Takeaway techique?

[jwhitesj]

My instructor has been working with me on the takeaway and I'm listening to the PGA announcers talk about some of the swings of the professional golfers and watching some videos online I'm wondering who is giving the best advice.

I'm a right handed golfer and my instructor wants me to start the takeway by rotating my left shoulder into my right heel, while letting my arms "go along for the ride." At the same time she talks about not worying about keeping the left arm straight it's more important to concentrate on the shoulder turn and it is "impossible" to pivot correctly if you try to keep your left arm straight.

The majority of the advice given in online videos talks about taking the arms straight back along the target line and letting following with your shoulders and hips.

Watching the PGA tour announcers they talk about keeping triangles and how straight the left arm stays keeps gives you the most power.

Who is right?

[Keep It Simple]

Your instructor is right. I assume you are paying for lessons and you won't get anything out of them if you don't listen to your instructor and follow her advice. For now you need to ignore all other advice and focus on what your instructor is telling you. If you don't see improvement after a series of lessons and practice sessions then move on and find other sources of instruction.

For the record I think your instructor is correct anyway. I was taught to take the club back with the body turning and the arms and hands go along for the ride and never lift (this is one plane thinking). It works beautifully for me.

[uttexas]

Your instructor is correct. The takeaway is dominated by the shoulders, with the left shoulder (for a righty) turning down. Think left shoulder down, bring hands in to swing in a inclined circle during the takeaway.
Generally, not a good idea to try to swing arms straight back--that would not be swinging on a circle.

Here's Ernie--see takeaway, left shoulder down, brings hands in.

[saevel25]

You know i was taught that a long time ago and never though about it, i think i might try it again.. I think i concentrate to much in the hands and arms rather in the shouldrs and i don't get enough shoulder depth

[iacas]

Your instructor is right and wrong...

I'm a right handed golfer and my instructor wants me to start the takeway by rotating my left shoulder into my right heel

I think she's wrong there unless you want to translate (move) your head off the ball. It sounds like she's setting you up to sway backwards (to the right or away from the target) while I prefer a more centered pivot. And that's fine - just watch that you don't start moving more than a couple of inches...

it is "impossible" to pivot correctly if you try to keep your left arm straight.

Also wrong. Ask her why Tiger Woods doesn't bend the left arm, or virtually every PGA Tour player. They're all doing the impossible???

The majority of the advice given in online videos talks about taking the arms straight back along the target line and letting following with your shoulders and hips.

That's one thing she's right about. Hand "straight back along the target line" are hands that are immediately off the plane.

[whatwhatwhat]

I think she or you meant to say that she said its impossible to pivot correctly if you "only" focus on keeping the left arm straight, my god give her some respect, she hardly advocates bending the left elbow during the takeaway, btw its way easier to start the takeaway focusing on getting the right hip towards the target imo......helped me alot , focusing on the shoulders would make me sway.

[jwhitesj]

Your instructor is right. I assume you are paying for lessons and you won't get anything out of them if you don't listen to your instructor and follow her advice. For now you need to ignore all other advice and focus on what your instructor is telling you. If you don't see improvement after a series of lessons and practice sessions then move on and find other sources of instruction.

It's a community college class. Our last day is actually this tuesday unfortunately. I have actually seen some improvement with this instructor, mostly in short game (sand and pitch shots). I like her and I think she is a good instructor but she doesn't verbalize stuff as well as I can. In fact sometimes I do a better job of explaining to other people what she is trying to say and she asks me to put it into words that the other students can understand. I am getting more distance since starting her class but I do kind of a modified version of her swing. Also the way she taught putting just didn't work for me, I did learn to rotate my shoulders with the putting stroke from her but the set up is slightly different for me then what she teaches. I can't get alligned with the hole properly the way she wants me to do it and I do a much better job of putting doing it my way then her way.

I think she or you meant to say that she said its impossible to pivot correctly if you "only" focus on keeping the left arm straight, my god give her some respect, she hardly advocates bending the left elbow during the takeaway, btw its way easier to start the takeaway focusing on getting the right hip towards the target imo......helped me alot , focusing on the shoulders would make me sway.

Since starting with her, when I miss hit, It's because of sway. I have this problem especially with longer clubs, If I sway back I chunk the ball and take a divot 6 inches behind the ball, if I sway forward on the down swing I hit a push slice. One of the things she does have us work on is to keep our weight on the inside of the heels, I'm pretty good at keeping my weight on the inside of the heel on the takeaway but durring the finish I tend to finish on the outside of my right heel. I deffinitely hit the ball a lot further than I used to but what is driving me crazy is I now out hit my dad with every club in the bag except for our drivers (we get the same distance ~210-220 yards.) One thing about the driver though is I get almost no roll with my driver and he get's about 30 yards of roll with his driver, so I actually hit it quite a bit further then he does I just get very little roll with it.