
Checkpoints for Practice
- Golfers who don't make a full turn often fold the right arm early
- Keep the right arm straight as long as possible - it acts as a piston to move the right shoulder blade farther back
- Use a video camera to check your form - you may feel that your arm does not fold at all even though it has
- Your hands should feel very far away from you at the top of the swing
How can I keep my left arm straight?
PGA Tour player:
- 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
- Left elbow 6 degrees bent at second parallel in downswing
- Left elbow 8 degrees bent at impact
How to keep our left arm straight in the backswing?
Your right arm doesn't need to bend that much. You're thinking about creating width in the swing, which is free club head speed. Keep your right arm wide, and you don't need to fold it that much, and your left arm will stay perfectly straight.
How sitting can screw up your golf swing?
13 Rules of Golf Etiquette
- Show Up Early. This is one of the easiest things to do yet so many people still make this mistake every single day.
- Obey The Cart Path Rules. If you’re new to the game, you probably think golf carts are the best thing ever. ...
- Warm Up with Three Balls. ...
- Don’t Talk While Others Are Hitting. ...
- Talk to Competitors Shots. ...
How to stop getting stuck in the golf swing?
If getting stuck is one of your swing flaws then here's a review of the correct downswing sequence:
- The downswing is initiated by the hips unwinding, not the shoulders.
- Next, the torso starts to unwind.
- After that, the arms follow.
- And after that, the club lags behind hopefully carrying a lot of energy with it.

How do I keep my right arm straight in the golf swing?
0:027:29The Trick To Keeping The Left Arm Straight In The Golf Swing - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd start with a split hand grip. So the right hand's down towards the end of the grip. And start toMoreAnd start with a split hand grip. So the right hand's down towards the end of the grip. And start to make some swings where you go back to left arm parallel.
Which arm stays straight in golf?
left armGolfers are often taught to keep their left arm straight on the backswing, but Bryson focuses on maintaining that straight left arm structure all the way throug his swing. It's only when that left elbow and arm breaks down through the ball that golfers start hitting shots left.
Should right arm be straight in golf swing?
2:2516:17The Role Of The Right Arm In The Golf Swing - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipNow if it's true that the right arm never gets fully straight until 45 degrees past impact byMoreNow if it's true that the right arm never gets fully straight until 45 degrees past impact by definition that means the right arm needs to be bent the entire time before that starting with the setup.
Should right arm be straight at impact?
The final stage is impact and the followthrough. In a perfect world, both arms should be connected, forming a triangle with the golf ball. Additionally, the right arm should be just in front of your hip. The right arm should not straighten before impact.
How to practice golf if you don't make a full turn?
Golfers who don't make a full turn often fold the right arm early. Keep the right arm straight as long as possible - it acts as a piston to move the right shoulder blade farther back. Use a video camera to check your form - you may feel that your arm does not fold at all even though it has.
What does a bent elbow look like?
A bent elbow is like a shock absorber. If I practice turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, you're going to see my right shoulder start to pop out over here. Now I have a little bit of flexion at the top. The less flexion I have, the easier it is to keep this left arm straight.
What happens if the elbow pit isn't positioned correctly?
If the right elbow pit isn't positioned correctly, the right elbow is going to want to fold early, which is detrimental to a full turn.
Do you need a club for elbow pit?
When you're practicing this, just like everything else, you don't need a club at first. What I'm going to practice, I've got my right elbow pit in the right place.
Can you make a full turn in golf?
In other words, you ARE physically able to make a full turn in the backswing! That's right, when you use your right arm correctly in the golf backswing, you will be able to make a full turn, no matter your flexibility!
Why do you need a straight right arm in golf?
What you really want is a relatively straight right arm during the initial part of the backswing as this promotes width and good pace -- keys to hitting solid shots.
Where is Leadbetter Academy located?
Based at ChampionsGate near Orlando, Leadbetter runs 30 academies worldwide.
Which arm should fold and move under your left?
As your right arm continues toward the top of the backswing, it should start to fold and move under your left, which encourages your wrists to set and load correctly and helps your upper body to make a full coil. This combination of width and the proper body turn sets you in the ideal position for the downswing.
How many degrees should your arm be bent when you wrestle?
As we always say…. You don’t arm wrestle with a straight right arm and at impact your right arm should feel exactly the same way, bent at almost 45 degrees.
What does Ben Hogan mean by "If the average golfer went out and did the opposite of everything they thought to
As Ben Hogan said, “If the average golfer went out and did the opposite of everything they thought to be true they would hit it much better.”. It’s a counterintuitive and contradictory game.
Who is Baden Schaff?
Editor’s Note: Baden Schaff has been a PGA teaching professional for 17 years and is the co-founder of Skillest , a digital platform that connects golf students with golf coaches across the world for online lessons. To learn more about Skillest and to book a lesson of your own, head over to Skillest.com or download the app in the app store.
Is it dangerous to have straight arms?
One of the most common concepts I hear and see is “make sure you keep your arms straight!”. But this can actually be quite a dangerous concept: Straight arms can often lead to loss of power, over-active wrists and an over-active body. Straight arms are almost never seen in any other sport.
Is teaching golf an art?
Teaching golf is an interesting art. For a relationship between coach and student to become a successful one many things have to go right. It’s a lot more complex than most could ever imagine. One of the most important aspects of fixing a student’s golf swing is understanding their concepts.
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 ...
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.
Who is Luke Kerr-Dineen?
Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF .com. In his role he oversees all the brand’s service journalism spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.
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 ...
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.
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.
Does Rory McIlroy have a bent arm?
Without this, players with a bent left arm will tend to pick the club up with their arms, without rotating their body as well, which will lead to inconsistent and less powerful ball striking. It’s clear PGA superstar Rory McIlroy has a slight degree of elbow bend during his golf swing.
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.
