Extension of Arms

[Futuresport]

I know I need to upload a vid or pic...but go with me here for a second.

When I tee it up with my driver, I'll stand a good distance away from the ball with my arms outstretched more so than when hitting my fairway woods and irons. Not outstretched to the point of being visually ridiculous, but I can feel it. When I line up, the toe of the face of my driver is just barely behind the ball, while the sweetspot is not lined up directly behind the ball. So naturally when I'm all lined up, I look slightly like I'm reaching for a ball thats just a tad too far away.

I do this because I noticed during my downswing my arms are naturally extending outward quite a bit, and if I don't stand far enough away from the ball, I'll end up hitting it off the heel of the driver.

-The wilson spine is a little bit longer than average, but I wouldn't think this is the primary issue.

-I don't use this extension of my arms when I'm hitting my 3 wood or any of my irons

-I tend to slice the ball if I mis-hit it on all of my clubs

-I'm using an neutral/stronger grip, not a weak one

-I'm not trying to kill the ball, in fact I find myself swinging harder with a 4 or 3 iron than my driver.


Wanted to throw this out there and see what kind of ideas came back. I do plan to put a vid of my swing up soon, I'm just lazy about uploading the ones I already have.

[Zeph]

Hard to tell without pics or a video. The arms should not be extended on the same angle as the shaft, even though I know some people advocate that. They are a bit extended, to somewhere under the head or brim of the cap. You could be casting and throwing the club at the ball. If you set up with the arms in a good position and have a late release, the arms will be in front of the ball and you'll be able to make solid contact without standing too far from the ball.

[grantc79]

Hard to tell without pics or a video. The arms should not be extended on the same angle as the shaft, even though I know some people advocate that.

The right forearm should be on plane at setup which means the right forearm and the club shaft ought to look like one solid line from behind.

The left arm will be a little higher. Before you mention it, yes I know not all pros do this however I would like to point out that there is absolutely benefit of not doing it. Also that is the position you should be at at impact so there is no reason not to start from it.

[iacas]

The right forearm should be on plane at setup which means the right forearm and the club shaft ought to look like one solid line from behind.

Huh? The arms hang at address. If your arms are straight in line with the club shaft, well, that's just goofy.

[grantc79]

Huh? The arms hang at address. If your arms are straight in line with the club shaft, well, that's just goofy.

Really?

Tell it to Brian Gay, Moe Norman (probably the best ball striker of all time), Sergio, and many others. Your right forearm is going to be more or less in a straight line with the shaft at impact so why not do it at address? http://www.pgatour.com/2009/tourlife...616/index.html Take a look at Brian Gay's stats for the year and see what you think about his "goofy" address. #8 Driving Accuracy #10 Proximity to the Hole #5 Scrambling #5 Putters Per Round #25 Scoring Average #10 Money List THE "MAGIC" OF THE RIGHT FOREARM (March 2007) Chuck Evans - Executive Director of Instruction - Medicus Golf Institute http://www.medicus.com/toptip22.php Frame 16 look at both of their forearms, especially Adam Scott's. Frame 28 Daly and JB Holmes.

[iacas]

Really?

Yes, really. And Sergio Garcia? Unless you're redefining "straight line" to mean "two lines connected at an angle of something other than 180°" you're wrong. I've got plenty of photos and video of Sergio at address.

I'll give you Moe Norman, but that's about it.

Your right forearm is going to be more or less in a straight line with the shaft at impact so why not do it at address?

Because address and impact are different positions. If you're returning exactly to where you are at address, you're not set up properly. Not even Moe Norman did it - to start, the clubhead was a foot behind the ball at address IIRC.

Frame 16 look at both of their forearms, especially Adam Scott's.

Uh, yeah, not a straight line at address.

I'm not debating impact (and never did), just address. Address and impact are different positions. Virtually every part of your body is in a different location.

[elchene]

About the address position, in my opinion it's more a function of body type/arm length.

Lucas Glover is a great driver of the golf ball and look at his address position:

[grantc79]

About the address position, in my opinion it's more a function of body type/arm length.

And look at him at impact......

[Zeph]

And look at him at impact......

The OP did not ask about the impact position:

So naturally when I'm all lined up, I look slightly like I'm reaching for a ball thats just a tad too far away.

Address and impact are two different positions, even though you want them to be similar. The hands can hang down at address and be fully extended at impact without hitting the heel of the club.

[elchene]

The OP did not ask about the impact position:

Yep. We're not talking about impact position here, we're talking about address.

At impact, your right arm is bent so it's definitely in line with the shaft. At address, if your right arm is fairly straight, it won't be easy to keep it in the same line as the shaft.

[grantc79]

Yes, really. And Sergio Garcia? Unless you're redefining "straight line" to mean "two lines connected at an angle of something other than 180°" you're wrong. I've got plenty of photos and video of Sergio at address.

And Brian Gay? Its not even arguable that his right forearm is on plane at address.

You can go to his teacher's site and see where they talk about it extensively.

Because address and impact are different positions. If you're returning exactly to where you are at address, you're not set up properly. Not even Moe Norman did it - to start, the clubhead was a foot behind the ball at address IIRC.

They don't have to be.

You can start swinging at impact fix and swinging at impact fix realistically just makes everything more simplistic which is never a bad thing. I still haven't heard why its better not to start out at the same position that you want to be at at impact.......

[elchene]

Look at the videos...........

I looked at the videos...

At address none of their arms are in line with the shaft. At impact, their arms are indeed in line with the shaft. I do understand your point though. But, at impact, your arms are swinging at a high speed. Naturally, they're going to be at a different position than what they were at address. *Edit* By the way, do you have the link to Brian Gay's teacher's website. I want to read the article just for the sake of knowledge.

[iacas]

They don't have to be.

Yes, they do. Until you can play good golf by mirroring everything about your setup position at impact, you're simply wrong here.

Setup and impact must achieve different goals. Their positions are incredibly different - again, virtually every part of your body is in a different position. Additionally, I've revised my image to include Tiger at impact, and a close examination of the videos of others shows that they're often not in a straight line at impact - they're close, but it's not a straight line:

[billm408]

IMHO, your address position shouldn't change with different clubs. My body didn't change shape, the difference is the distance between my feet and the ball as determined by shaft length. The arms should drop naturally from your shoulders and hang over or just past your toe line. Regardless of the club in your hands.

I do this because I noticed during my downswing my arms are naturally extending outward quite a bit, and if I don't stand far enough away from the ball, I'll end up hitting it off the heel of the driver.

If you're rotating your hips properly through impact, your hands will move inside and you won't heel the shot. The pics of Tiger that iacas posted are a good example.

[enduro]

If you're rotating your hips properly through impact, your hands will move inside and you won't heel the shot. The pics of Tiger that iacas posted are a good example.

Correct. If the hips are rotated and open when the club contacts the ball, because the club is behind your hands the extra length that is created by the stretching arms is compensated for with the angle of attack.

[enduro]

I still haven't heard why its better not to start out at the same position that you want to be at at impact.......

So you want to start out with your hips out in front and shoulders turned a bit?

Address and impact are different things and if your goal is to get the club back to where it was at address you're off a bit. The idea is to get a square club face, like at address. But the hips, body shoulders and arms are in a different state at impact than at address.

[billm408]

Address and impact are different things and if your goal is to get the club back to where it was at address you're off a bit. The idea is to get a square club face, like at address. But the hips, body shoulders and arms are in a different state at impact than at address.

Mostly lower body. Ideally, the difference between address and impact is that your weight will be on your left side and hips clearing to the left, but your shoulders should be square to the original target line- tilted slightly up as a result of the weight shift. Your upper body returns almost to address position at impact.

Of course you're in motion so it's a little more dynamic.

[grantc79]

Yes, they do. Until you can play good golf by mirroring everything about your setup position at impact, you're simply wrong here.

Actually you can pretty easily. I can setup to the ball at "impact fix" which basically means how my body will look at impact and play pretty good golf.

I've shot in the 70's playing that way when I had flexibility issues. Ted Fort is the 2006 PGA Georgia teacher of the year and plays golf very, very well from "impact fix" with a right forearm that is on plane. Lynn Blake who is Brian Gay's teacher also advocates playing from "impact fix" with a right forearm that is on plane. I know we are both way smarter than him due to the fact that he teaches a guy who's in the top 10 in money on the tour and all...... I'm not saying you have to play this way, I'm simply saying it makes golf easier and you CAN if you choose to. Are you telling me that as good of a golfer as you are that you couldn't set up to the ball with a forward leaning shaft and a right arm that is on plane and play good golf?