf Digest's #. The crucial part lasts about three minutes and is worth watching again and again to get the idea to fully penetrate thicker heads like mine. Focus on maintaining the radius you created at address all the way to the top of the swing . Then as we go into the takeaway, we're going to get a little bit of pronation, so our forearm's going to turn slightly to the right. 2022 the Memorial - Tuesday #3. Secondly focus on maintaining good width with your rear arm. If it drops out as your hitting shots there is . Why Keeping the Left Arm Straight in a Golf Swing Matters. 2022 the Memorial - Tuesday #2. As the left arm moves upwards throughout the swing it tries to travel and go underneath the chin as the shoulders turn around. 3. Split your hands on the club and keep a gap between them. This is a jump from last year when he had an average swing speed of 118 mph with a ball speed of 175. The elbows, particularly the trail elbow should be tucked in, below the left arm. . two, the shaft should be pointed left at the top. Often players believe they must be aligned straight with both arms dead locked straight. You look so good there. That's where your arms hang. Jordan Spieth has a beautiful, rhythmic golf swing, and some fairly significant left elbow bend at the top. Me, left forearm was almost immediately going rolling higher than the right. For most people that I've found in my lessons and everything, normally a hand span away from your belt. Scratch Golf Mario Russo gives you advice on what the left arm should look like at address for a perfect setup every time. A week ago I was looking at Adam Scott's swing and noticed something that he does, and pretty much every other player too. I suggest a slight forward lean of the club. Pushing with the left provides little rotation or shoulder turn, so the big muscles are left out of the golf swing. Your right forearm should be a little lower that your left because when you set up your left shoulder should be a little higher than your right. In the address position, Set the clubface straight up in front of you, with the handle slightly forward, Position both hands on the club so that the left arm and club shaft form a straight line structure. I keep my arms straighter and higher than most at address, and it caught Bryson's eye. This swing thought reminds you to press your hands forward at address so that they are located ahead of the ball slightly. The radius of this circle, back and through to the finish, is defined by the length of your left arm (for a right-handed golfer). When you push from the left, the right arm folds and the club goes deep. Developing proper left arm positioning is an important step towards total confidence in one's ball striking ability. A "connected" swing will use the big muscles and the core muscles of the body to rotate while maintaining the "7", the left arm staying in front of the body throughout the swing. That's where your arms hang. So at address you are going to standing nice and tall with . What this means is that you want your arms to be relaxed and free of any tension throughout the entire swing motion - they should simply transfer the power generated by the rotation of your torso. You will also notice a slight shoulder tilt as a result. The golf swing in its most simple form is a circle. So your left arm and shoulder can't move around as much they can. Right elbow a little bent, point it a little more down to the ground in relationship to your left. Rotate fully away from the target while keeping the club in front of your chest until the backswing is complete. The plane used as a model here is a sheet of plywood, propped-up. Patrick Cantlay WITB - 2022 the Memorial. That's as far away as you need to be from the ball. That's how my lesson started. D) Bend your left arm at your elbow to address the golf ball. This simple fact is why most golfers struggle to ever break 90. or left arm for left-handers can and does a variety . The left arm in the golf swing is primary controller of the golf club, but most golfers overuse their right arms because it's their dominant hand. Make sure that both clubs are perfectly parallel to your target line see Figure 1. At address the left arm should be relaxed and hanging down, copying the right. They use their pivot-drive action to power the golf swing - by using a pivot-drive action to blast/catapult the left arm down-and-forwards towards impact (and this action represents the release of PA#4). Your left arm will be slightly internally rotated as it hangs naturally and moves around your chest to take your grip. The Solution: Check your flexibility and if you feel this is a physical issue get on a stretching routine to loosen up your mid and upper body. It should be slightly lower because you should grip the club with the right hand first . If you feel your swing is too short try rotating your lower body more. I try to get my left arm to sit on top of my logo on . The setup determines the motion, so if your left arm is in the wrong spot, it's going to lead to other problems as well. Rotate your body and . Arm/hand position at address. By far the most effective drill to really feel that wonderful width is the split grip drill. Checkpoint #1: At address. 2- As the right forearm is rolling, the right elbow will begin to elevate. Extend your arms away from your chest as you reach the top of the backswing. This is the step that separates the average golfers from the elite golfers. In this video, I explain that your hand position should remain the same - with all clubs in the middle of your chest. This put him at about 40th (2019) out of 200 players on Tour. You look so good there. As a result, this helps create higher hands at the top of the golf swing. That's as far away as you need to be from the ball. 76.2K subscribers. WITB. Arms Lift No Turn | Touch Hands Here. Unlike the left arm, the right arm folds early in the golf swing.This allows the right arm to stay connected with our rotating upper body. This way, your lead arm is likely to stay straight, and you will be in a powerful position to start your downswing with confidence. Swing the club back with your shoulders and begin hinging your wrists. (The target line is the line that runs through both the target and the ball.) Get the feeling that you are actually pushing your rear arm away from your body on the backswing. A) Bend your left arm at your elbow in your address position. One characteristic feature of a full golf swing is the fact that a golfer swings the club across the front of the body, while . Golf Tip: Role of Left Arm in Swing; Jim Ballard. . Golf Tips: Left Arm. The left-handed golf swing just like the right is open to slight modifications, see famous PGA tour lefties like Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson they don't have the same . At address, the left elbow pit (left antecubital fossa) should face more inwards (away from the target), while the right elbow pit (right antecubital fossa) should face more outwards . 3- At the top of the swing, TWO things should have occurred. Viewed from down the line your hands will appear . Greg was wondering about the positioning of his left elbow at address. In fact, the straighter the better. This will make the shoulders too level. ET. The right arm should dominate the backswing. Put a golf ball on the ground, and place 2 golf clubs (or alignment sticks, if you have them) on the ground one just in front of your feet at address, and one a couple of inches (5cm) on the other side of the golf ball. The best drill to simulate this is to place a head cover or glove under the lead armpit and hit mini shots seeing if the object stays in place. As the left arm rotates the right arm folds. If the left arm stays connected to the body, the hands work inside and the club stays outside the hands. Keep your left arm extended as you turn your shoulders and hinge your wrists. The back of your left wrist should be flat and the clubface should match that angle. The truth is, while keeping the left arm straight is not absolute imperative, it does help most players hit the . original sound. "Keep your left arm straight" is a phrase heard a lot on the golf course. One area in the set-up that is always overlooked are the elbows. Thanks so much, Henry, for your comments. 2022 the Memorial - Tuesday #1. Get the feeling that you are actually pushing your rear arm away from your body on the backswing. Not only is it important to swing the left arm across the chest, close to the chest, in the early stages of the backswing, but it's . Carlos Ortiz WITB - 2022 the Memorial. When your pointed right your going to "push" every shot. Because again, that's where your arms hang. To give you an idea of what kinds of problems can result from the left arm breaking down, take a look at the photos below. C) Your left arm should be straight as you address the golf ball. Release the right arm like pitching a baseball. Shaft Leans Forward at Address. The shaft starts at a 45-degree angle to the ground. Ideally in a proper setup, the hands will be located ahead of the ball at address. The left arm is the one that primarily controls the path that the club will travel on. Your shoulders should have turned about 90 degrees and your hips should have turned 45 degrees or less, depending on your flexibility. This gives you additional room to turn your upper body while keeping your left arm straight in your golf swing. YouTube. If you freeze the best players in the world at the moment of impact, the overwhelming majority of them will have a slightly bent right arm as the club strikes the ball (I explain this more in my article about the importance of . In The Role of the Left Arm Part 1, I wrote about Jimmy Ballard's well-established idea of "connection" in the golf swing.I was recently reviewing an older tape of Jimmy's teaching, and I got a better grasp of another important left arm concept - Jimmy calls it a "shorter" left arm, or "half a left arm." Now if at address you get your chin very, very low, you are going to put an active blocker. This creates a great set up with your forearms in the correct position. Learning and maintaining the master setup position is absolutely essential if you're going to improve your game using the Peak Performance Golf Swing. Lean Shaft Forward. The left Elbow should be at 90-degrees to the ground at the top of the backswing. The Right arm should always be below the left arm until after contact. This is a great exercise to sense the connection . Take this knowledge and try it out for yourself. In the 2021-2022 season, Bryson Dechambeau has a driver swing speed of 132 miles per hour (mph) and a ball speed of 200 mph! Secondly focus on maintaining good width with your rear arm. Less moving parts is a cornerstone of Bryson's swing philosophy. That's actually going to happen throughout the entire backswing. Scientific Secret #1 - Power comes from your hands and arms, not your body. Hi Don, I would like to know the correct position of the left elbow at . Left elbow -3.6 degrees (hyper flexed) bent at address; Left elbow 0.0 degrees bent at first parallel in backswing; Left elbow 5.5 degrees bent at top of backswing; . Doug Lane says. Trail Arm. Developing proper left arm positioning is an important step towards total confidence in one's ball striking ability. Here's how I recommend you getting the feel of this all-important connection: Put a credit card or golf glove under the left arm at set up. Most of modern instruction places an emphasis on spinning (turning) your body for maximum power. #golf #foryou". The swing thought that's made my day in this 2020 annus horrebilis is something that I had recognized in the past but never gave it my full attention, and so never connected the dots as to cause and effect. Golfer A breaks down the left arm in the swing and shortens the radius. . About Paul Thompson: Advanced PGA Professional Paul Thompson is the resident professional at Powerscourt Golf Club in Wicklow since 1995. Obviously, with pitching you can do that, but for the full swing get that left arm more on top. Adam Scott WITB - 2022 the Memorial. It will naturally take the handle slightly forward. Angle your body 45 degrees . The swing should start off with a one piece takeaway where the butt of the club points at the golfers spine as it did at address. Some important points to note about each golfer: Golfer A (left): Shortened . Published: 17 October, 2013. So, as the master of connection, Jimmy Ballard always used the towel or golf glove under the left arm at the armpit. But by following this golf swing drill, you'll be able to learn the secret of the pros and start controlling your golf shots. Set your hand position at address. Here's at address, you can see that my palm is straight up and down this way. The elbows can play a significant role in the golf swing, and usually an adverse one. The left arm plays a crucial role in the golf swing. YouTube. Many amateurs fold and . Employ it, and enjoy this game evermore. Backswing. This spinning and turning causes most golfing problems - most notably a weak slice (and a loss of power). Wrist is almost flat. Please come see us in Palm Springs CA for golf lessons or visit us for a Palm Springs, CA or Las Vegas, NV Golf School. The "traditional square" club face at the top of the backswing sees the leading edge of the club face essentially PARALLEL to the swing plane, as shown, 90 degrees rotated from vertical Get that elbow pointed slightly out. Left arm swinging is the swing style used by the majority of professional golfers. PGA Master Instructor Dave Cahill 952-994-0387 davecahill@cahillgolf.com. . Trap the object with the ends of your hands, as seen in the picture. This will have for consequence that the shaft of the club will be slanted forward in what is called a shaft lean. The left arm determines the swing arc for a shot and helps release and rotate the wrists and club on the downswing. Don't feel like you have to roll your wrists over at impact. The left arm is straight with a very slight engaging of the left tricep muscle, the right arm is loose, and has a natural bend. Hogan recommended that the elbows be pulled inward with a little bit of "live tension" so that the left elbow points at the left hip bone, and the right elbow points at the right hip bone. The point I'm referring to is the Pronation of my left forearm at address and throughout the back swing. You may have heard the common expression "elbow-to-elbow" throughout your golfing career. Because again, that's where your arms hang. Further, the unnecessary body motion makes . Abraham Ancer WITB - 2022 the Memorial. That means you will need to feel as if you keep the arm straight from the set up position until impact. Straight Left Arm Drill. B) Your left elbow should bend and buckle outwards at address. 4.5K Likes, 29 Comments. So work on that setup. Checkpoint #2: Swing the club back until your left arm is horizontal. Tom Stickney II. Steve Johnston PGA. Stop your backswing when your left shoulder is under your chin and your arms are slightly higher than your shoulders. Many amateurs fold and . Make sure that left arm's on top of our chest, and never on the sides with our long game. In addition to providing coaching on-site he also is a coach with The Golfing Union of Ireland . Introduction. He initiates the swing with a nice starter move, maintains excellent balance throughout, and his left elbow stays supple enough that it does not unduly strain his lower back as he initiates the downswing. A straight left arm encourages rotation, and is the primary driver of power, speed, and consistency in golf. Take your regular set-up, your regular stance and make your regular swing. Pull the right elbow down in front of the right hip on the downswing into the slot. Also Known As: "Hands ahead of the ball" or "Press hands forward". School of Golf's Martin Hall and Blair O'Neal teach a drill that gives you the proper lead arm motion throughout the swing. Simply put: The right arm should be on top of the left arm ( 1) as you start the backswing, and then it should move under the left arm ( 2) as you swing the club to the top. For right-handed golfers, the left arm is one of the most important aspects of the golf swing. Reply. June 1, 2009. "Set . TikTok video from jazzyjeff.golf (@jazzyjeff.golf): "Improve backswing pivot by letting the left arm swing across the chest while keeping right back pocket on the wall. One, the left wrist should be flat or matching the left forearm. Lower Body Drives the Downswing. The problem that most golfers have in trying to generate extra distance is that they unconsciously flex their upper arms and forearms at address . If you manage to make it to the top of your backswing with a . As you change clubs and ball position, this will alter the angle of the club shaft. Learn the proper role of the left arm in the downswing. In Photo 2 I'm using a credit card, which is thin enough to demand that you keep that left shoulder and upper arm connected to the torso, but light enough to not interfere with the swing. With this concept, the shaft will be angled slightly towards the target with a short iron, and slightly . PGA Instructor Mike Cahill 612-501-9015 mikecahill@cahillgolf.com. From there, a good image for the swing is to "swing the 7." The shoulders and the left arm form a "7" at address. Golfer B maintains the same left arm straightness that he had at address. You should feel like you are pushing your hands away from your chest . He wasn't sure if it should be pointing at the ground or at the target, or somewhere in between. Simply put: The right arm should be on top of the left arm ( 1) as you start the backswing, and then it should move under the left arm ( 2) as you swing the club to the top. As with the towel drill, use the muscles in the back of your shoulders to keep the object trapped at address and during short half swings. Using Notes And Feedback To Improve Your Distance Control On The Golf Course Video - by Pete . In that short takeaway move from address lies one of golf's greatest secrets. This setup can be learned by anyon.
