Hello All. Is keeping the left arm straight a must? I can turn my back toward the target but my left arm does not go back that far. I don't have the flexibility. Is there a drill that would help to keep left arm straight?
@fish4197 - @rcissell56 offers some excellent thoughts in this regard. Beyond that, consider that the lead arm is the radius of our swing circle/arc. As such we would do well to keep it intact because any shortening of the radius at some point during the motion must be met with a precise return to the preset length if we are going to preserve our swing's low point and achieve a crispy strike.
The key here is get to – but not go beyond - your body's natural stopping point in the backswing where the tilting, turning, and extending motions are complete, the lead arm has crossed the chest 45 degrees, and the wrists are properly set (preferably with a flat or slightly bowed lead wrist). This is the point where if we were to try to go any further any or all of the following will occur:
1) the lead arm will bend and/or lift
2) the wrists will break down
3) the lead knee will kick inward towards the trail side
4) the lead shoulder will level out and lose its orientation towards the ball
5) weight will shift into the trail side and bring the low point back with it, resulting in inconsistent contact and unpredictable ball flight.
6) you'll "chicken wing" and/or flip through impact
7) pain, discomfort, and/or possible injury
We don't need to try to get to "parallel" with this swing, and fighting your body in an attempt to do so will result in some combination of the above issues. If you execute this swing properly you will have created width and plenty of distance for that club to travel by taking it in deep, and that will enable you to harness the tremendous power source known as "angular momentum".
I'm not sure about a drill, but I have found what really helps my ball striking is having my arms as relaxed as possible but keeping my arms/elbows as close together as I can throughout the entire swing.
I never thought it was possible to have relaxed arms, hands, wrists, shoulders, hips, toes, etc. and still keep my arms straight, close together, and connected to my sides. Well it finally hit me about a week ago that I can and my swing is better than ever. With a relaxed body I am seeing all kinds of benefits:
- I can tilt and turn my shoulders much easier and further than I ever have
- It is much easier to start to the downswing with my lead hips and let the arms follow. I just keep pushing my hips to the target in a relaxed manner
- It is easier to keep my head behind the ball
- It helps prevent an over the top move and aids in a shallower angle of attack on the ball
- Drill 2.8 is much easier to succesffuly peform
- It makes the swing feel effortless. Instead of swinging hard, I am swinging relaxed and focusing on moving my hip to the target, head behind ball, and have the feel of hands ahead of the ball and club pointing to the ground past impact
- The amount of stress put on my body and my mind has dropped 99%
- My body is much less tired and achy afteword
- I am hitting the ball further and straighter than I ever have
Did I mentioned to relax? If not I should have. Best of luck with your arms!
The above was created by Bob C. without any aid from ChatGPT. All opinions expressed are my own and may or may not represent the views of Tom Saguto or Saguto Golf LLC management.
Thank you for your comments. Much appreciated.
@fish4197 - @rcissell56 offers some excellent thoughts in this regard. Beyond that, consider that the lead arm is the radius of our swing circle/arc. As such we would do well to keep it intact because any shortening of the radius at some point during the motion must be met with a precise return to the preset length if we are going to preserve our swing's low point and achieve a crispy strike.
The key here is get to – but not go beyond - your body's natural stopping point in the backswing where the tilting, turning, and extending motions are complete, the lead arm has crossed the chest 45 degrees, and the wrists are properly set (preferably with a flat or slightly bowed lead wrist). This is the point where if we were to try to go any further any or all of the following will occur:
1) the lead arm will bend and/or lift
2) the wrists will break down
3) the lead knee will kick inward towards the trail side
4) the lead shoulder will level out and lose its orientation towards the ball
5) weight will shift into the trail side and bring the low point back with it, resulting in inconsistent contact and unpredictable ball flight.
6) you'll "chicken wing" and/or flip through impact
7) pain, discomfort, and/or possible injury
We don't need to try to get to "parallel" with this swing, and fighting your body in an attempt to do so will result in some combination of the above issues. If you execute this swing properly you will have created width and plenty of distance for that club to travel by taking it in deep, and that will enable you to harness the tremendous power source known as "angular momentum".
I'm not sure about a drill, but I have found what really helps my ball striking is having my arms as relaxed as possible but keeping my arms/elbows as close together as I can throughout the entire swing.
I never thought it was possible to have relaxed arms, hands, wrists, shoulders, hips, toes, etc. and still keep my arms straight, close together, and connected to my sides. Well it finally hit me about a week ago that I can and my swing is better than ever. With a relaxed body I am seeing all kinds of benefits:
- I can tilt and turn my shoulders much easier and further than I ever have
- It is much easier to start to the downswing with my lead hips and let the arms follow. I just keep pushing my hips to the target in a relaxed manner
- It is easier to keep my head behind the ball
- It helps prevent an over the top move and aids in a shallower angle of attack on the ball
- Drill 2.8 is much easier to succesffuly peform
- It makes the swing feel effortless. Instead of swinging hard, I am swinging relaxed and focusing on moving my hip to the target, head behind ball, and have the feel of hands ahead of the ball and club pointing to the ground past impact
- The amount of stress put on my body and my mind has dropped 99%
- My body is much less tired and achy afteword
- I am hitting the ball further and straighter than I ever have
Did I mentioned to relax? If not I should have. Best of luck with your arms!
The above was created by Bob C. without any aid from ChatGPT. All opinions expressed are my own and may or may not represent the views of Tom Saguto or Saguto Golf LLC management.