Hi Paul. The only problem with your advice about the lead arm is the tendency to collapse an overly relaxed arm at the top. I’ve had this bad habit of going past parallel, not because I’m so limber, but because collapsing my left arm allows it. That leads to very little separation between the club and my shoulder(s). There can be a fine line between relaxing the lead arm and allowing it to collapse at the top, at least for me. In my case, concentrating on keeping the left arm straight seems to shorten the swing and create more extension/ separation of the hands and club from the shoulders. Please comment on this relaxed lead arm versus extension contradiction.
this happened to me today, I think! Went to the range this morning. I am a beginner and progressing but got it in my head to get that arm straight , I couldn’t hit anything after a much better, morel relaxed session a few days ago.
Tightening up the arm, locked my wrist coming down in the swing and the result was a mess.
Towards the end, I finally in desperation decided to quit thinking about “straight arm and turn.” I relaxed my arms, my left one more bent on the backswing, and began to connect with the ball.
Thanks for the tip, it reinforces what I experienced and am learning from it (hopefully).
Chris
Paul ,You couldn’t be More right ! It’s not that difficult to keep the left arm straight (Just look at your image in a mirror or Windows while swinging ):you have to have a strong left triceps which keeps the left arm straight ,yet RELAXED :if you train with the MIKE BAUMAN’s tubings (One or two or even three at a Time ) inthe “FLEXIBILITY “drill of his .you Will d
Lots of pros bend there arm at the top yet everyone sees it as straight. I use a ruler to measure them. A lot are bent as you suggested. Some of the best too.
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6 Responses to “Extended But Not Locked”
March 6, 2014
RonCalabreseHi Paul. The only problem with your advice about the lead arm is the tendency to collapse an overly relaxed arm at the top. I’ve had this bad habit of going past parallel, not because I’m so limber, but because collapsing my left arm allows it. That leads to very little separation between the club and my shoulder(s). There can be a fine line between relaxing the lead arm and allowing it to collapse at the top, at least for me. In my case, concentrating on keeping the left arm straight seems to shorten the swing and create more extension/ separation of the hands and club from the shoulders. Please comment on this relaxed lead arm versus extension contradiction.
Thanks, Ron
March 6, 2014
Paul WilsonRon,
The lead arm collapses when the wrists are too tight. Gotta hinge somewhere. If the wrists are locked you will hinge at the elbow.
Learn the top of the backswing with one of these 2 ways:
3 Ways to Set The Top of the Backswing: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-top-3-ways
March 6, 2014
ChrisHanzothis happened to me today, I think! Went to the range this morning. I am a beginner and progressing but got it in my head to get that arm straight , I couldn’t hit anything after a much better, morel relaxed session a few days ago.
Tightening up the arm, locked my wrist coming down in the swing and the result was a mess.
Towards the end, I finally in desperation decided to quit thinking about “straight arm and turn.” I relaxed my arms, my left one more bent on the backswing, and began to connect with the ball.
Thanks for the tip, it reinforces what I experienced and am learning from it (hopefully).
Chris
March 6, 2014
Paul WilsonChris,
Good to hear this. I knew there would be quite a few more people out there trying to keep the left arm too straight. Stay loose!
March 6, 2014
RaymondCHASTELPaul ,You couldn’t be More right ! It’s not that difficult to keep the left arm straight (Just look at your image in a mirror or Windows while swinging ):you have to have a strong left triceps which keeps the left arm straight ,yet RELAXED :if you train with the MIKE BAUMAN’s tubings (One or two or even three at a Time ) inthe “FLEXIBILITY “drill of his .you Will d
March 6, 2014
Paul WilsonRaymond,
Lots of pros bend there arm at the top yet everyone sees it as straight. I use a ruler to measure them. A lot are bent as you suggested. Some of the best too.