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The right arm in the swing


Jack Watson
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On 10/20/2017 at 7:18 PM, Jack Watson said:

I was reading a long involved diatribe on wrx about right arm mechanics and I am curious what folks here think about the right arm action they use or if they feel it does little.

Recently I've been feeling like the right arm rides above the left arm through the first half of the backswing. This helps me load the arms and shaft a little more "up" (tend to get too shallow) and create better wrist loading dynamics (tend to get narrow A3 caddy view). This is a feel/motion that helps my mechanics and is specific to my priorities. 

In a general mechanics discussion, one of the trail arm's more important functions is to flex on the backswing to elevate the hands/arms. Both arms are important for speed and directing the hands path because both hands are on the grip. The placement/orientation of the trail arm in relation to the torso and pivot action is also very important. You can have a trail arm the works more in front of you on the downswing (Zach Johnson) or a trail arm that is behind you (Jim Furyk). Just depends on matching up the components. 

I generally think most good players:
- Have their forearms even or the trail arm slightly below the lead at address
- Don't flex the trail arm past 90 on the backswing
- The humerus doesn't load behind their shirt seam
- Still have some flex in the trail arm at impact
- Trail arm works more like skipping a rock than shutting a trash can

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51 minutes ago, mvmac said:

I generally think most good players:
- Have their forearms even or the trail arm slightly below the lead at address
- Don't flex the trail arm past 90 on the backswing
- The humerus doesn't load behind their shirt seam
- Still have some flex in the trail arm at impact
- Trail arm works more like skipping a rock than shutting a trash can

Whether or not the golfer actually has to feel the right arm do any of this depends totally on that golfer. Whether or not the feel even associates with the movement they want to achieve.

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11 hours ago, saevel25 said:

Whether or not the golfer actually has to feel the right arm do any of this depends totally on that golfer. Whether or not the feel even associates with the movement they want to achieve.

Right, there are many, many good players that don't think about their trail arm at all.

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5 minutes ago, mvmac said:

Right, there are many, many good players that don't think about their trail arm at all.

@mvmac, I’ve seen on video my trail arm still partially bent and wrist dorsiflexed while having a straight to bowed lead wrist. Fine. But I also see times where both arms are straight (at impact) and I’ve obviously snapped my trail wrist prior to impact and flip. I don’t feel anything different other than the better contact as the early position mentioned. Do you know a drill you’ve had success with that promotes proper trail arm/wrist movement?

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2 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Do you know a drill you’ve had success with that promotes proper trail arm/wrist movement?

On the downswing? Swinging with your left hand off the club. With that one if the right arm and pivot don't "behave" you won't be able to make solid contact. Other than that, not really, depends on what you're doing with your swing. If the trail arm is straight at impact, there is a reason for it. I hesitate to go further because I don't want you wasting time on something that isn't important to your swing/priorities. 

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2 hours ago, mvmac said:

On the downswing? Swinging with your left hand off the club. With that one if the right arm and pivot don't "behave" you won't be able to make solid contact. Other than that, not really, depends on what you're doing with your swing. If the trail arm is straight at impact, there is a reason for it. I hesitate to go further because I don't want you wasting time on something that isn't important to your swing/priorities. 

Right. It could be many, many different things, @Vinsk.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks for the comments.

My comment is that there's many ways to move the club.  Trail arm dominance vs the conventional left arm control are two very different worlds.

Apples and oranges.

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