The Role of Your Right Arm in Your Golf Swing
Knowing when to keep your right arm straight can be greatly beneficial to your golf swing. Also, realizing when and how to use it remains equally important. Here we look at what your right arm should be doing during the golf swing as well as a few drills for you to practice.
Address
When at address, your right elbow is positioned about 3 inches from your body at address. You need to slightly bend your right arm to achieve this position at setup. When you straighten your right arm at setup, you won’t be able to generate wrist hinges. This results in a significant amount of power and speed being lost in the clubhead.
Backswing
There is a lot of misunderstanding of what the right arm should actually do in the golf swing. In fact, several many new golfers find themselves doing the complete opposite of what they should be doing.
During the backswing, the right arm needs to be resting on the left arm. While you swing the club to the top, only then should you move your right arm under the left.
A lot of new golfers make the mistake of folding and shortening the right arm ahead of time as they move the club away. What you actually need to do is to keep your right arm fairly straight during the first portion of your backswing. By doing this you will generate a lot of width and speed.
While your right arm moves towards the top of the backswing, it should begin folding and move beneath your left. The perfect combination of width and correct body turn puts you in the best position for the downswing. During the backswing, remember to keep your right arm on top and then under.
Downswing
The second important purpose of the right arm in your golf swing is to straighten as you perform your downswing. In other words, straightening the arm on the way down and right through impact. Consequently, you will start slow and move up with a lot of speed and power, making way for a clean shot.
Just remember not to straighten your right arm too early as you perform your downswing. Doing that will let you risk flagging your contact shot. What’s more, keeping your right arm straight before impact can stop you from clearing your hips. This runs the risk of opening or closing your clubface to the ball.
In short your right arm should not be fully extended until it has gone about 45 degrees past the impact point. Getting your right arm to this point demonstrates that you have formed enough speed and power needed for a successful shot.
Impact
At impact, both of your arms need to form a triangle which is positioned in the direction of the ball. Your right arm must be in alignment with the point of impact. As we’ve mentioned you have to avoid straightening out your right arm before impact. While striking the ball, bring your arms together by using the motion from your hips.
Drills to Use Your Right Arm Correctly in Your Golf Swing
Below are a few drills that will help you keep your right arm straight when you need to during your golf swing
Hand Position Drill
We are going to start off with a stress-free drill that will help with getting used to the feeling of using your right arm during your swing. In this drill, it would be a good idea to let your right arm hang to the same height as your waist.
To Start, place your palm toward your target line, and keep still in this position.
Next, alternate the palm of your hand in a way that it points straight in front of you. By this we mean that if you were on the tee box, it would be directed towards one of the markers. At this time, your elbow moves near the middle of your body.
Lastly, move the palm of your hand back toward your target, while moving the back of your palm forward.
As a result, your palm will be facing downwards towards the ground. Keep this setup and pay attention to your positioning.
This is one of the best ways to hold your right arm at impact.
Following this simple drill will help you get clean and powerful shots.
Golf Ball Drill
In this handy drill we will focus on helping you progress the overall performance of your right arm in your golf swing. The primary aim is to throw and bounce the ball facing your tee.
To start, hold a golf ball in your right hand. Now you have to envision standing behind an imaginary ball as if you were getting ready to strike it. Keep in mind that if you throw the ball from this position, you would most likely be tossing it over your left shoulder.
From your address position, perform a half backswing. Remember to use your best hip and shoulder turn. Move to your downswing before stopping right before impact. Pay attention to the position of your body and how your weight has moved on your left hip.
Furthermore, your right arm must delay your hips, encouraging you to generate the most ideal speed.
Do this again, but now you have to let go of the golf ball just before impact. If at all possible, the golf ball has to fall facing the tee.
If the ball lands before the tee, you have either released it too soon, or your arm may be too straight.
This drill allows you to feel the placing of your right arm all through your backswing, downswing, and follow through.
FAQ
Should The Right Arm Dominate My Golf Swing?
Of course, your right arm is dominant over your left arm the minute you start swinging your golf club. The difference between both arm is that your left arm gives stability, while your right arm leads the movement and speed of your club during your swing.
Should I Tuck My Right Arm in During My Swing?
Both of your arms have different roles in the golf swing. When it comes to your right arm, you should keep it tucked into your body throughout your golf swing.
When it comes to your backswing, keep your right arm and elbow near enough to your body, and you should tuck it in even more while you perform your downswing.
By doing this, you will be able to strike the ball with extra vigor since it allows you to completely rotate your body.
For some odd reason a lot of golfers fail to do this. But they shouldn’t complain if they find themselves not generating as much power as they are potentially able to.
Conclusion
For just about any golfer, the right arm can be seen as a flinging arm which is used on the club. When you take a swing, your right arm loads, and releases on the downswing. It is absolutely clear to see that the right arm plays an essential role in your swing. Knowing how to use it right and when to keep it straight, will improve your golfing abilities. and leave you with more satisfaction and fun on the course.
