Golf swing tip: Focus on left arm for solid shots

The golf swing in its most simple form is really only a circle. The radius of that circle, back and through the swing is the left arm (in a right-handed swing.) Good players create a wide arc on the backswing and maintain the radius that they created at address throughout the swing. High-handicappers, on the other hand, in their attempt to create a wide arc usually over do it by over swinging and bending their left arm at the top of the swing, which is the opposite of what they should do.

When a wide arc is established at the top of the swing, the player is now able to drop their arms in the correct position on the downswing which allows the left arm to release through impact and fold correctly on the follow-through. The left arm folding on the follow-through keeps the club on the correct plane and the ball on the target line.

A high-handicapper that collapses his left arm at the top of the swing is now out of position and has to throw the club from the outside on the downswing. From this position he tries to save the shot by extending the left arm on the follow-through, once again, the opposite of what one should do, resulting in the dreaded chicken wing follow-through where the elbow points up instead of down destroying the radius of the circle.

Good ball strikers create a wide arc on the backswing because they accomplish a couple of things:

1) As they swing back, they naturally hinge their wrists, which puts the club on the proper plane
2) They are flexible enough to make a full turn while maintaining the left arm extended.

High-handicappers tend to do the opposite:
1) Because of a faulty grip they are unable to hinge their wrists properly and then usually end up hinging their elbows instead
2) Because they may not be as flexible, they are unable to make a full turn so they cannot keep the left arm extended so they bend the arm instead.

You don’t need to swing exactly like a PGA Tour player to strike the ball well, but don’t do the exact opposite. Keep the left arm extended on the backswing and let it fold on the follow-through. If you have been struggling to hit solid iron shots, focus on your left arm.

Good ball strikers create a wide arc on the backswing.

The left elbow points down, not up on the follow-through.