Paul ,This drill is vital to avoid the ” chicane wing ” ,have a aide arc ,and drive the ball fiurther .
I suggest a drill I practise regularly at home ,where I have a large garden and lawn:the an old club ,make a normal swing and at the end of the throughswing ,let go of the club .
To have the club to fly in a straight Line in the air ,you have to have loose ” POWERLESS ARMS ” ,a very light grip ,and perfect timing to let go of the club at the proper moment .
Try it ,it’s magical to cure the ” CHICKEN WING “.
by the way ,I saw marvelous JORDAN SPIETH in slow motion i : hé bends the left arm going back ,has a slight chicken wing in the throughswing ,and ROLLS over completely his left foot at the end of the throughswing .
Three faults ,and hé his nevertheless a top notch Champion !
Paul, this has turned out to be a perfect drill for me. I have struggled with toed and thin shots for some time. I have even seen on video that when hitting a ball at the range I do a slight chicken wing, but not on my practice swings. Today at the range I used this drill for my first 30 balls, plus practice swings of course. I even used some face tape to see if I was hitting it more in the center, and I was. This totally stopped my pulls and pull hooks which are quite common for me.
But the most surprising thing I found after doing this drill then going to a full swing was that the legs together and touching the head became almost automatic. As much as I have worked on these two positions over the last two months, I have not been able to consistently get them, until today. This also helped me to slow down and feel the powerless arms better.
I keep trying to tell people this is huge position. I hope they are listening. You did and you see the result.
The other positions were happening because to get this position you need to turn the arms off. No arms means you are using your body. Keep up the good work.
Paul ,How do you know this “extending the arms benefit ” works also when you do the complete “Touch your legs ,Touch your head position ?
The key is to keep the arms loose when doing the full swing .
Not so easy to do when there’s tension on the golf course !
You would know it works because you would either film your swing or you would have the feeling of throwing your club in the range, probably taking a divot and hitting it solidly because you are not doing an arc narrower than your widest arc (arms extended). This is a test. If you cannot do this you are controlling the club. Need to let it go. When you do, it will feel out of control.
Paul what a great exercise/drill. I found the slow motion on my camera. Did this drill and found I am doing a chicken wing and pulling up to so. On the follow through. Huge discovery for me. Lots of practice with this drill ahead.
Thanks as always for drilling these principles home. So important for consistency.
After a full bucket I was finally stretching g out. I feel like I deserve to do this every time I practice. That important for me and using hips and legs without swaying. Is the two major issues.
Thanks, Steve
Paul, I tried this drill out at the range (3/4 backswing with hinged wrists, then turning to the stretching the arms parallel to the ground with the toe being up at the end point) and was amazed at the results. With hardly any effort, I was sending the ball 30-50 yards further than my full swings! I was stunned at how little I had to move to launch the ball so much farther and still perfectly straight. I did this a bunch of times and was able to repeat it easily with the same results. But every time I tried going back to a full backswing and full touch the legs/touch the head follow through (still trying to feel stretched arms on the way back and through), I was back to losing distance, often sending the ball only 75-100 yards carry no matter the club (PW-5 iron) and no matter how fast I turned to touch the legs. I did hit a lot of fat shots which is to be expected, but none of my non-fat full swing shots were as far as my 3/4 drill shots. I was even getting almost the same distances as my full swings just doing a 3/4 backswing and stopping with both arms stretched just after contact at the release point with a slower swing. I’ve been hitting the ball straight on target since switching to the body swing, but my distance has remained really weak (where I only hit my PW 80-90 yards and my 5 iron 155 on a good day; doing the 3/4 backswing to stretch the arms drill I hit my 9 iron 140 so I know I have much more distance in me). I’ve been fighting an over the top swing path which I think sometimes causes my arms to buckle as they hit my gut just before and after impact, but if I can keep my arms stretched like I do during this drill I know it’s easily possible for me to gain a lot of distance. (Stopping the over the top is tough on real shots, but I can do it on practice swings thinking about tilting my hat/body.) My question is, what is the best way to practice going from this “3/4 backswing to stretched straight arms pointing parallel to the target” drill so that I can gradually work it into my full backswing and full touch the head follow through? I know right now I can do a few of those drills in a row perfectly without any problem and the ball goes far and straight. But it isn’t translating yet into my full swing. My goal is to get the same feelings/results (or better) with a full swing while having the same effortless feeling. Like I said, I’ve been able to hit the ball straight since switching to “coil, hinge the wrists, switch to touch the legs, touch the head” body swing, but something isn’t working and I’m pretty sure it has to do with whatever makes this drill work that isn’t quite there in my full swing yet. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
Hello Jeremy, Paul’s comment have a hyphen in from of them.
Paul, I tried this drill out at the range (3/4 backswing with hinged wrists, then turning to the stretching the arms parallel to the ground with the toe being up at the end point) and was amazed at the results. With hardly any effort, I was sending the ball 30-50 yards further than my full swings! I was stunned at how little I had to move to launch the ball so much farther and still perfectly straight.
– Glad you tried it. Stretch it out you get a wider arc.
I did this a bunch of times and was able to repeat it easily with the same results. But every time I tried going back to a full backswing and full touch the legs/touch the head follow through (still trying to feel stretched arms on the way back and through), I was back to losing distance, often sending the ball only 75-100 yards carry no matter the club (PW-5 iron) and no matter how fast I turned to touch the legs.
– Well, if you make it to 3/4 you are only going up a little more. Sounds like you are going back way too far so you lose everything you were doing plus you end up hitting with the arms.
I did hit a lot of fat shots which is to be expected, but none of my non-fat full swing shots were as far as my 3/4 drill shots. I was even getting almost the same distances as my full swings just doing a 3/4 backswing and stopping with both arms stretched just after contact at the release point with a slower swing.
– Yep, shorter backswing you get the legs and hips moving. Longer swing can get you pulling the club down with the arms which can trap you with the weight on back foot at impact so you hit it fat.
I’ve been hitting the ball straight on target since switching to the body swing, but my distance has remained really weak (where I only hit my PW 80-90 yards and my 5 iron 155 on a good day; doing the 3/4 backswing to stretch the arms drill I hit my 9 iron 140 so I know I have much more distance in me).
– You need to be moving the body to get the distance. This coupled with the hinge you get the power. So you go back shorter this get the hips moving because with this shorter backswing if you didn’t move your hips you wouldn’t hit it anywhere with a short backswing.
I’ve been fighting an over the top swing path which I think sometimes causes my arms to buckle as they hit my gut just before and after impact, but if I can keep my arms stretched like I do during this drill I know it’s easily possible for me to gain a lot of distance. (Stopping the over the top is tough on real shots, but I can do it on practice swings thinking about tilting my hat/body.)
– Over the top is caused from hitting with arms. When you hit you lean left coming down. Lean left and you will swing left. Work on hitting the top and tilting your body right not left. If you do you will see the path swing out to the right not left. Keep doing it until you train it.
My question is, what is the best way to practice going from this “3/4 backswing to stretched straight arms pointing parallel to the target” drill so that I can gradually work it into my full backswing and full touch the head follow through? I know right now I can do a few of those drills in a row perfectly without any problem and the ball goes far and straight. But it isn’t translating yet into my full swing.
– If you are hitting it that much better then keep swinging at 3/4. Get used to it. From there it’s only a 10 degrees more shoulder coil and you are at the top. So see the shorter backswing as your REAL swing.
My goal is to get the same feelings/results (or better) with a full swing while having the same effortless feeling. Like I said, I’ve been able to hit the ball straight since switching to “coil, hinge the wrists, switch to touch the legs, touch the head” body swing, but something isn’t working and I’m pretty sure it has to do with whatever makes this drill work that isn’t quite there in my full swing yet. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
Thanks, Paul! I think I’ll make this drill a mainstay. Looking in a mirror at myself doing this 3/4 backswing, it really IS close to what I think my full backswing should actually be even though it “feels” so much shorter. Before trying this 3/4 drill, I’d asked my friends earlier this year to tell me whenever they saw me bring my back elbow up too high on my backswing, telling them I only want to fit a grapefruit (not a watermelon) under my armpit, and they’ve been telling me “your elbow went too high again” way too many times even when I was sure it didn’t feel like I’d done that. So I think this 3/4 swing backswing to stretch the arms out drill is going to really help me shorten my too long of a backswing closer to what it should be. It also lets my arms stretch out properly in both my back and through swings giving me a wider arc, and as a bonus it helps me concentrate on keeping my head back and my eyes on the back of the ball before and through impact, waiting to turn my head only afterward to see if my arms made it to the stretched out position I was looking for. And like you said this drill also helps you think “legs and body” instead of pulling the arms down. The 3/4 backswing feels more like a pitch shot in my mind and pitch shots are my favorite shots since it’s so much easier to think “hinge/turn” when the club’s not too high up in the air. I’m so glad I looked up and found this drill after seeing on a few videos of my golf swing that my arms were too close to my body and cutting to the left early after impact despite getting to the touch the head position. I knew something wasn’t right but it wasn’t until spotting those flaws and trying this drill that I was able to go “ah-ha!”. I think I’ll make the “extended arms pointing the club parallel to the target” my position “B” thought for now and after I get used to that just slowly continue the arms from there into the touch the head position until the extended arms become 2nd nature. Then hopefully once those stretched arms become a natural part of my swing, I can go back to making the touch the head position my “B” position again in time. Thanks again, Paul!
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11 Responses to “Test Series – Can You Stretch Your Arms?”
May 7, 2015
RaymondCHASTELPaul ,This drill is vital to avoid the ” chicane wing ” ,have a aide arc ,and drive the ball fiurther .
I suggest a drill I practise regularly at home ,where I have a large garden and lawn:the an old club ,make a normal swing and at the end of the throughswing ,let go of the club .
To have the club to fly in a straight Line in the air ,you have to have loose ” POWERLESS ARMS ” ,a very light grip ,and perfect timing to let go of the club at the proper moment .
Try it ,it’s magical to cure the ” CHICKEN WING “.
by the way ,I saw marvelous JORDAN SPIETH in slow motion i : hé bends the left arm going back ,has a slight chicken wing in the throughswing ,and ROLLS over completely his left foot at the end of the throughswing .
Three faults ,and hé his nevertheless a top notch Champion !
May 12, 2015
WilliamPotterPaul, this has turned out to be a perfect drill for me. I have struggled with toed and thin shots for some time. I have even seen on video that when hitting a ball at the range I do a slight chicken wing, but not on my practice swings. Today at the range I used this drill for my first 30 balls, plus practice swings of course. I even used some face tape to see if I was hitting it more in the center, and I was. This totally stopped my pulls and pull hooks which are quite common for me.
But the most surprising thing I found after doing this drill then going to a full swing was that the legs together and touching the head became almost automatic. As much as I have worked on these two positions over the last two months, I have not been able to consistently get them, until today. This also helped me to slow down and feel the powerless arms better.
Great tip!
May 12, 2015
Paul WilsonWilliam,
Glad you liked it.
I keep trying to tell people this is huge position. I hope they are listening. You did and you see the result.
The other positions were happening because to get this position you need to turn the arms off. No arms means you are using your body. Keep up the good work.
March 30, 2019
RaymondCHASTELPaul ,How do you know this “extending the arms benefit ” works also when you do the complete “Touch your legs ,Touch your head position ?
The key is to keep the arms loose when doing the full swing .
Not so easy to do when there’s tension on the golf course !
March 31, 2019
Paul WilsonRaymond,
You would know it works because you would either film your swing or you would have the feeling of throwing your club in the range, probably taking a divot and hitting it solidly because you are not doing an arc narrower than your widest arc (arms extended). This is a test. If you cannot do this you are controlling the club. Need to let it go. When you do, it will feel out of control.
It is a Letting Go Experience: https://ignitiongolf.com/letting-go-experience/
Wide Arc: https://ignitiongolf.com/wide-arc/
DRILL: Try To Hit Chair: https://ignitiongolf.com/try-to-hit-chair/
DRILL: Another Way To Widen The Arc: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-widen-arc/
Power: How a Wider Swing Arc Affects Power: https://ignitiongolf.com/wider-arc-power/
March 30, 2019
SteveAirdPaul what a great exercise/drill. I found the slow motion on my camera. Did this drill and found I am doing a chicken wing and pulling up to so. On the follow through. Huge discovery for me. Lots of practice with this drill ahead.
Thanks as always for drilling these principles home. So important for consistency.
After a full bucket I was finally stretching g out. I feel like I deserve to do this every time I practice. That important for me and using hips and legs without swaying. Is the two major issues.
Thanks, Steve
March 31, 2019
Paul WilsonSteve,
Glad you saw it on camera. The camera doesn’t lie.
Definitely make this priority one. This will take you game to a whole new level.
Beware of this though:
Love Fat Shots: https://ignitiongolf.com/love-fat-shots/
Here are some more that may help:
It is a Letting Go Experience: https://ignitiongolf.com/letting-go-experience/
Wide Arc: https://ignitiongolf.com/wide-arc/
DRILL: Try To Hit Chair: https://ignitiongolf.com/try-to-hit-chair/
DRILL: Another Way To Widen The Arc: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-widen-arc/
Power: How a Wider Swing Arc Affects Power: https://ignitiongolf.com/wider-arc-power/
May 28, 2024
DonReynoldsPaul, I think I’m a lifetime member but can’t seem to login. Help lease Don Reynolds ⛳️
September 23, 2024
JeremyFredriksonPaul, I tried this drill out at the range (3/4 backswing with hinged wrists, then turning to the stretching the arms parallel to the ground with the toe being up at the end point) and was amazed at the results. With hardly any effort, I was sending the ball 30-50 yards further than my full swings! I was stunned at how little I had to move to launch the ball so much farther and still perfectly straight. I did this a bunch of times and was able to repeat it easily with the same results. But every time I tried going back to a full backswing and full touch the legs/touch the head follow through (still trying to feel stretched arms on the way back and through), I was back to losing distance, often sending the ball only 75-100 yards carry no matter the club (PW-5 iron) and no matter how fast I turned to touch the legs. I did hit a lot of fat shots which is to be expected, but none of my non-fat full swing shots were as far as my 3/4 drill shots. I was even getting almost the same distances as my full swings just doing a 3/4 backswing and stopping with both arms stretched just after contact at the release point with a slower swing. I’ve been hitting the ball straight on target since switching to the body swing, but my distance has remained really weak (where I only hit my PW 80-90 yards and my 5 iron 155 on a good day; doing the 3/4 backswing to stretch the arms drill I hit my 9 iron 140 so I know I have much more distance in me). I’ve been fighting an over the top swing path which I think sometimes causes my arms to buckle as they hit my gut just before and after impact, but if I can keep my arms stretched like I do during this drill I know it’s easily possible for me to gain a lot of distance. (Stopping the over the top is tough on real shots, but I can do it on practice swings thinking about tilting my hat/body.) My question is, what is the best way to practice going from this “3/4 backswing to stretched straight arms pointing parallel to the target” drill so that I can gradually work it into my full backswing and full touch the head follow through? I know right now I can do a few of those drills in a row perfectly without any problem and the ball goes far and straight. But it isn’t translating yet into my full swing. My goal is to get the same feelings/results (or better) with a full swing while having the same effortless feeling. Like I said, I’ve been able to hit the ball straight since switching to “coil, hinge the wrists, switch to touch the legs, touch the head” body swing, but something isn’t working and I’m pretty sure it has to do with whatever makes this drill work that isn’t quite there in my full swing yet. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
September 24, 2024
Paul WilsonHello Jeremy, Paul’s comment have a hyphen in from of them.
Paul, I tried this drill out at the range (3/4 backswing with hinged wrists, then turning to the stretching the arms parallel to the ground with the toe being up at the end point) and was amazed at the results. With hardly any effort, I was sending the ball 30-50 yards further than my full swings! I was stunned at how little I had to move to launch the ball so much farther and still perfectly straight.
– Glad you tried it. Stretch it out you get a wider arc.
I did this a bunch of times and was able to repeat it easily with the same results. But every time I tried going back to a full backswing and full touch the legs/touch the head follow through (still trying to feel stretched arms on the way back and through), I was back to losing distance, often sending the ball only 75-100 yards carry no matter the club (PW-5 iron) and no matter how fast I turned to touch the legs.
– Well, if you make it to 3/4 you are only going up a little more. Sounds like you are going back way too far so you lose everything you were doing plus you end up hitting with the arms.
I did hit a lot of fat shots which is to be expected, but none of my non-fat full swing shots were as far as my 3/4 drill shots. I was even getting almost the same distances as my full swings just doing a 3/4 backswing and stopping with both arms stretched just after contact at the release point with a slower swing.
– Yep, shorter backswing you get the legs and hips moving. Longer swing can get you pulling the club down with the arms which can trap you with the weight on back foot at impact so you hit it fat.
I’ve been hitting the ball straight on target since switching to the body swing, but my distance has remained really weak (where I only hit my PW 80-90 yards and my 5 iron 155 on a good day; doing the 3/4 backswing to stretch the arms drill I hit my 9 iron 140 so I know I have much more distance in me).
– You need to be moving the body to get the distance. This coupled with the hinge you get the power. So you go back shorter this get the hips moving because with this shorter backswing if you didn’t move your hips you wouldn’t hit it anywhere with a short backswing.
I’ve been fighting an over the top swing path which I think sometimes causes my arms to buckle as they hit my gut just before and after impact, but if I can keep my arms stretched like I do during this drill I know it’s easily possible for me to gain a lot of distance. (Stopping the over the top is tough on real shots, but I can do it on practice swings thinking about tilting my hat/body.)
– Over the top is caused from hitting with arms. When you hit you lean left coming down. Lean left and you will swing left. Work on hitting the top and tilting your body right not left. If you do you will see the path swing out to the right not left. Keep doing it until you train it.
My question is, what is the best way to practice going from this “3/4 backswing to stretched straight arms pointing parallel to the target” drill so that I can gradually work it into my full backswing and full touch the head follow through? I know right now I can do a few of those drills in a row perfectly without any problem and the ball goes far and straight. But it isn’t translating yet into my full swing.
– If you are hitting it that much better then keep swinging at 3/4. Get used to it. From there it’s only a 10 degrees more shoulder coil and you are at the top. So see the shorter backswing as your REAL swing.
My goal is to get the same feelings/results (or better) with a full swing while having the same effortless feeling. Like I said, I’ve been able to hit the ball straight since switching to “coil, hinge the wrists, switch to touch the legs, touch the head” body swing, but something isn’t working and I’m pretty sure it has to do with whatever makes this drill work that isn’t quite there in my full swing yet. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
Paul
October 1, 2024
JeremyFredriksonThanks, Paul! I think I’ll make this drill a mainstay. Looking in a mirror at myself doing this 3/4 backswing, it really IS close to what I think my full backswing should actually be even though it “feels” so much shorter. Before trying this 3/4 drill, I’d asked my friends earlier this year to tell me whenever they saw me bring my back elbow up too high on my backswing, telling them I only want to fit a grapefruit (not a watermelon) under my armpit, and they’ve been telling me “your elbow went too high again” way too many times even when I was sure it didn’t feel like I’d done that. So I think this 3/4 swing backswing to stretch the arms out drill is going to really help me shorten my too long of a backswing closer to what it should be. It also lets my arms stretch out properly in both my back and through swings giving me a wider arc, and as a bonus it helps me concentrate on keeping my head back and my eyes on the back of the ball before and through impact, waiting to turn my head only afterward to see if my arms made it to the stretched out position I was looking for. And like you said this drill also helps you think “legs and body” instead of pulling the arms down. The 3/4 backswing feels more like a pitch shot in my mind and pitch shots are my favorite shots since it’s so much easier to think “hinge/turn” when the club’s not too high up in the air. I’m so glad I looked up and found this drill after seeing on a few videos of my golf swing that my arms were too close to my body and cutting to the left early after impact despite getting to the touch the head position. I knew something wasn’t right but it wasn’t until spotting those flaws and trying this drill that I was able to go “ah-ha!”. I think I’ll make the “extended arms pointing the club parallel to the target” my position “B” thought for now and after I get used to that just slowly continue the arms from there into the touch the head position until the extended arms become 2nd nature. Then hopefully once those stretched arms become a natural part of my swing, I can go back to making the touch the head position my “B” position again in time. Thanks again, Paul!