The Right Arm

[tshapiro]

The better I get, the better understanding I get of what to do with the right arm.  I've come up with an analogy to try and explain it.  First off, I have a very rotational type swing ala Hogan or Els where I use my body rotation for much of the power.  Directing that power specifically through my left arm/hand allows me to use the strong muscles of my lower body.  Any use of my right arm takes away from club head speed.  Now, I have wrestled for years as to why use of the right arm is like putting on the brakes.  In my natural thinking, I want to use it to add power.  But, years of trial and error have proven to me that the right arm simply slows things down.  So, now that I've mastered the rotational swing, I've been trying to derive a way to explain to someone who is still learning how to use their body why the right hand slows things down and I think I've landed it:

Imagine you are pushing a child on a swing.  As the swing reaches the high point and begins to fall back down you begin applying force.  When applied at the right time, your force causes the swing to begin traveling faster.  However, there reaches a point where the swing begins to out-run you and you must let go or you will begin holding back the swing.  This is the problem with the right arm...The right arm is good for bracing the left on the back swing and through the transition, but, your rotating core driving the left arm will begin moving so fast your right arm could never keep up.  Your only option is to allow your your side, your leg, to release early so that it is well out of play when your mid section whips the club around like a propeller on a spindle or like a whip.  When my right side releases nice and early, my right arm looks very powerful, extending straight down the target line through impact.  Fact of the matter is, I am not using my right arm hardly at all... it is no match for the powerful muscles of my legs and core and is way too slow to keep up when I release the club.

I think it's worth noting that my left arm muscles are no faster than my right.  However, my left arm is simply the lever that my body is pushing on to apply power to the club.  I am not really swinging with my left arm either... just transfering the power and guiding that power down the proper swing plane and into the ball.

[senorchipotle]

you may not think you're using your right arm, but try and make a swing without it and you'll see just how much you actually are.

[mattttt25]

I think this makes a lot of sense.  It's something that probably happens a lot with poor golfers (like myself).  I can clearly understand the right arm holding back the force of the swing and causing a leak of power or mishit.

[tshapiro]

you may not think you're using your right arm, but try and make a swing without it and you'll see just how much you actually are.

If you go back and read my post, I said that I use the right arm to brace the left on the backswing and through the transition. It's like power steering in a car where it assists but does not direct. Once my lower body starts to drive my core and the core is driving my left arm there is absolutely nothing the right arm can do but to get caught in the way. A true body style swing sweeps much longer and much more powerfully then a right arm motion, braced at the right elbow, can keep up with. I would expect people who: -have not learned how to rotate around their spine -have not learned to coil at the top -have not learned to release their right side -have not learned to drive with their lower body in the downswing ...to still believe their right arm plays a vital role in the downswing. I believe one of the most difficult things to learn in a Hogan style golf swing is to use the right hand to assist the left hand in holding on to the club through impact and not use the right arm to try and power the swing. But, once you start learning to use your body, you naturally start trying to get the right arm out of it. If you haven't experienced that then you're just not there yet.

[anthony]

I'm all right arm on the downswing and my irons have never been more consistent. Wasn't it Hogan or one of these guys that said they wish they had 5 right hands on the downswing? I think some people think it will cause you to flip or lose your flying wedge if you use the right arm during the downswing. However, I've found that it's quite the opposite in reality.

[tshapiro]

I'm all right arm on the downswing and my irons have never been more consistent. Wasn't it Hogan or one of these guys that said they wish they had 5 right hands on the downswing? I think some people think it will cause you to flip or lose your flying wedge if you use the right arm during the downswing. However, I've found that it's quite the opposite in reality.

Generally, people who power with their right hand are referred to as hitters and people who use their body and pull with their left are referred to as swingers. They are 2 different ways to swing: a swing hinge comes from the left shoulder and a hit hinge is the right elbow joint. Hogan said he wished he had several right hands but he also said that he thinks about hitting as hard as he can after the weight shift, after the hips turn, and after he gets the club traveling down on plane. He also said he pronated the left wrist and liked to feel his arms attached at the elbows, arms working together as a single lever. He also said use equally as much of your left hand. The world will never know for sure, but, I believe Hogan had tremendous flexibility, obviously incredible rotation, and was a swinger. His hit was more of a sensation as his club released into the ball. I say this because of the way he describes the hips providing the force that is multiplied through the arms. I'd love to be able to ask him.