Right Arm During Take Away

[johnny_14424]

How straight should the right arm be during the take away? I notice my right arm is not completely straight before it starts to bend when I get in my back swing. If I try to keep my right arm straight I notice that my take away is more out in front of me.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by johnny_14424

How straight should the right arm be during the take away? I notice my right arm is not completely straight before it starts to bend when I get in my back swing. If I try to keep my right arm straight I notice that my take away is more out in front of me.

I wouldn't worry about keeping it straight. Why? It's not even necessarily "straight" at setup for most good golfers.

[johnny_14424]

Thanks Erik. I was watching Golf Fix this past Monday and Breed was talking about keeping the right arm straight during take away. I wish I had the video so I could watch it again but it was confusing. It feels impossible to keep the right arm straight on the take away.

[The Recreational Golfer]

If I keep my right arm straight, my left hand gets jammed and the clubface closes. Maybe that's just me, but I have to make sure my right arm starts folding right away.

[Zeph]

Keeping the right arm straight doesn't make any sense. How it is at setup is individual, but most have it a little bent. Regardless of setup position, the arm will always start bending on the takeaway. The rate is also a matter of style, but it's commonly not recommended that it bends too late or too soon. It should not bend a lot past 90º. Some keep it straight longer, some bend it sooner. Hard to tell what your feelings look like without a video, but you should not try to keep the arm in front of you, the left arm is supposed to cross over your chest. And move the right arm to your side/back.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by johnny_14424

Thanks Erik. I was watching Golf Fix this past Monday and Breed was talking about keeping the right arm straight during take away. I wish I had the video so I could watch it again but it was confusing. It feels impossible to keep the right arm straight on the take away.

I'm okay with the feeling of keeping it straighter. Some people flex the right arm too quickly. There is a difference there.

But keeping it ramrod straight and shoving your arms out away from you isn't a good recipe.

http://thesandtrap.com/wiki/big-list-of-golf-terminology

Let me put some numbers to it. Let's say your arm is fairly straight at P1. Actually, here's a chart.

Position	Degree Bend
P1	0
P2	10
P3	45
P4	90
P4.5	100
P5	95
P6	45
P7	10

You'll note that this is a chart where you actually add to the right elbow bend in the transition and the very start of the downswing.