If you are a right-handed golfer, you may know that your left arm is one of the most crucial features of your golf swing. Here we will reveal the secret to what the left arm does in the golf swing and how to keep it straight if you want to.
The Straight Left Arm Fallacy
A big myth about the left arm is that it has to stay totally straight on the takeaway. Even though the left arm should be straight, you should know that it shouldn’t be tense. Flexibility and suppleness is important to a good swing. Swinging with a small bend is fine, however your left arm has to be comfortable and straight. Essentially, your left elbow should not pivot until the follow through.
A Quick Drill
An easy drill to practice for keeping your left arm reasonably straight is to tightly hold the club with your left hand while holding your left wrist with your right hand. Start the takeaway and spread the left arm to the top of the takeaway.
Start your downswing and rotate your left arm by using your right hand. This will help show how your left arm has to fold throughout the follow-through.
Keeping Your Left Arm Straight-Key Positions
There are quite a few important positions that you can give attention to in order to keep your left arm straight during your golf swing. Let’s look at them below.
Backswing
When starting your backswing, keep your left arm straight and near your body. Do this until the club is parallel to the ground and your wrists hinge. Make sure that your arms and body are linked and your body does the turn away from the ball and not your arms.
Takeaway
There tend to be quite a few golfers who battle to keep their left arm straight throughout the takeaway. Here we would suggest pushing your left arm away from the ball. You can easily do this by rotating your shoulders and chest with your left shoulder moving down and below your jaw.
Parallel to The Ground
As soon as your left arm is parallel to the ground, your left and right arms should be for all intents and purposes on equal sides. Should it happen that your left arm and shoulder are higher than your right, your club will move further to the inside. This will increase your chances of coming over the top on the way down.
Top of your swing
As you reach the top of your swing confirm that you have kept your left arm straight. By extending your left arm you will be able to give way to a large arc in your golf swing. This will also help you in making a potent move into the ball.
When your left arm bends at the top of your swing it is an indication that your body has stopped rotating. It also means that you are making an effort to create more reach and power with your arms.
This will only make it harder for you to generate a timely and coupled swing down towards the ball. Remember that it doesn’t matter how far you can swing your arms. The length of your swing can be shown by how much you can twist your body.
Downswing
When it comes to your downswing, your left arm will stay fairly straight. A slight bend is nothing to be worried about, but the aim is to maintain your left arm’s distance across. Don’t worry if your left arm is just a little more elevated than the right arm at impact.
As you make your shot downward, your right arm and elbow should be nearer to your body. This is an indication that you are carrying the club from an inside to square position to get power and control.
Impact
As a final and definitely most important part of using your left arm, you have to ensure that you keep your left arm as straight as possible throughout impact. Bending in your left arm during impact is a warning that you are gripping onto the club. This stops you from giving a total release that sustains the speed of your club.
At the same time, it minimizes the amount of power you can plow into the ball as your arms are not completely stretched out and swinging easily. Focus on holding your left arm straight and near your body during impact.
Conclusion
Your left arm impacts your ability to provide quick, potent, and accurate shots in your golf swings. By paying attention to the step-by-step movements above, you should be able to head on the right track.
Improving your left arm technique and positioning will take some time and a bit of practice. The most important thing is that you go out and have fun.
