arm position

[BASHERBAKER69]

If you concentrate on rotating you body properly you will not have to worry about keeping your left arm straight. Nick Price is the exception to the rule i feel. Ernie Els has a classic swing and a great player to watch.

When i swing i just think 'left shoulder under chin on backswing'- this promotes good coil and therefore no need to worry about your left arm.

I feel that people bend their left arm in anattempt to complete their backswing.

[DavidFehertysBike]

If you concentrate on rotating you body properly you will not have to worry about keeping your left arm straight. Nick Price is the exception to the rule i feel. Ernie Els has a classic swing and a great player to watch.

pretty solid advice. But I will add make sure your body can make that kind of a turn to begin with. You shouldnt tuck your shoulder under there if it dosent want to go.

[irspow]

I try not to mention a straight arm to my students unless they specifically ask about it. A stiff arm is much worse than a slightly bent one in my personal opinion. I believe that if one turns the body with completely relaxed arms and no "lifting" of the club that the arm will remain pretty straight without thinking about it.

Almost without exception those who bend their left or target-side arm excessively are those who attempt to turn more after their shoulders have stopped. Once I convince them that maximum shoulder turn is important and not how far the club has gone back the problem pretty much takes care of itself. Far too many golfers try to put the club into positions that they are not flexible enough to reach correctly.

Interestingly, one great golfer in history was quite successful with pronounced arm bend, even approaching 90 degress. Harry Vardon employed a three lever type swing that still mystifies me to this day. With a background in mechanical engineering I was always intrigued by his approach. Theoretically, the summation of velocities of a three lever swing is far superior to the accepted two lever one now almost unanomously used in studying the golf swing. Alas, I tinkered endlessly with his method and never found a successful method of employing it in real life.

In my teaching I stay with the tried-and-true understanding that the target-side arm establishes and maintains the radius of the swing arc. Bottom-line.....comfortably straight and relaxed.

Tom

"Love golf, live golf."

[Saks]

I honestly think it's just an uncomfortable thought for you, and hard to make a good swing trying to think about that stuff. Maybe it causes some other problem.

That makes sense. My left arm was bending and I was tucking my right elbow into my body in an attempt to promote an inside outside path. This was all in an attempt to strike it better! It worked on the range when the instructor was standing there but not now!

I definately think I have been forgeting to turn my body and just trying to reach with my arms, I have lost quite a bit of distance as well swinging like this. That last point you make Leek, about just playing golf and where I want the shot to go is awesome. The more I think about my swing the worse I play. Need to go back to basics here! I was playing much better when I was just hitting the ball where I wanted to and not filling my head with crazy stuff and then the self doubt when you hit a couple of awful ones! I am playing tomorrow so will try not thinking about my swing and see what happens!

[Saks]

I try not to mention a straight arm to my students unless they specifically ask about it. A stiff arm is much worse than a slightly bent one in my personal opinion.

Thats good. There is no way my arm can go fully straight. I'm guessing the idea is to keep it at the same level of bend that it is at address? Which will happen if I concentrate on turning back in one movement?

[irspow]

Yes, Saks, if you were to only turn your torso away while keeping your arms completely relaxed (Think cooked spaggetti noodles!) that lead arm will stay relatively straight without you having to think about it. Again, most people bend that arm when attempting to lift the club after their shoulders have stopped turning. When your shoulders stop turning the back swing is over!

Tom

[x-forged]

correct, irspow, you know your stuff. once the shoulder turn is complete, that is where the backswing should end like you said. if you overdue your maximum coil and shoulder turn, this leads to "consistent inconsistency"(as my instructor calls it) in ball striking, and it will take you off plane in most cases.

[Saks]

Thanks for all the ideas. Played today with my new backswing and trying not to really think abut too much.

Stopping the backswing when my body stops seems to have made a big difference, hit the ball a lot cleaner, more like what I used to do. Hit driver the best I have hit it for ages as well.

Two problems still! 1st is if I swing with out thinking about mechanics and only the result, I dont seem to release the club as well which makes me hit a fade/slice if I'm not careful...any tips for this now!?

Also, I am about a club shorter now, hitting 7 iron from 137 (metres) to the front of the green where it used to be 8! Not too concerned about this if it is consistent!! I would rather hit 7 from the marker than a thin 8 over the back!