How to Prevent Left Arm Collapse in the Golf Swing
- Improve your flexibility. Perhaps the biggest reason the left arm collapses during the backswing is a lack of flexibility in the left deltoid, hip flexors and abdominal muscles.
- Perform the towel drill. This drill emphasizes rotating the shoulders and hips during the backswing instead of relying on the arms to achieve a parallel position.
- Practice taking a long, low takeaway. Keeping your arms straight during the takeaway will promote a wider swing arc and a straighter left arm during the top of ...
- Check your swing in the mirror. Perform your takeaway and backswing, and hold the top position for several seconds while checking to make sure your left arm is ...
How do I keep my left arm straight through my golf swing?
There are several key positions worth noting — takeaway, left arm parallel to the ground, the top of your backswing, downswing, and impact — that you can focus on to keep your left arm straight through your golf swing.
What happens to your arm when you follow through in golf?
During the follow through your left arm will remain straight after hitting the ball, but will bend as you rotate through to face your target and your arms come up to your finishing position. Maintaining rotation is important because it helps get your right shoulder down and through the ball, driving your arms through impact.
What is a stretched out lead arm in a golf swing?
A lovely stretched out lead arm is the key to creating power and distance in your shots, it creates width and in turn, speed. The following video and article reveals everything you need to know and how to get a straight left arm in your golf swing. Sorry, the video player failed to load. (Error Code: 100013)
Why do I bend my left arm when I swing?
Bending your left arm at impact is commonly referred to as the dreaded chicken wing. This decreases the amount of force you can put into the ball as your arms are not fully extended and swinging freely.
How to keep your left arm straight in golf?
Keeping your left arm straight during the swing requires the proper grip, arm swing, downswing path and body turn. Learn these fundamentals and you will consistently be able to create a powerful swing.
How to get a golf club to swing down?
Downswing. Start your downswing by moving your lower body to the target. This will help you bring the club down along a proper inside-out path. Turn your hips toward the target and keep your left arm extended as you continue swinging down to impact. Turn your hips through the impact position and hold onto your wrist hinge until just before ...
How to swing a golf club backwards?
Swing the club back with your shoulders and begin hinging your wrists. Keep your left arm extended as you turn your shoulders and hinge your wrists. Stop your backswing when your left shoulder is under your chin and your arms are slightly higher than your shoulders .
How to follow through on golf swing?
Follow Through. Keep turning your hips as you swing through impact and strike the ball. Let the club rotate over as your arms extend out to the target. Halfway through the follow-through the left arm should finally bend as you fold both arms to a finish position. Your shoulders and hips should face the target at your finish.
What arm should be straight at the top of the backswing?
By John Wagner. The left arm should be straight at the top of the backswing. One common phrase heard around driving ranges and golf courses is "keep your left arm straight.". This advice can help right-handed golfers create power in their swings.
Where should the V point on a golf club?
The "v" formed by your left thumb and index finger should point toward your right shoulder. Grip the club in the fingers of your right hand with the right pinky finger overlapping the index and middle finger of the left hand. This grip will give you leverage to hinge your wrists while keeping your left arm straight.
Why is it important to keep your left arm straight in golf?
How important is keeping a straight left arm in golf? The reason players are encouraged to keep their left arm as straight as possible through their golf swing is to create as much width as possible during the takeaway and backswing.
How many degrees should a golfer's left arm be?
Golfers should try and keep their left arm as straight as possible without it being rigid, or locked, but some bend is fine. Most professional players start with a straight left arm at address, which bends to around five degrees at top of their backswing. Their left arm continues to flex slightly in the downswing and will have around eight degrees ...
What causes a player to turn their body and shoulders too far inside the swing plane?
Complete locking of the left arm causes many players to turn their whole body and shoulders too far inside the swing plane. The only way they can then get any height in their arms at the top of the backswing is to lift them up, which in turn can create some poor movements – such as an over-the-top slice – during the downswing.
What is the biggest killer of golf swings?
As the common saying goes, tension is the biggest killer of every golf swing. Below is a video demonstrating a great drill to release tension in your arms, wrists and hands while maintaining a straight left arm throughout your swing.
What happens if you lock your lead arm?
The arms and shoulders need to be relaxed to get the club going fast. But at address, if you lock up your lead arm then your body gets really tight … and can lead to some really poor (backswing) and downswing motions. If we don’t (keep the arm straight) it actually acts as another lever, if you bend your arm.
Should you bend your left arm in golf?
It (your left arm) is allowed to bend. It shouldn’t be ram-rod straight unless you have ultimate, super flexibility. But if there’s a little bit of bend in it, then it’s generally OK.
Does Rick Shiels golf have to be straight?
Rick Shiels from Rick Shiels Golf: It doesn’t have to be perfectly straight, it’s not absolutely crucial. The more we can keep it straight, the better but there’s many golfers out there who keep it as straight as they can (but still have it a little bent at the top).
How to keep your left arm straight in golf?
Proper Left Arm Positioning. There are several key positions worth noting — takeaway, left arm parallel to the ground, the top of your backswing, downswing, and impact — that you can focus on to keep your left arm straight through your golf swing. First, as you start your backswing, keep your left arm straight and close to your body ...
How to push your arm away from a golf ball?
A good thought is to push your left arm away from the ball by rotating your shoulders and trunk with your left shoulder working down and under your chin. If you are using a Swing Align device the front of the rod will move down first (not out and around).
Why is the left arm of the golf club important?
It largely determines the spacing and arc of your golf swing, it helps control the clubface and ensures power through impact. Too much bend in your left arm can throw off the timing of the rest of your body, costing you power and making it more difficult to square the club at impact and start the ball on-line.
What is the role of the left arm in golf?
Every part of the body has to be insync for a golf swing to work, but the role of the left arm in golf swing is one of the most crucial and easy to check components. This article will discuss proper positioning for your left arm in a golf swing, when to think about it, and how it should move throughout your swing. An important note, this page will discuss the importance of the left arm in the golf swing as most golfers are right-handed, but what we really mean is the lead arm in the golf swing. So if you’re a left-handed player, this article will be about your right arm.
What arm does the follow through do?
It also teaches you to make a full swing instead of decelerating at impact. During the follow through your left arm will remain straight after hitting the ball, but will bend as you rotate through to face your target and your arms come up to your finishing position.
How to swing backswing golf?
First, as you start your backswing, keep your left arm straight and close to your body until it approaches parallel to the ground and your wrists start to hinge. You’ll want to make sure that your arms and body are “connected” and your body is driving your turn away from the ball, not your arms. Remember that golf is a rotational game ...
Why does my left arm bend when I swing?
If you find your left arm is bending at the top of your swing it is most likely because your body has stopped rotating and you are trying to generate more reach and power with your arms. This only serves to make it harder for you to make a well timed and connected swing down to the ball.
How to swing your arms?
Stand in front of a mirror and make small swings watching how your arms work. Keep the back of the front or left arm firmly against the chest on the down swing . Notice that your arms can rotate easier before, at and after impact.
Which arm controls the path of a golf club?
Golf Instruction. The left arm is the one that primarily controls the path that the club will travel on. For this reason we need to try to keep the path from changing during the swing to produce consistent results. That means you will need to feel as if you keep the arm straight from the set up position until impact.
What does it mean when your left arm moves back in the back swing?
Obviously this means your body must move in an athletic manner with the hips moving towards the target to start the downswing.
What is the most counter intuitive motion that most golfers ever have to make and feels powerless and uncomfortable at first?
The way the left arm moves and rotates after impact is one of the key contributors to a great golf swing. This is the most counter intuitive motion that most golfers ever have to make and feels powerless and uncomfortable at first. Most good players do not keep their left arms completely straight during the back swing.
How to get hips to move after a ball flight?
After accomplishing a ball flight that curves left next try to get your hips to move laterally from the top of the swing and then try to get the hips 20 to 40 degrees open at impact. This may take a little time but it is well worth it. This is how a good athletic motion produces extremely long consistent shots.
How to hit a ball relatively straight?
To hit a ball relatively straight the arms and body sequence and speed must match up. Once you learn to curve the ball left with proper arm rotation you will then need to change the sequence of your body motion. Most amateurs have their hips facing the ball at impact.
How long does it take to learn to hit a ball curving left?
A person who slices can learn to hit a ball curving left within 40 minutes after learning proper use of the left arm. The typical comment during the change is how unnatural or uncomfortable it is to move your left arm correctly after impact. The key is how the left arm moves very little forward in the down swing.
What is the right arm for golf?
As Tattersall says, your trail arm — which is your right arm for right-handed golfers, or left arm for left-handers — can and does a variety of different things on the backswing. “The right arm can fan a little bit, it can rotate, and it can lift. All those things happen in most people’s backswing,” Tattersall says.
Why is the trail arm important?
Your trail arm has an incredibly important role in the golf swing, one with the ability to both help — and hurt — the outcome of the shot you’re about to hit. When something goes wrong in a golfer’s downswing, it generally does so in one of two ways: Either the arms both work too far behind you at the start of the downswing ...