Beginner Swing

[tndave]

Like the title suggests I am very green. I have only been to the range twice to hit a bucket of balls. I have watched many online videos & they have helped tremendously. I can now hit the ball straight…when I hit it. My problem now is hitting fat or topping…I haven’t been able to get consistent solid contact. I know there are several things that can cause this, like keeping too much weight on the right leg (fat) or lifting your head (topping). But I have a very basic question…When you set up before your swing, do you lock your elbows or have them slightly bent?   BTW, I'm using an 8 iron.

[jshots]

I noticed recently that I did not keep my elbows locked at setup, and when I swung my left elbow was bending. I found that when I locked my left elbow at setup I tended to keep it straight through the rest of my swing.

Locked to me though almost suggests like hyper extension which is certainly not the feeling you want, more of just a nice firmness I think.