Keep The Left Arm Straight!

One mistake that I continually watch newcomers make is bending the left arm (assuming you’re a right-handed swinger) very early in the swing and keeping it in that position throughout the majority of the swing.

As this picture of Tiger points out, it’s entirely possible to have your left arm completely straight at the top of your backswing. Okay, so you may not be Tiger, but read on.

That is admittedly a hard position to attain without a great deal of flexibility. However, if you are having trouble with accuracy, you should DECREASE THE LENGTH of your backswing to preserve the ridigity of your left arm.

Let me say that another way. Keep your left arm straight and go back as far as you can without bending it. That is the height of your optimal backswing. Forget about “power” and swing length and all of it for now. This is an adjustment you can try on the course when you’re having a cruddy round.

Here’s the Drill at the Range: Take a 5 iron and work the left arm drill.

(1) Ascertain where your left arm breakpoint is - take some easy swings without hitting a ball and focus on feeling out where your left arm is breaking. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT HOW FAR BACK YOU ARE ACTUALLY GOING. Take a “mental picture” of where your arm is and how it feels for it not to break. Imagine there is a board strapped across the back of your elbow. 

(2) Address a ball, balance yourself, aim, take the abbreviated backswing with left arm straight, and let em fly. Hit about 10 balls this way. Record the distance you are hitting the ball.

(3) Take both full swings and left-straight-swings with all your clubs. Get a feel for the difference in distance and write it down on your “Implosion Card” so that you can pull it out on the course.