Shorter (Probably Better) Swing? Keep the Right Arm Straight

[iacas]

Yes, I said right arm.

No, I don't mean it literally.

If you want to keep your backswing shorter - and probably 95%+ of golfers should - feel like you keep your right arm straight(er) on the backswing.

Give it a try.

Update (2018-08-31):

[tws1098]

Good suggestion, this is something I have started to think about to get rid of my overswing. It has helped a lot.

[Zeph]

What I struggle with in doing this is getting the feeling of the arms not guiding the club. Keeping the arm straighter, by thinking about it or using the swing extender, the feeling in the wrists is very strange. Which is a good think I suppose since something is done different. Made me concious about the grip pressure and how I normally grip it hard and throw the club at the ball, instead of swinging the arms and just letting the club follow.

[chspeed]

Two more suggestions for shortening the backswing, which has helped my ball-striking tremendously so far this season:

1. Make sure to turn your shoulders at the start of the backswing, don't wait.
2. Keep the elbow connected to your torso (not attached, but connnected, meaning there should be some space between them, but they should be close).

Iacas, I'm not 100% sure what you mean in your original post about feeling that your right arm is straighter, but I think it means to feel like you have some width, which I don't think is contradictory to keeping the elbow connected.

[Leftygolfer]

For someone like me who has struggled with having a too steep swing plane, should I be focusing on keeping my elbows in to ensure I have an inward path with the hands?

[shortstop20]

For someone like me who has struggled with having a too steep swing plane, should I be focusing on keeping my elbows in to ensure I have an inward path with the hands?

That would be a good thought to have. Shallow swingers of the club will have the right elbow more "tucked" into the rib cage than upright swingers.

Just don't do it right away, you don't want your elbow to tuck immediately and as a result, drag the club way to the inside.

[sean_miller]

Yes, I said right arm.

I might fall into the other 5% - just a guess.

[Zeph]

Just don't do it right away, you don't want your elbow to tuck immediately and as a result, drag the club way to the inside.

You can take the hands deep inside without rotating the club the same way.

[grantc79]

The basic idea is called extensor action.

It sounds crazy and takes some getting used to but once you get it, it is the most structured and solid back swing you could make.

The right fore arm preferably takes the club back, the entire time the right tricep and upper arm is attempting to straighten the right arm, the left arm is passively acting as a leash and so the left arm stays nice and taut.

As soon as you run out of right arm to bend the back swing stops because the pushing right arm will not allow the left arm to bend (which is a huge problem if it does).

This also does a lot to keep your wrist alignments in good shape throughout the back swing.


Most people will actually shorten the swing, gain consistency, and gain power due to the fact that their alignments improve so dramatically with this method.

[shortstop20]

You can take the hands deep inside without rotating the club the same way.

Yes, but most don't.

[applejr]

The basic idea is called extensor action.

This seems like exactly wha tI need to work on...now I just need a golf club so I can start trying to wrap my head around it.

[iacas]

Iacas, I'm not 100% sure what you mean in your original post about feeling that your right arm is straighter, but I think it means to feel like you have some width, which I don't think is contradictory to keeping the elbow connected.

For someone like me who has struggled with having a too steep swing plane, should I be focusing on keeping my elbows in to ensure I have an inward path with the hands?

To answer the both of you...

Inward hand path (not too far inward, but again, the list of people who take their hands too far in is zero) is important. I prefer to keep your right elbow fairly well connected to the chest, yes. But no, a connected elbow does not mean you can't extend. Extending is NOT lifting. LIFTING is what pulls the right elbow off the chest most of the time. I posted another thread about the Swing Extender a long time ago. If you push with extensor action to try to keep your arm straight, you'll maintain good width, your right elbow will NOT collapse to less than 90°, and your swing will stop at the proper point.

[soloredd]

That would be a good thought to have. Shallow swingers of the club will have the right elbow more "tucked" into the rib cage than upright swingers.

This got me in my swing funk 2 months ago. I was working on getting a better shoulder turn but in doing so, my swing became severely inside due to the elbow. Looking at a video, my plane become so flat it was impossible to make good contact due to all the compensations going on. I watched grant's youtube video and also got myself to get the feeling of my right arm going straight back (but it doesn't in reality). This not only helped get my swing on plane and create great contact but I also get my hands just a touch higher in the backswing, which feels much more relaxed when coming down into the "slot". Hard to describe for me, really. It just feels good.

My backswing is much shorter now than it used to be, even with the driver (which is where I would really cross parallel). Hope it lasts!! :)

[damnitdave]

i have been working on this... i try to do like sergio... keeping the arms straight from start of backswing to the finish

[rudygu]

Yes, I said right arm.

Thanks! This really clicked for me. I've just started changing over to S&T; in earnest and this really helps me feel like I'm generating a good coil in my backswing without loading on my right leg. I've struggled with dragging the clubhead back and flipping it too inside while swaying over to my right side...something I was hoping to fix with S&T.; With this advice (I hate the word "tip") I get the sensation of keeping my hands in without the flip.

[anthony]

Holy cow, this tip just changed the game for me. I already do this with chips and pitches, but never considered it with a full swing. Mostly, because I thought there's no way I would get any power this way. Well, I was dead wrong. It feels like my backswing is about 70% (or less) of what it was previously to trying this and I am hitting them as far or further.

I played 18 after work yesterday and remembered reading this thread before going out on the back. I shot 8 strokes better on the back and after 4 holes had this weird confidence stepping up to the ball. Almost, like I knew what I was doing. Obviously, the right arm bends, but the feeling of keeping it straight just sets you up to really power through the downswing.

[newtogolf]

This was also a change my instructor made to my swing along with making sure my elbows were close together with the pockets facing the sky and elbows pointing to their respective hips.  It feels like it constricts my backswing a bit, but with remaining centered on the backswing, and using my hips to trigger the down swing it actually resulted in longer distances with all my clubs which he says is the result of compressing the ball versus sweeping it like I had been.

[WUTiger]

[quote name="shortstop20" url="/forum/thread/35195/shorter-probably-better-swing-keep-the-right-arm-straight#post_451902"]

None

...br>Just don't do it right away, you don't want your elbow to tuck immediately and as a result, drag the club way to the inside.[/quote] The pro I work with had me do a drill related to this after our first lesson three years ago.. Still do it a couple of times a month. Take a 2 x 4 board about three feet long, and mark an 18-inch strip in the middle. Then put it on the ground, and imaging ball is setting at L end of strip (for rightH golfer). Then, start your takeaway, keeping the right arm fairly straight the first 18 inches (maybe first 21" when you try it with 3W). This prevents snapping the club inside too quickly, and encourages a fuller turn w/o overswinging.