Left arm

**Newb** · 08-06-2005

at the top of ure backswing alot of people tend to say to keep your left arm straight. how many of u do this?? and wat is the differences if u keep it straight or bend it ??

**KidWilson33** · 08-06-2005

As long as you are keeping the club on-line, I think a little bend in the left arm at the top is ok. The one thing to make sure of is that the left arm arrives back at the ball Straight upon Impact. During your backswing I wouldnt bend the left arm conciensly and yet, at the same time dont try so hard to keep it straight that you become tense.

**SDB1** · 08-06-2005

I've only seen maybe 4 people on tour that could keep their arm absolutely straight at the top of their backswing. Don't even waste your time concentrating on this portion of the swing. You do want to create width in your backswing, the feeling is almost like you're pushing the club away from your body on the backswing. Right at the top though your arm will definitely bend a little.

**Letitroll98** · 08-07-2005

I think the thought is correct, meaning you want to feel as if your left arm is straight by, as noted above, almost pushing the club away from your body, achieving a backswing through shoulder turn. Even if in reality your left arm is bending a bit, it shouldn't feel as if it is. If it feels like it's bending, you're bending too much.

**TheLastDon** · 08-07-2005

Keeping the left arm "straight" is the right thought as letitroll said, but not the best feeling. I prefer to tell people to try and keep the arm "extended". Telling people to keep it straight tends to have people think rigid, which is not what you want at all.

The arm needs to be extended in order to create width and a consistent arc in your swing, but the arm still needs to be supple with no rigidity in order to swing properly. It maybe a little semantic in the choice of words, but the feeling is different.

**PA Jayhawk** · 08-07-2005

I was told by two seperate instructors and seen numerous times on TV that it is fine to have a slight bend in the arm, as long as you are not using it to increase your shoulder turn whereas the left hand would be moving closer to your ear. I've also seen from one of the top 100 instructors on the golf channel, that concentrating on a straight will sometimes be counterproductive because you will not only tighten up, but on alot of people, specifically women golfers, your arm will actually lock or start to bend the other way and will completely kill your swing.

**bethpage caddy** · 08-07-2005

A slight bend is ok, when your left arm comes in at a 90 degree angle, then theirs a prominent problem there.

**Tee'd Off** · 08-07-2005

One of the biggest issues in learning the golf swing are these dogmatic instructions 'keep the left arm straight' or 'stay down to the ball.'

My question in this case is why keep the left arm straight? What purpose does it serve? Most folks really could not ansrew this question and whats worse still are the many Pro's who know the ansrew but don't comunicate it accuratly enough for a studant to understand! The purpose of keeping the left arm straight is to generate more arc in your swing...hence power. The key is to keep the left arm relaxed and not to tighten it up! SO a slight bend in the arm is fine....just don't overdue it! A good key to focus on in regards to keeping the left arm straight is to just think about keeping the swing wide! Focus on this and your left arm issues will be a thing of the past!

**golf-addict** · 08-08-2005

Keeping left arm straight in the 1/2 of the back swing, the last part of 1/2 downswing and follow through before and after impact is critical for consistency, especially for the driver. The other point is to keep the right wrist out of the swing to minimize unwanted twists and turns. But if you have groove your swing for so long, you will learn to compensate the minor variations right before impact, forms won't be so important if you have consistent swing developed.

Most of adults don't have the flexibility to straight the left arm pass 3/4 position, one of my friends couldn't even keep the left arm straight at 1/2 position.

But I think it could be more of a swing thought to keep arm and body in sync as a whole instead of getting too much arm and wrist. I also use the thought to quiet other unnecessary body movements. Think about it, one rotates body and arm around the spine, if both one's spine and left arm are relative steady back and down thru, the radius to the spine (driver position) won't change, hence a more consistent and more repeatable swing.

**bethpage caddy** · 08-08-2005

The left arm straight also keeps the club on line, on a smoother arc. It also generates power.

**Benguk** · 08-08-2005

alot of women i know cant do it so struggle making contact, i think its pretty important if you care about distance

**BogeyGolf** · 08-08-2005

Keeping the left arm straight or extended promotes a wide arc. It also promotes turning rather than lifting the hands. I've seen numerous golfers pick the club up and bend their arms at the top of the swing where the hands are almost touching the right ear. It is not a pretty sight!

**bethpage caddy** · 08-08-2005

Originally Posted by BogeyGolf

Keeping the left arm straight or extended promotes a wide arc. It also promotes turning rather than lifting the hands. I've seen numerous golfers pick the club up and bend their arms at the top of the swing where the hands are almost touching the right ear. It is not a pretty sight!

Ditto, it is very painful to watch. Very. Not only are you losing 90% of potential power by not creating that are and whipping through the turn, but you are also bringing the club way off line, and often times their ballstriking is extremely inconsistent.