Hi Paul In the Drill swinging 50% ,can you swing too slow would swinging 25% stop the hitting with arms sooner. My swing is improving but still can feel myself tensining in arms at follow through position when on course.Stopped slicing ball , my big miss now is pull hook and on these shots i really feel my arms so i know how to fix it but arms creep in 5, 6 times a round so i was wondering practice at 25% might help any thoughts.
Paul ,I subscribe fully to your “POWERLESS ARMS “method ,and (I think but I’m not quite sure !)that’s how I play now .However ,I endeavor to utilize the most I can ,my “fingers ” and my “wrists to improve the whipping action .My wrists and fingers are very ,very loose at the takeaway up to the top of the backswing ,I try at that moment to feel in my right forefinger the weight of the club at the top of the backswing :then starting back in the downswing ,I “activate ” my fingers and my wrists fastest possible to get the clubhead to whip through ,without using the arms
Is this consistent with your method ?
I should add that I’m always very ,very straight ,no fading ,no slicing ,occasionally a slight draw ,so utilizing my wrists and fingers doesn’t create havoc to my game ,which is contrary to what most Golf Instructors say !
This way of playing has added quite some distance to my shots !
I’m curious to have your comments on this “unorthodox ” method !
So feel your hands, arms, fingers etc. to get the club whipping properly then turn them off again once you master it. Some things you may have to train to do the right movement. Just by turning them off it may take you forever to get it. If helping it helps you master it quicker I am all for it.
when lining up a shot, be it iron or hybrid should my eyes be looking at the back of the ball, not the top, and if it is the back, is it at the bottom of the ball, when I’m lining up for a shot.
Hi Paul;
I’ve seen this tip numerous times before & try to work on it on the range. Why would it make a difference if you try t play that way? When I practice,I start with a lob wedge & move up thru the bag till I get to my driver. When I’m hitting the lob wedge I can do this perfectly & the feeling is amazing but I’m only trying to hit the ball 50 yds. so I’m just shortening my swing & swinging as easy as possible. That’s when I make my best swings. Then I start hitting the lob farther rather than changing clubs & my swing still feels great. After that I normally go to an 8 & that’s when the trouble starts. You’ve told me in the past that at that point I’m thinking “distance.” I’m hitting an 8 125,130 with my best swing. Then when I go to a 6, I don’t hit it any farther than the 8 & it’s driving me nuts. Even though I have a good deal of lag, but I can’t seem to be able to keep my wrists loose enough to give me more speed & no matter how hard I try, I can’t release the club properly by letting my wrists roll over but on the few occasions I do it, I hit a pull. I read, at some point you had a guy in his 80s hitting his driver 250. My carry distance is rarely more than 180 & I only occasionally feel like I’m using my arms. It feels like I’m turning my body faster but it makes no difference in my yardages. It’s gotten to the point that I moved to the senior tees to be able to reach greens in regulation. I’m 61 but you say that shouldn’t make much difference. I take a lesson when I have a specific issue but the pro never tells me I’m swinging to hard so I’m pretty much at a loss.
You are thinking distance with longer clubs. I am thinking power my swing by driving my legs harder. I have said it in the past it an “unmistakable feeling” you are hitting that ball with your legs NOT your arms. I guarantee you cannot say this. You go for a little more power and you do so with (maybe) your legs but your arms as well.
Keep in mind you are not good at using your legs. Unless you are constantly working on them you will NEVER get it. This is because you have had a lifetime of hitting with your arms. You need to be working on using your legs EVERY night until you are good at it. If you have ever thrown a ball you have done the correct leg action before. In throwing a ball you would drive your legs HARD. In golf you have he ball sitting there. If it is sitting there you will try to hit it. This is natural. The golf swing is unnatural because you have to go against human nature and YOU wanting to hit the object. To master this you need to be CONSTANTLY working on it. Every day. You can just do this in your back yard. Do my favorite drill every night until you are god at it.
I have tons of drills on this. Make a list and start doing them immediately. Forget where the ball is going and get the distance increased. You can get it in the fairway later. Watch this tip first:
Also, why don’t you just do a Skype lesson with us so we can tell you what you are doing? It is mind boggling to me why people are not using this service. I would be all over it.
I agree with the above comment. The powerless arms work great on wedges, but the longer clubs are not carrying. The driver is just impossible. I have longer shots with my 3 wood. I’m sure it’s just my arms activating since I’m probably mentally trying too hard to get distance rather than letting the club do the work. Also still having trouble taking it to the course. The range I use has mats. When I get on the course I have gotten worse. This spring I was hitting very well with irons, scored a 34 on a par 27 executive course, but now for some reason I’m back up to around 40! Ach, mental block. I must go out on the course and take your suggestion of shooting an entire round at slow speed.
It is not impossible. You are jut not working on it the right way or working on the right things enough to master it.
First things first, you MUST MUST MUST get the driver hooking. If you do you are fixing one of the 2 things. If it is hooking you are releasing it. If you are releasing it you are taking one side of the course out of play. Okay, this is at least something that is now happening consistently. How long does this take? No idea. I can get people to release it consistently in 3 balls. Others 300 balls or 3 months. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. What matters is if you are CONSTANTLY AND CONSISTENTLY working on it until you MASTER it. Once you do you are focused ONLY on your body rotation.
I guarantee right now you are hitting it left, right, left, right and so on. So you have not mastered releasing it which means you have to keep working on both the hands and arms AND the body. Because you are working on 2 things you never master anything so you just spin your wheels. MASTER 1 thing then work on the other.
So many people out there keep caring about how they are playing. This is truly mind boggling to me. Who cares where you hit it on the course if you are trying to make changes. Watch the ball and it will tell you if you are doing things right or not. Be patient and understand that if you are working on 1 thing you are not going to play well. You will hit some good shots but not all of them will be good. These good shots are telling you what it to come in the future if you keep working on it.
So focus on the release. Get the hardest club in your bag to release … releasing. Once you can do this. THEN and ONLY THEN start working on body rotation to straighten it out.
You know you can do this because you did it. Once people do it they think they’ve got it. If you think like this you will go right back to your old swing. You need to be CONSTANTLY working on all of this stuff. Even then you NEVER get it 100% of the time.
Well I’m getting it but it is amazing how hard it is to stop wanting to hit the ball. First I loosened my wrists and really swung without hand input. That took a while. Now I’m working on using my body to drive the arms. That’s going pretty well. Lastly, I’m working on the lower body as the motor. I could not make the leap from lower body driving powerless arms directly. Apparentely, that was too much for my brain to process. Perhaps this is why a lot of folks have so much trouble. Unless your a very good athelete like a pro golfer, it is impossible for the rest of us to get our bodies to do it in one shot. I tell my brain what to do but instinct takes over. It’s like learning a new language. Your asking for us to write an essay and we can barely speak a word. At least for me I need to crawl before I can walk and I’m a decent athlete.
Think about this from now on … In the past have you not hit that one shot that went 30-50 yards farther than any other shot? I ask this to most of my students. They all answer “yes.” Next, what did you feel when you hit this shot? The all answer “nothing” “effortless””easy”. I am sure you are nodding your head right now. If you are why would you want to swing any other way than this? You hit your best shot with nothing. It was effortless. This is powerless arms!
So if you are not thinking easy, effortless, nothing on every shot you are doing he opposite to what made you hit the best shot of your life. If you are thinking of the opposite how do you ever think you are going replicate it in the future?
So, I like what you are saying in your comment. I like how you are working on the lower body. You need to be working on this EVERY night until you are good at it. Use what I just said above as your NEW mental thought when you go to play. You do not care if you hit your best shot. You care if every shot felt easy, like nothing and effortless because these are the feelings associated with your best shot. If you keep saying and feeling this you will keep them turned off and power your shots with your legs and hips.
Paul I watched a segment on Golf Channel with Fred Couples & according to him his swing is all lower body.
He stated that his body was going as hard as he could & he still hits the driver around 300 yards, so you must have something here.
When I tske the arms out I do get effortless power.
Unfortunately I also hit the ball dead right which causes me to go back to the arm swing.
Any ideas?????
You need to immediately start hooking it until it never goes right. If so, your release is working and you DO NOT have to keep working on it. You would then be working on using your lower body to power your swing.
As you add body you may blow it right again. If so, slow down or roll it again to get the wrists unlocked.
Hi Paul: I’ll be 69 this Nov and if I haven’t broken 90 yet, I probably never will.
With that said I feel my game is in transition; the older group I play with comments on my feet moving around when I try to kill it [hitting with my arms] then I show them a perfect practice swing. I have hit several long and correctly hit balls this summer, so I know I can do it. I now realize that because I make a few practice swings at home that feel correct; I’ve never listened to your instruction to use a mirror [which I did purchase] until it become instinctive. I’ve taken to many short cuts and it hasn’t paid off.
Thanks
Bob
Age has nothing to do with your learning my swing. As you have seen I can swing easy and develop a lot of power. So you have felt it so you know you can o it. Use the mirror and focus on the positions. I keep telling people this but they insist on hitting balls and caring about where the balls go on when they play.
We are now offering Skype lessons to so we can see people swing yet people are not doing these either. I am teaching everyone how to fish yet they continue to starve. Stay focused on exactly what I teach and you will get it.
I have replied to your other part of this comment to your personal email.
I have been struggling with the powerless arm concept. Recently I began to focus on my left side more(LT hip and straightening of the LT leg) starting the downswing rotation. Sometimes I feel like I’m slightly pulling with my left arm. This focus on the left side has had a positive affect on my swing. I feel less arms, no slicing at all, sometimes I pull it a little left. Ball is going lower and a little further. Club path is from inside. And my worse fault the dreaded chicken wing has decreased a little. Anything wrong with the left side focus. I feel it negates any over the top movement.
I hear this all the time. People struggle because they have hit for many years and they equate power with hitting.
Thinking of the left side is one of the downswing triggers I teach so I am perfectly fine with you thinking about. It is called a trigger. This means you do not do anything in your downswing without doing this move first.
The chicken wing is the tell-tale sign you are still hitting. If your arms were turned off the weight of the club set in motion would be stretching them out fully. So keep focusing on loosening them up. The tell-tale sign your arms are powerless is the club will feel heavy. If it feels light you’re too tight.
In short, I’ve been playing a long time, poorly. This past month, I am determined to play better, so now, I am reinventing my swing. Through your tips, I’ve changed my backswing, follow-through, and I’ve learned the touching of the knees and placing of the club between my ears. After watching this tip, I took the suggestion of “letting my arms go for the ride” to the range. I did it for two large buckets.
Here is what I noticed. I used my arms, shoulders, and hips to coil. Once I was at the top of my backswing, I turned off my shoulders and arms, and I used my hips and legs to uncoil. The feeling I got was my arms AND shoulders were going along for the ride. As a matter of fact, I was definitely using my hips and legs to do almost all the work. Admittedly, my stomach muscles are sore after this exercise. Most of the shots were straight and went a country mile (I didn’t use the driver much, but the results with the driver were only mediocre).
Is the soreness of my stomach muscles an indication that I am doing this right?
Also, sometimes I get the feeling that during my follow-through, I am tucking my lead elbow into my ribs. I don’t think this is right. What should I do?
The first step to improving is admitting you have a problem. Ha Ha.
Now that you have done that I like the determination to finally improve. You have come to the right place.
It seems like a lot of things you are working on. If you are just starting to make changes you should only be working on grip, setup, touch legs, touch head in the follow through. You get that alone and you will hit it better than you ever have in you life. I have proven his thousands of times. Working on the follow through first starts to fix the backswing. Once you master the follow through and you move to the backswing the changes are less difficult if you did it my way.
Backswing – you should be only coiling your shoulders back. They move the most. If you turn them back they will pull the hips into perfect position every time.
Hips and Legs – use them to uncoil. In the backswing they are stable and the shoulders pull them around as I just mentioned.
I don’t hear sore stomach muscles. I usually hear sore legs if they have never used them before. Just be careful. Maybe in trying to drive the lower boy in the dowswing you were activating these muscles.
Through Swing – You need to allow the club to extend fully into the follow through creating a wider arc. I have ever heard anyone say they hit their lead elbow into the ribs. This would indicate it is folding too soon into the follow through.
Hi Paul
This is my first post here.
I have been following you for about a year now. I have improved a lot. I am in my 60’s and started golfing last year (wish I started 40 years ago).
I am in pretty good shape and have the same issues as MichaelRodrick. I can hit all my wedges well with powerless arms (I think) My 7 Iron goes straight to about 150 yds 6 iron about 160. The driver 180 or so. My 4 rescue goes the same 180 or more. I will try and follow the suggestions you have made to others and see how it goes. Maybe I should just use my 3 wood for a while
I thank you for the help and appreciate your genuine concern for our improvement.
Glad you have you on board. I truly appreciate the support.
I’m also glad you have improved. I love hearing it.
Hitting Drive is tough. I really had a hard time with this when I was growing up. It was so bad I used to tee off with a 3 iron for a while. After many years of being terribly inconsistent I finally got it in 1999 when I stopped trying to hit or help the ball in any way. The thing is no one ever told me to not try and hit the ball. When I say I got it, I got it instantly the moment I turned them off.
For you, I would go with the 3 wood when playing for a little while. I say this because from your comment above you are not confident with it. If you keep playing without confidence I don’t see how you improve. So tee off with 3 wood for now.
Now, when you are at the range and at home you need to break this swing down into 2 parts. SPIN an DIRECTION. First you work on the spin. This means you goal is not perfect drives. You goal is too hook everything. You do this with my roll over drill. Swing easy. Do it at the range and every night at home.
IF you work on it this way first you are mastering the spin. If mastered you never have to think or work on it in the future. This early release is de-lofting the club so you will get a proper launch angle into the future. To start with they will most likely go low left. This will also work on unlocking your wrists as well. Looser wrists = more clubhead speed.
Okay lets fast forward a week or two down the road. Now you can easily hook it. At this point you start switching to the leg drive. With the release mastered you can now have clear focus on using your legs and hips to hit the ball. If you are not working on it this way you are bouncing around between spin an direction. If you are bouncing around you will never improve.
Hopefully, you know my touch the legs position and can do it. As you hit the top of the backswing your sole thought is applying your downswing trigger to power the swing.
At home every night you need to b doing these drills (ONLY WHEN YOU MASTER THE RELEASE):
I get the feeling that people trying to do powerless arms either get me wrong, let their arms flop all over the place or don’t release it.
When you are working on things you may be feeling the arms. This is because you are training them to do certain positions or moves in your swing. By just turning them off you may never get it so by doing positions and drills you are manually working on it. Once you get it, you then turn your arms back off.
`Hi Paul,
This is my first post and question.
When I make my backswing and coming back with my downswing (with lag) with the same bow/plane my elbows are to close to my body. The effect is that the release is difficult to make. When I come back down with a bow/plane further from my body the release is perfect and the ball goes to the target.
Question: need backswing and downswing have the same plane?
I like the backswing plane to be steeper than the downswing plane. Most of the best players of all time did this. In the downswing the right elbow would be tucked to the right hip at the approaching impact position but from there the arms would be away from the body as you hit the ball. they would appear closer to the right hip due to the fact the hips are rotated more when you hit the ball than when you started. I am not purposely trying to keep the arms close. Not sure if, or why would be doing this.
Here are the checkpoints at approaching impact and impact:
Hello Paul
Thank’s a lot. Your explanation (in word and video) is very clear.
I tried to do what you are saying and showing and it is going better. Not perfect but I know it takes time and exercising. I now know what to do and that is a great advantage.
Hi Paul, still fighting the powerless arms start. Your tip a while back helped, but I am very inconsistent. Where do I turn my arms off? Top of backswing, at leg position or in between? Thanks. Mikeq
Once you hit the top and you are ready to come down you tell yourself to not hit the ball. Your arms will come down if you turn your body. This is a totally different feeling. Do it slow if you have to and tee up your ball.
After you get the feeling and are hitting easy shots speed up only your lower body for more power. Also, you need clarity. From the top in no way are you thinking of hitting the ball. You are thinking take your back leg and touch the other leg. In doing so the club will swing down and through then you are thinking touch the legs and finally touch the head at the end. You hold it and check it. Make sure it is perfect every time. Forget the ball and where it is going. This is what holds people back. They keep caring about the shot. It doesn’t work like this. You need to make the move. Get the move you get the shot. See it differently and you will get it.
Very good. Winter is the best time to practice. No ball means no distractions. Then you can used to the positions. After you do this for a couple of months you will have built a great swing. So see it as a good thing you can’t hit golf balls.
Hi Paul, This may be a silly question but does one ACTIVELY use the upper body (with powerless arms attached) to provide power together with hip rotation or is the upper body more passively following the power of hip rotation with separation?
Thanks ,
Ian.
You don’t need to do anything with the upper body in the downswing. Remember it is like a spring. You coil the top and uncoil the bottom. When ou do, the upper will uncoil on its own. I used to think about this upper body all the time when I was a kid learning it. Then I understood the spring-like affect and never thought of uncoiling it again. The separation occurs when you uncoil fast enough with the lower.
That tip to play a round swinging at 50 % has been really useful.
I just played 9 holes and concentrated on swinging easily. I hit a few shockers, but was surprised how many of my shots went similar distances to my full swing shots. I even managed to par one of the par 5 holes without any physical effort.
I’ll have to keep working on it. My biggest problem is locking my wrists when I swing fast.
Thanks for the video.
Exactly. Shockers is what you are looking for. This tells you that you can do it. Now you need to keep doing this until you are good at it. Once you are you fire the lower a little harder for a little more power and so on. It is a different power source. I need to bring you down to nothing first then build it back up again.
Hi Paul,
Just have seen your video on powerless arms.
I am a strong guy 70 years old so I have been using my arms all the time getting decent distances of 150 yards with a club 7 reaching around 80 mph. Now I am taking out the arms in the swing and swinging with my powerless left arm around 100 mph. Amazing! Now with both arms…… Thanks for your clarity and style of teaching.
That’s great. There are actually people out there who seem to think I don’t know what I am talking about. Well, you are proof. Now, keep the feeling and power the swing with the legs and hips. Once you get used to it it’s a whole new world. Oh yeah, your body never hurts either.
“There are actually people out there who seem to think I don’t know what I am talking about.”
Some people still believe the earth is flat, Paul. 🙂
Your book “Swing Machine Golf” explains the physics of how the lower body and powerless arms together generate club head speed. The Iron Byron clearly reveals the mechanics of a great golf swing.
Different pros use different amounts of arms. Any pro with a slow swing is little to no arms. Any pro with a fast looking swing is using the body and arms. Keep in mind they are pros. They hit it great and have an amazing short game. The average guy does not hit it great and cannot get it up and down consistently. Huge difference. This is also why you would see pros get hot and cold. You get an arm swinger out there he/she will get on a roll and play well for a while. Then if they take a break they will lose it whereas the less arms players can repeat it consistently (Els, Oousthuisen, Freddie, most LPGA players).
Paul, I’m working on powerless arms but all my misses are cold tops. Have been a single digit golfer for a long time. 3 years ago double hip replacements, thumb surgery last September. Steadily rising handicap. Having trouble feeling the lower body leading. Any thoughts?
If you are topping it your arms are certainly not powerless. This is the causes of topped shots. The harder you hit, the more you will look to see what you hit.
This is the position you need to check. If you are topping it you will not be ending up in this position. You will be too vertical.
Spine Angle Follow Through: https://ignitiongolf.com/follow-through-eyes-tilted/
Also, anytime you start topping it you should be immediately slowly down to half speed. The problem is everyone wants to hit great shots all of the time. Sometimes we have to slow it down to “get it” or fix the thing we were working on. Once we get it then we speed up the body rotation to hit it longer.
Hi Paul,
Better contact today. Maintained my posture better. Like the watch the blur video. Discouraging but I’m going to keep at it. Great concept to have powerless arms. Thanks, Mary
Very good. I would think your swing is really close to being great. Just go through the positions and figure out which one or two needs a little work. Then focus on those areas. The spine angle into the follow through is big. You certainly shouldn’t be topping it at your level.
Hey Paul,
Much better today. Spent 3 hours at the range, mostly short game but then at the range practice body movement without arms, alternating different clubs. I’m starting to get it as I hit the ball better than I have in a long time. Thanks, Mary
Thanks so much for your instruction. Your method works very well. One issue that I have is that I cannot always feel the difference between when I’m using Powerless arms and when I am not. In other words, I’m trying to use powerless arms, I set up with that intention and then try to coil and uncoil with my body only to see my ball fade, slice or sometimes mishit altogether. So, I think I am using my body, but I’m clearly not based upon the ball flight. The minute I shut off my arms again, I’ll start crushing the ball straight and sometimes even have a nice draw. I’ll get in a groove, especially on the range, where I’ll hit 20 to 30 balls in a row very well, think I have everything mastered, and then all of sudden I think I’m using my body, but I will start to hit 10 slices in a row (sometimes complete mishits). As I’m trying to correct, I try to slow down, try to do the over the top drill, try to step away and take a break for a few minute, change clubs, etc–anything to get my arms shutoff–but I sometimes just cannot correct until the next day or hours later. Interestingly, I can often correct more quickly on the course when I’m playing (which is better), but it still frustrating on the range when I’m trying to build confidence in my swing and then nose dive back into using my arms (while feeling like I’m not) when I had just been hitting the ball well. I plan on trying your 50% power on the course suggestion and 3/4 power at the range to see if that helps. I have noticed–especially with the driver, that the slower I takeaway the club, the better my shot, without any loss of distance. It is counterintuitive, but the results speak for themselves. One separate comment is that while I understand your analogy with spinning the clubhead cover (with your hand as the body), I have a hard time relating that concept to the actual swing. Do you have any other ways to illustrate this point, and what else can I do to keep my arms shut-off, or re-shut them down after a few mishits.
If you think you are not using your arms while firing your body and it starts right and goes straight right or a push fade you are probable driving the lower too hard. You need to watch thees tips:
You are slicing way too many shots so you need to focus on fixing this asap. If you hook it you are no longer a slice. Then you need to work on body to straighten it out. So do the drills below constantly and consistently until you rarely ever put slice spin on your shots. At this point you would only ever be working on your body:
Thank you for the fast response. I will review what you suggest and will practice and see how things go. Interestingly, I have generally skipped the rollover drill because I’m was not entirely sure I understood how to do it correctly, so I focused on other drills. I will review your videos on this drill and try again. Thanks again, as powerless arms is clearly the way to go. Wish I had your video and book 10 years ago.
Yes, you definitely need to do that drill. As you do it you will be manually rolling it an feeling your arms. This is only until you get rid of any slice spin on your shots and have the feeling memorized. Once you do you turn them off again allowing it to happen.
Hey Paul, thanks for this tip. Probably one of the most important tips I’ve watched.
I’ve been practicing for months watching your videos. Grip is good. Stance is good. Touch the legs, touch the back of the head. But I was still slicing.
Watched the rollover drills and that did help but then I was topping the ball. Realized I was hitting with my arms most of the time.
I then cheated on you and watched someones video on youtube (sorry about that :)), and he said to whip the club. I then really hurt my wrists from doing that.
So today I was hitting in my backyard into my net still like crap. Came in and watched this video and slowed it all down and really tried to feel myself moving my body to hit the ball.
And I did it! I do a bunch of practice swings and then hit the ball. I’m getting the feeling. No more topping. I’m not making perfect contact with each one I hit but I feel that will come with time. I’ve only just started this drill today.
I forgive you. Why? Because you’re back. They usually come back. You’re not he first looking for the answer elsewhere when they are all right here.
You would be topping some doing the roll over because the roll over has you rolling it with the arms. The point is to get it rolling early and get it hooking. So a few tops is not big deal. I am wanting the hook spin. Once you can do that consistently then you switch to body rotation to straighten it out. If your body moves before you arms you will hit it dead straight. Too many people want to hit perfect shots while trying to do the roll over drill. This is a drill not reality. I refer to this as step 1. Get step 1 (hooking) then move to step 2.
I would be doing the roll over nightly at home while watching TV. Just roll every night until you have the feeling mastered. I have had people master this in 4 repetitions others take longer. Just keep doing it knowing that the purpose it to roll it earlier than necessary for a little while. If so, every ball would hook. Once you do this then you switch to body. As you do, make sure you are not trying to kill it. Topping is hitting with arms. The harder you hit, the more you will look to see what you hit and the more you will contract your forearms pulling the club off of the ground.
I think you are starting to get it so keep doing it nightly at home as well as at the range.
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55 Responses to “Why You Can’t Stop Hitting With Your Arms”
May 1, 2013
barrybowerHi Paul In the Drill swinging 50% ,can you swing too slow would swinging 25% stop the hitting with arms sooner. My swing is improving but still can feel myself tensining in arms at follow through position when on course.Stopped slicing ball , my big miss now is pull hook and on these shots i really feel my arms so i know how to fix it but arms creep in 5, 6 times a round so i was wondering practice at 25% might help any thoughts.
May 1, 2013
Paul WilsonBarry,
You need to swing at a level where you are not hitting. I get the feeling your 25% is my 50%. So go even slower. It can only help.
May 22, 2013
GregoryHallTry just one round. Wow you’re asking a lot, but I think it will be worth it.
May 22, 2013
Paul WilsonGregory,
Getting people to do something for one round is like pulling teeth. Glad you are going to try it.
August 30, 2014
RaymondCHASTELPaul ,I subscribe fully to your “POWERLESS ARMS “method ,and (I think but I’m not quite sure !)that’s how I play now .However ,I endeavor to utilize the most I can ,my “fingers ” and my “wrists to improve the whipping action .My wrists and fingers are very ,very loose at the takeaway up to the top of the backswing ,I try at that moment to feel in my right forefinger the weight of the club at the top of the backswing :then starting back in the downswing ,I “activate ” my fingers and my wrists fastest possible to get the clubhead to whip through ,without using the arms
Is this consistent with your method ?
I should add that I’m always very ,very straight ,no fading ,no slicing ,occasionally a slight draw ,so utilizing my wrists and fingers doesn’t create havoc to my game ,which is contrary to what most Golf Instructors say !
This way of playing has added quite some distance to my shots !
I’m curious to have your comments on this “unorthodox ” method !
September 1, 2014
Paul WilsonRaymond,
So feel your hands, arms, fingers etc. to get the club whipping properly then turn them off again once you master it. Some things you may have to train to do the right movement. Just by turning them off it may take you forever to get it. If helping it helps you master it quicker I am all for it.
August 30, 2014
mikemooneywhen lining up a shot, be it iron or hybrid should my eyes be looking at the back of the ball, not the top, and if it is the back, is it at the bottom of the ball, when I’m lining up for a shot.
September 1, 2014
Paul WilsonMike,
I did a tip on this here:
What To Look At: https://ignitiongolf.com/looking-at-golf-ball
August 30, 2014
MichaelRodrickHi Paul;
I’ve seen this tip numerous times before & try to work on it on the range. Why would it make a difference if you try t play that way? When I practice,I start with a lob wedge & move up thru the bag till I get to my driver. When I’m hitting the lob wedge I can do this perfectly & the feeling is amazing but I’m only trying to hit the ball 50 yds. so I’m just shortening my swing & swinging as easy as possible. That’s when I make my best swings. Then I start hitting the lob farther rather than changing clubs & my swing still feels great. After that I normally go to an 8 & that’s when the trouble starts. You’ve told me in the past that at that point I’m thinking “distance.” I’m hitting an 8 125,130 with my best swing. Then when I go to a 6, I don’t hit it any farther than the 8 & it’s driving me nuts. Even though I have a good deal of lag, but I can’t seem to be able to keep my wrists loose enough to give me more speed & no matter how hard I try, I can’t release the club properly by letting my wrists roll over but on the few occasions I do it, I hit a pull. I read, at some point you had a guy in his 80s hitting his driver 250. My carry distance is rarely more than 180 & I only occasionally feel like I’m using my arms. It feels like I’m turning my body faster but it makes no difference in my yardages. It’s gotten to the point that I moved to the senior tees to be able to reach greens in regulation. I’m 61 but you say that shouldn’t make much difference. I take a lesson when I have a specific issue but the pro never tells me I’m swinging to hard so I’m pretty much at a loss.
September 1, 2014
Paul WilsonMichael,
You are thinking distance with longer clubs. I am thinking power my swing by driving my legs harder. I have said it in the past it an “unmistakable feeling” you are hitting that ball with your legs NOT your arms. I guarantee you cannot say this. You go for a little more power and you do so with (maybe) your legs but your arms as well.
Keep in mind you are not good at using your legs. Unless you are constantly working on them you will NEVER get it. This is because you have had a lifetime of hitting with your arms. You need to be working on using your legs EVERY night until you are good at it. If you have ever thrown a ball you have done the correct leg action before. In throwing a ball you would drive your legs HARD. In golf you have he ball sitting there. If it is sitting there you will try to hit it. This is natural. The golf swing is unnatural because you have to go against human nature and YOU wanting to hit the object. To master this you need to be CONSTANTLY working on it. Every day. You can just do this in your back yard. Do my favorite drill every night until you are god at it.
I have tons of drills on this. Make a list and start doing them immediately. Forget where the ball is going and get the distance increased. You can get it in the fairway later. Watch this tip first:
It’s An Unmistakable Feeling In Your Legs: https://ignitiongolf.com/unmistakable-feeling-legs/
DRILLS YOU NEED TO BE DOING EVERY NIGHT (focus on these 3 for now):
DRILL: Listen to Club Swinging: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-listen-to-club
DRILL: Swing Up with Driver: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-swing-up-driver/
DRILL Lift Heel For 2 Weeks: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-lift-heel-2-weeks/
Also, why don’t you just do a Skype lesson with us so we can tell you what you are doing? It is mind boggling to me why people are not using this service. I would be all over it.
August 30, 2014
KennethMoffatI agree with the above comment. The powerless arms work great on wedges, but the longer clubs are not carrying. The driver is just impossible. I have longer shots with my 3 wood. I’m sure it’s just my arms activating since I’m probably mentally trying too hard to get distance rather than letting the club do the work. Also still having trouble taking it to the course. The range I use has mats. When I get on the course I have gotten worse. This spring I was hitting very well with irons, scored a 34 on a par 27 executive course, but now for some reason I’m back up to around 40! Ach, mental block. I must go out on the course and take your suggestion of shooting an entire round at slow speed.
September 1, 2014
Paul WilsonKenneth,
It is not impossible. You are jut not working on it the right way or working on the right things enough to master it.
First things first, you MUST MUST MUST get the driver hooking. If you do you are fixing one of the 2 things. If it is hooking you are releasing it. If you are releasing it you are taking one side of the course out of play. Okay, this is at least something that is now happening consistently. How long does this take? No idea. I can get people to release it consistently in 3 balls. Others 300 balls or 3 months. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. What matters is if you are CONSTANTLY AND CONSISTENTLY working on it until you MASTER it. Once you do you are focused ONLY on your body rotation.
I guarantee right now you are hitting it left, right, left, right and so on. So you have not mastered releasing it which means you have to keep working on both the hands and arms AND the body. Because you are working on 2 things you never master anything so you just spin your wheels. MASTER 1 thing then work on the other.
So many people out there keep caring about how they are playing. This is truly mind boggling to me. Who cares where you hit it on the course if you are trying to make changes. Watch the ball and it will tell you if you are doing things right or not. Be patient and understand that if you are working on 1 thing you are not going to play well. You will hit some good shots but not all of them will be good. These good shots are telling you what it to come in the future if you keep working on it.
So focus on the release. Get the hardest club in your bag to release … releasing. Once you can do this. THEN and ONLY THEN start working on body rotation to straighten it out.
You know you can do this because you did it. Once people do it they think they’ve got it. If you think like this you will go right back to your old swing. You need to be CONSTANTLY working on all of this stuff. Even then you NEVER get it 100% of the time.
August 30, 2014
PaulSacchettiHi Paul,
Well I’m getting it but it is amazing how hard it is to stop wanting to hit the ball. First I loosened my wrists and really swung without hand input. That took a while. Now I’m working on using my body to drive the arms. That’s going pretty well. Lastly, I’m working on the lower body as the motor. I could not make the leap from lower body driving powerless arms directly. Apparentely, that was too much for my brain to process. Perhaps this is why a lot of folks have so much trouble. Unless your a very good athelete like a pro golfer, it is impossible for the rest of us to get our bodies to do it in one shot. I tell my brain what to do but instinct takes over. It’s like learning a new language. Your asking for us to write an essay and we can barely speak a word. At least for me I need to crawl before I can walk and I’m a decent athlete.
Paul
September 1, 2014
Paul WilsonPaul,
Think about this from now on … In the past have you not hit that one shot that went 30-50 yards farther than any other shot? I ask this to most of my students. They all answer “yes.” Next, what did you feel when you hit this shot? The all answer “nothing” “effortless””easy”. I am sure you are nodding your head right now. If you are why would you want to swing any other way than this? You hit your best shot with nothing. It was effortless. This is powerless arms!
So if you are not thinking easy, effortless, nothing on every shot you are doing he opposite to what made you hit the best shot of your life. If you are thinking of the opposite how do you ever think you are going replicate it in the future?
So, I like what you are saying in your comment. I like how you are working on the lower body. You need to be working on this EVERY night until you are good at it. Use what I just said above as your NEW mental thought when you go to play. You do not care if you hit your best shot. You care if every shot felt easy, like nothing and effortless because these are the feelings associated with your best shot. If you keep saying and feeling this you will keep them turned off and power your shots with your legs and hips.
Watch:
Have Good Thoughts: https://ignitiongolf.com/have-good-thoughts/
And:
It’s An Unmistakable Feeling In Your Legs: https://ignitiongolf.com/unmistakable-feeling-legs/
Constantly do these drills (every night):
DRILL: Listen to Club Swinging: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-listen-to-club
DRILL: Swing Up with Driver: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-swing-up-driver/
DRILL Lift Heel For 2 Weeks: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-lift-heel-2-weeks/
August 31, 2014
LouisBondPaul I watched a segment on Golf Channel with Fred Couples & according to him his swing is all lower body.
He stated that his body was going as hard as he could & he still hits the driver around 300 yards, so you must have something here.
When I tske the arms out I do get effortless power.
Unfortunately I also hit the ball dead right which causes me to go back to the arm swing.
Any ideas?????
Louis
September 1, 2014
Paul WilsonLouis,
Yes, Freddy would be a great example of what I teach. See how he is in his 50’s and still hits it a mile?
If you are hitting it right YOU are not releasing it. Have you not watched these tips?
DRILL: Smooth Wrist Release: https://ignitiongolf.com/smooth-wrist-release/
Please Learn How to Hook It: https://ignitiongolf.com/please-learn-hook/
You need to immediately start hooking it until it never goes right. If so, your release is working and you DO NOT have to keep working on it. You would then be working on using your lower body to power your swing.
As you add body you may blow it right again. If so, slow down or roll it again to get the wrists unlocked.
Here is the release progression:
Driving Hips Too Hard – Release Progression: https://ignitiongolf.com/release-progression/
September 2, 2014
RobertWalker JrHi Paul: I’ll be 69 this Nov and if I haven’t broken 90 yet, I probably never will.
With that said I feel my game is in transition; the older group I play with comments on my feet moving around when I try to kill it [hitting with my arms] then I show them a perfect practice swing. I have hit several long and correctly hit balls this summer, so I know I can do it. I now realize that because I make a few practice swings at home that feel correct; I’ve never listened to your instruction to use a mirror [which I did purchase] until it become instinctive. I’ve taken to many short cuts and it hasn’t paid off.
Thanks
Bob
September 2, 2014
Paul WilsonBob,
Age has nothing to do with your learning my swing. As you have seen I can swing easy and develop a lot of power. So you have felt it so you know you can o it. Use the mirror and focus on the positions. I keep telling people this but they insist on hitting balls and caring about where the balls go on when they play.
We are now offering Skype lessons to so we can see people swing yet people are not doing these either. I am teaching everyone how to fish yet they continue to starve. Stay focused on exactly what I teach and you will get it.
I have replied to your other part of this comment to your personal email.
September 2, 2014
MatthewBrykPaul,
I have been struggling with the powerless arm concept. Recently I began to focus on my left side more(LT hip and straightening of the LT leg) starting the downswing rotation. Sometimes I feel like I’m slightly pulling with my left arm. This focus on the left side has had a positive affect on my swing. I feel less arms, no slicing at all, sometimes I pull it a little left. Ball is going lower and a little further. Club path is from inside. And my worse fault the dreaded chicken wing has decreased a little. Anything wrong with the left side focus. I feel it negates any over the top movement.
Thanks.
Mitch
September 2, 2014
Paul WilsonMitch,
I hear this all the time. People struggle because they have hit for many years and they equate power with hitting.
Thinking of the left side is one of the downswing triggers I teach so I am perfectly fine with you thinking about. It is called a trigger. This means you do not do anything in your downswing without doing this move first.
Watch:
Choose The Right Power Source: https://ignitiongolf.com/choose-the-right-power-source/
Watch this one too:
It’s a Turn Not A Jump: https://ignitiongolf.com/turn-not-jump/
The chicken wing is the tell-tale sign you are still hitting. If your arms were turned off the weight of the club set in motion would be stretching them out fully. So keep focusing on loosening them up. The tell-tale sign your arms are powerless is the club will feel heavy. If it feels light you’re too tight.
Watch
The Club Should Feel Heavy: https://ignitiongolf.com/club-feel-heavy/
September 3, 2014
AndrewScanlonHey Paul,
In short, I’ve been playing a long time, poorly. This past month, I am determined to play better, so now, I am reinventing my swing. Through your tips, I’ve changed my backswing, follow-through, and I’ve learned the touching of the knees and placing of the club between my ears. After watching this tip, I took the suggestion of “letting my arms go for the ride” to the range. I did it for two large buckets.
Here is what I noticed. I used my arms, shoulders, and hips to coil. Once I was at the top of my backswing, I turned off my shoulders and arms, and I used my hips and legs to uncoil. The feeling I got was my arms AND shoulders were going along for the ride. As a matter of fact, I was definitely using my hips and legs to do almost all the work. Admittedly, my stomach muscles are sore after this exercise. Most of the shots were straight and went a country mile (I didn’t use the driver much, but the results with the driver were only mediocre).
Is the soreness of my stomach muscles an indication that I am doing this right?
Also, sometimes I get the feeling that during my follow-through, I am tucking my lead elbow into my ribs. I don’t think this is right. What should I do?
Respectfully,
Andy
September 3, 2014
Paul WilsonAndrew,
The first step to improving is admitting you have a problem. Ha Ha.
Now that you have done that I like the determination to finally improve. You have come to the right place.
It seems like a lot of things you are working on. If you are just starting to make changes you should only be working on grip, setup, touch legs, touch head in the follow through. You get that alone and you will hit it better than you ever have in you life. I have proven his thousands of times. Working on the follow through first starts to fix the backswing. Once you master the follow through and you move to the backswing the changes are less difficult if you did it my way.
Backswing – you should be only coiling your shoulders back. They move the most. If you turn them back they will pull the hips into perfect position every time.
Hips and Legs – use them to uncoil. In the backswing they are stable and the shoulders pull them around as I just mentioned.
I don’t hear sore stomach muscles. I usually hear sore legs if they have never used them before. Just be careful. Maybe in trying to drive the lower boy in the dowswing you were activating these muscles.
Through Swing – You need to allow the club to extend fully into the follow through creating a wider arc. I have ever heard anyone say they hit their lead elbow into the ribs. This would indicate it is folding too soon into the follow through.
Watch these tips:
DRILL: Extend the Back Arm for Power and Consistency: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-extend-back-arm/
Three Quarters Through – Lead Arm Position: https://ignitiongolf.com/follow-through-lead-arm-bending/
Wide Arc: https://ignitiongolf.com/wide-arc/
DRILL: Another Way To Widen The Arc: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-widen-arc/
So be careful. Work on less things and master them. I know it is exciting but if you never master anything you will continue to spin your wheels.
September 10, 2014
DonaldPugsleyHi Paul
This is my first post here.
I have been following you for about a year now. I have improved a lot. I am in my 60’s and started golfing last year (wish I started 40 years ago).
I am in pretty good shape and have the same issues as MichaelRodrick. I can hit all my wedges well with powerless arms (I think) My 7 Iron goes straight to about 150 yds 6 iron about 160. The driver 180 or so. My 4 rescue goes the same 180 or more. I will try and follow the suggestions you have made to others and see how it goes. Maybe I should just use my 3 wood for a while
I thank you for the help and appreciate your genuine concern for our improvement.
September 10, 2014
Paul WilsonDonald,
Glad you have you on board. I truly appreciate the support.
I’m also glad you have improved. I love hearing it.
Hitting Drive is tough. I really had a hard time with this when I was growing up. It was so bad I used to tee off with a 3 iron for a while. After many years of being terribly inconsistent I finally got it in 1999 when I stopped trying to hit or help the ball in any way. The thing is no one ever told me to not try and hit the ball. When I say I got it, I got it instantly the moment I turned them off.
For you, I would go with the 3 wood when playing for a little while. I say this because from your comment above you are not confident with it. If you keep playing without confidence I don’t see how you improve. So tee off with 3 wood for now.
Now, when you are at the range and at home you need to break this swing down into 2 parts. SPIN an DIRECTION. First you work on the spin. This means you goal is not perfect drives. You goal is too hook everything. You do this with my roll over drill. Swing easy. Do it at the range and every night at home.
Please Learn How to Hook It: https://ignitiongolf.com/please-learn-hook/
How to Release the Golf Club: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-wrist-release
DRILL: 3 Ways To Roll It Over: https://ignitiongolf.com/3-ways-to-roll/
Still Slicing Even After Rolling?: https://ignitiongolf.com/slicing-after-rolling/
DRILL: Smooth Wrist Release: https://ignitiongolf.com/smooth-wrist-release/
IF you work on it this way first you are mastering the spin. If mastered you never have to think or work on it in the future. This early release is de-lofting the club so you will get a proper launch angle into the future. To start with they will most likely go low left. This will also work on unlocking your wrists as well. Looser wrists = more clubhead speed.
Okay lets fast forward a week or two down the road. Now you can easily hook it. At this point you start switching to the leg drive. With the release mastered you can now have clear focus on using your legs and hips to hit the ball. If you are not working on it this way you are bouncing around between spin an direction. If you are bouncing around you will never improve.
Hopefully, you know my touch the legs position and can do it. As you hit the top of the backswing your sole thought is applying your downswing trigger to power the swing.
At home every night you need to b doing these drills (ONLY WHEN YOU MASTER THE RELEASE):
DRILL: Swing Off Ground: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-swing-off-ground
DRILL: Listen to Club Swinging: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-listen-to-club
DRILL: How To Get Faster Hip Rotation: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-faster-hip-rotation/
Hips To Target Feeling: https://ignitiongolf.com/hips-to-target-feeling/
DRILL: Swing Off Ground Variation: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-variation-favorite-drill/
DRILL: My Favorite Drill – Variation 2: https://ignitiongolf.com/favorite-drill-variation-2/
DRILL Lift Then Hit: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-lift-hit/
DRILL Lift Heel For 2 Weeks: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-lift-heel-2-weeks/
I get the feeling that people trying to do powerless arms either get me wrong, let their arms flop all over the place or don’t release it.
When you are working on things you may be feeling the arms. This is because you are training them to do certain positions or moves in your swing. By just turning them off you may never get it so by doing positions and drills you are manually working on it. Once you get it, you then turn your arms back off.
September 11, 2014
DonaldPugsleyThank you Paul
Just a follow up should I apply these tips to my irons as well? My irons seem to be good.
Don
May 20, 2017
GeraldDerksen`Hi Paul,
This is my first post and question.
When I make my backswing and coming back with my downswing (with lag) with the same bow/plane my elbows are to close to my body. The effect is that the release is difficult to make. When I come back down with a bow/plane further from my body the release is perfect and the ball goes to the target.
Question: need backswing and downswing have the same plane?
May 22, 2017
Paul WilsonGerald,
Glad to have you on board.
I like the backswing plane to be steeper than the downswing plane. Most of the best players of all time did this. In the downswing the right elbow would be tucked to the right hip at the approaching impact position but from there the arms would be away from the body as you hit the ball. they would appear closer to the right hip due to the fact the hips are rotated more when you hit the ball than when you started. I am not purposely trying to keep the arms close. Not sure if, or why would be doing this.
Here are the checkpoints at approaching impact and impact:
Checkpoints – Approaching Impact: https://ignitiongolf.com/checkpoints-approaching-impact/
Checkpoints – Impact https://ignitiongolf.com/checkpoints-impact/
Not sure if you are doing this lag drill:
Lag And Release Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/lag-release-drill/
If not, please do it.
Here is one on my back elbow in the downswing:
Right Elbow: https://ignitiongolf.com/downswing-right-elbow/
Hope this helps.
May 25, 2017
GeraldDerksenHello Paul
Thank’s a lot. Your explanation (in word and video) is very clear.
I tried to do what you are saying and showing and it is going better. Not perfect but I know it takes time and exercising. I now know what to do and that is a great advantage.
May 25, 2017
Paul WilsonGerald,
Very good. Glad you are getting it. Just stay focused and do tons of practice swings mastering the positions.
January 3, 2018
MichaelQuarneHi Paul, still fighting the powerless arms start. Your tip a while back helped, but I am very inconsistent. Where do I turn my arms off? Top of backswing, at leg position or in between? Thanks. Mikeq
January 4, 2018
Paul WilsonMichael,
Once you hit the top and you are ready to come down you tell yourself to not hit the ball. Your arms will come down if you turn your body. This is a totally different feeling. Do it slow if you have to and tee up your ball.
After you get the feeling and are hitting easy shots speed up only your lower body for more power. Also, you need clarity. From the top in no way are you thinking of hitting the ball. You are thinking take your back leg and touch the other leg. In doing so the club will swing down and through then you are thinking touch the legs and finally touch the head at the end. You hold it and check it. Make sure it is perfect every time. Forget the ball and where it is going. This is what holds people back. They keep caring about the shot. It doesn’t work like this. You need to make the move. Get the move you get the shot. See it differently and you will get it.
January 4, 2018
MichaelQuarneThanks Paul, have to practice in doors now with the white fluffy stuff covering the practice range.
Mikeq
January 5, 2018
Paul WilsonMichael,
Very good. Winter is the best time to practice. No ball means no distractions. Then you can used to the positions. After you do this for a couple of months you will have built a great swing. So see it as a good thing you can’t hit golf balls.
January 3, 2018
IanBernadtHi Paul, This may be a silly question but does one ACTIVELY use the upper body (with powerless arms attached) to provide power together with hip rotation or is the upper body more passively following the power of hip rotation with separation?
Thanks ,
Ian.
January 4, 2018
Paul WilsonIan,
You don’t need to do anything with the upper body in the downswing. Remember it is like a spring. You coil the top and uncoil the bottom. When ou do, the upper will uncoil on its own. I used to think about this upper body all the time when I was a kid learning it. Then I understood the spring-like affect and never thought of uncoiling it again. The separation occurs when you uncoil fast enough with the lower.
January 3, 2018
StephenPatchingThat tip to play a round swinging at 50 % has been really useful.
I just played 9 holes and concentrated on swinging easily. I hit a few shockers, but was surprised how many of my shots went similar distances to my full swing shots. I even managed to par one of the par 5 holes without any physical effort.
I’ll have to keep working on it. My biggest problem is locking my wrists when I swing fast.
Thanks for the video.
January 4, 2018
Paul WilsonStephen,
Exactly. Shockers is what you are looking for. This tells you that you can do it. Now you need to keep doing this until you are good at it. Once you are you fire the lower a little harder for a little more power and so on. It is a different power source. I need to bring you down to nothing first then build it back up again.
January 4, 2018
jankerstensHi Paul,
Just have seen your video on powerless arms.
I am a strong guy 70 years old so I have been using my arms all the time getting decent distances of 150 yards with a club 7 reaching around 80 mph. Now I am taking out the arms in the swing and swinging with my powerless left arm around 100 mph. Amazing! Now with both arms…… Thanks for your clarity and style of teaching.
January 4, 2018
Paul WilsonJan,
That’s great. There are actually people out there who seem to think I don’t know what I am talking about. Well, you are proof. Now, keep the feeling and power the swing with the legs and hips. Once you get used to it it’s a whole new world. Oh yeah, your body never hurts either.
January 13, 2018
WillCooper“There are actually people out there who seem to think I don’t know what I am talking about.”
Some people still believe the earth is flat, Paul. 🙂
Your book “Swing Machine Golf” explains the physics of how the lower body and powerless arms together generate club head speed. The Iron Byron clearly reveals the mechanics of a great golf swing.
January 15, 2018
Paul WilsonWill,
Oh right. Forgot about that. Their loss. I am getting over it … slowly.
January 4, 2018
JohnSuttieHi Paul are you saying that most of the pros are swinging with this technique or are they using their arms to generate clubhead speed?
John , Edinburgh
January 5, 2018
Paul WilsonJohn,
Different pros use different amounts of arms. Any pro with a slow swing is little to no arms. Any pro with a fast looking swing is using the body and arms. Keep in mind they are pros. They hit it great and have an amazing short game. The average guy does not hit it great and cannot get it up and down consistently. Huge difference. This is also why you would see pros get hot and cold. You get an arm swinger out there he/she will get on a roll and play well for a while. Then if they take a break they will lose it whereas the less arms players can repeat it consistently (Els, Oousthuisen, Freddie, most LPGA players).
January 10, 2018
MarySmithPaul, I’m working on powerless arms but all my misses are cold tops. Have been a single digit golfer for a long time. 3 years ago double hip replacements, thumb surgery last September. Steadily rising handicap. Having trouble feeling the lower body leading. Any thoughts?
January 11, 2018
Paul WilsonMary,
If you are topping it your arms are certainly not powerless. This is the causes of topped shots. The harder you hit, the more you will look to see what you hit.
Are You Practicing Looking Early?: https://ignitiongolf.com/practice-looking-early/
Topping: https://ignitiongolf.com/stop-topping-golf-ball/
Topping: Watch for the Blur: https://ignitiongolf.com/watch-for-the-blur/
This is the position you need to check. If you are topping it you will not be ending up in this position. You will be too vertical.
Spine Angle Follow Through: https://ignitiongolf.com/follow-through-eyes-tilted/
Also, anytime you start topping it you should be immediately slowly down to half speed. The problem is everyone wants to hit great shots all of the time. Sometimes we have to slow it down to “get it” or fix the thing we were working on. Once we get it then we speed up the body rotation to hit it longer.
January 12, 2018
MarySmithHi Paul,
Better contact today. Maintained my posture better. Like the watch the blur video. Discouraging but I’m going to keep at it. Great concept to have powerless arms. Thanks, Mary
January 12, 2018
Paul WilsonMary,
Very good. I would think your swing is really close to being great. Just go through the positions and figure out which one or two needs a little work. Then focus on those areas. The spine angle into the follow through is big. You certainly shouldn’t be topping it at your level.
You should watch this one too:
Are You Practicing Looking Early?: https://ignitiongolf.com/practice-looking-early/
January 13, 2018
MarySmithHey Paul,
Much better today. Spent 3 hours at the range, mostly short game but then at the range practice body movement without arms, alternating different clubs. I’m starting to get it as I hit the ball better than I have in a long time. Thanks, Mary
January 15, 2018
Paul WilsonMary,
That’s great news. Like I said, you have to be close. Just a little work but make sure you know the position(s) that need this work. You can do it.
February 6, 2019
Ali SheqMr. Wilson,
Thanks so much for your instruction. Your method works very well. One issue that I have is that I cannot always feel the difference between when I’m using Powerless arms and when I am not. In other words, I’m trying to use powerless arms, I set up with that intention and then try to coil and uncoil with my body only to see my ball fade, slice or sometimes mishit altogether. So, I think I am using my body, but I’m clearly not based upon the ball flight. The minute I shut off my arms again, I’ll start crushing the ball straight and sometimes even have a nice draw. I’ll get in a groove, especially on the range, where I’ll hit 20 to 30 balls in a row very well, think I have everything mastered, and then all of sudden I think I’m using my body, but I will start to hit 10 slices in a row (sometimes complete mishits). As I’m trying to correct, I try to slow down, try to do the over the top drill, try to step away and take a break for a few minute, change clubs, etc–anything to get my arms shutoff–but I sometimes just cannot correct until the next day or hours later. Interestingly, I can often correct more quickly on the course when I’m playing (which is better), but it still frustrating on the range when I’m trying to build confidence in my swing and then nose dive back into using my arms (while feeling like I’m not) when I had just been hitting the ball well. I plan on trying your 50% power on the course suggestion and 3/4 power at the range to see if that helps. I have noticed–especially with the driver, that the slower I takeaway the club, the better my shot, without any loss of distance. It is counterintuitive, but the results speak for themselves. One separate comment is that while I understand your analogy with spinning the clubhead cover (with your hand as the body), I have a hard time relating that concept to the actual swing. Do you have any other ways to illustrate this point, and what else can I do to keep my arms shut-off, or re-shut them down after a few mishits.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts
February 7, 2019
Paul WilsonAli,
If you think you are not using your arms while firing your body and it starts right and goes straight right or a push fade you are probable driving the lower too hard. You need to watch thees tips:
DRILL: Golf Swing Timing For More Distance: https://ignitiongolf.com/timing-more-distance/
Driving Hips Harder But Hook It First: https://ignitiongolf.com/driving-hips-hook-first/
You are slicing way too many shots so you need to focus on fixing this asap. If you hook it you are no longer a slice. Then you need to work on body to straighten it out. So do the drills below constantly and consistently until you rarely ever put slice spin on your shots. At this point you would only ever be working on your body:
DRILL: 3 Ways To Roll It Over: https://ignitiongolf.com/3-ways-to-roll/
Roll Around The Stick: https://ignitiongolf.com/roll-around-stick/
Clarifying the Roll Over Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/clarifying-roll-drill
Another Reason To Do The Roll Over Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/another-reason-to-roll/
How Long Should You Do The Roll Over Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/roll-over-drill-how-long/
See The Good In A Pull and Pull Hook: https://ignitiongolf.com/see-good-pull-pull-hook/
Fix Your Own Swing
Pocket Drill 1 – Spin: https://ignitiongolf.com/pocket-drill-1-spin/
Pocket Drill 2 – Direction: https://ignitiongolf.com/pocket-drill-2-direction/
February 7, 2019
Ali SheqThank you for the fast response. I will review what you suggest and will practice and see how things go. Interestingly, I have generally skipped the rollover drill because I’m was not entirely sure I understood how to do it correctly, so I focused on other drills. I will review your videos on this drill and try again. Thanks again, as powerless arms is clearly the way to go. Wish I had your video and book 10 years ago.
February 10, 2019
Paul WilsonAli,
Yes, you definitely need to do that drill. As you do it you will be manually rolling it an feeling your arms. This is only until you get rid of any slice spin on your shots and have the feeling memorized. Once you do you turn them off again allowing it to happen.
Glad you found me.
May 31, 2019
StephenAlbertsHey Paul, thanks for this tip. Probably one of the most important tips I’ve watched.
I’ve been practicing for months watching your videos. Grip is good. Stance is good. Touch the legs, touch the back of the head. But I was still slicing.
Watched the rollover drills and that did help but then I was topping the ball. Realized I was hitting with my arms most of the time.
I then cheated on you and watched someones video on youtube (sorry about that :)), and he said to whip the club. I then really hurt my wrists from doing that.
So today I was hitting in my backyard into my net still like crap. Came in and watched this video and slowed it all down and really tried to feel myself moving my body to hit the ball.
And I did it! I do a bunch of practice swings and then hit the ball. I’m getting the feeling. No more topping. I’m not making perfect contact with each one I hit but I feel that will come with time. I’ve only just started this drill today.
Thanks again!
June 4, 2019
Paul WilsonStephen,
I forgive you. Why? Because you’re back. They usually come back. You’re not he first looking for the answer elsewhere when they are all right here.
You would be topping some doing the roll over because the roll over has you rolling it with the arms. The point is to get it rolling early and get it hooking. So a few tops is not big deal. I am wanting the hook spin. Once you can do that consistently then you switch to body rotation to straighten it out. If your body moves before you arms you will hit it dead straight. Too many people want to hit perfect shots while trying to do the roll over drill. This is a drill not reality. I refer to this as step 1. Get step 1 (hooking) then move to step 2.
I would be doing the roll over nightly at home while watching TV. Just roll every night until you have the feeling mastered. I have had people master this in 4 repetitions others take longer. Just keep doing it knowing that the purpose it to roll it earlier than necessary for a little while. If so, every ball would hook. Once you do this then you switch to body. As you do, make sure you are not trying to kill it. Topping is hitting with arms. The harder you hit, the more you will look to see what you hit and the more you will contract your forearms pulling the club off of the ground.
I think you are starting to get it so keep doing it nightly at home as well as at the range.
Step 1:
DRILL: 3 Ways To Roll It Over: https://ignitiongolf.com/3-ways-to-roll/
Roll Around The Stick: https://ignitiongolf.com/roll-around-stick/
Clarifying the Roll Over Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/clarifying-roll-drill
Modified Roll Over Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/modified-roll-over-drill/
Step 2:
After The Roll Over Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/after-the-roll-over/
2 Things Flatten the Plane: https://ignitiongolf.com/2-things-flatten-plane/
See The Plane Flatten: https://ignitiongolf.com/see-the-plane-flatten/