How do you keep you left elbow straight?

[Captain_Black]

Hi all.
I have been struggling for ages now with very inconsistant ball contact.
My shots are all over the place, I am sure a lot of my problem is my inabillity to keep my left elbow straight on my back swing.

As much as I concentrate on this, I cannot seem to overcome this swing fault, I now find myself using a very short backswing as this is the only way I can get a decent contact with the ball at the moment, trouble is my distance obviously suffering.

In desperation, I have even thought of wearing some kind of neoprene elbow support to try to keep it straight.

Could it be a fault with my grip that is causing it?
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appriciated.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Surely a support will be an outside agency and therefore illegal. Clearly there are major issues going on and the simple answer is to seek professional help and get a lesson. Are you not trying to go back too far and too straigt which has issues of its own. A video would help

 

[SGC001]

Hi all.
I have been struggling for ages now with very inconsistant ball contact.
My shots are all over the place, I am sure a lot of my problem is my inabillity to keep my left elbow straight on my back swing.

As much as I concentrate on this, I cannot seem to overcome this swing fault, I now find myself using a very short backswing as this is the only way I can get a decent contact with the ball at the moment, trouble is my distance obviously suffering.

In desperation, I have even thought of wearing some kind of neoprene elbow support to try to keep it straight.

Could it be a fault with my grip that is causing it?
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appriciated.

If you're not contracting your biceps in your left arm, then check for overswing or more likely too much bend in your right arm. The left arm bending is usually a reaction and not a cause, let the right arm support your width in the backswing.

 

[Mark_G]

I had a very good lesson yesterday and only hit 4 balls. We spent all the time practising drills designed to improve timing and balance, and afterwards my drives were much more relaxed, fluid, and straighter and longer. Maybe a similar approach would help and take your focus off your left arm. (I have no expertise just saying what seems to have worked for me as my pro always says I think too much during my swing)

 

[timchump]

have you filmed yourself with your new "shortened" backswing

i have found a shorter swing normally feels a shorter than it actually is

i would try keeping the club on the inside more on the downswing and feel like you hitting away from yourself at impact.

the left arm tends to break down if your hitting across yourself on an out to in swing path, as at impact the arm dosen't have anywhere to go hence breaks, then you get the old chicken wings

 

[Mungoscorner]

Surely a support will be an outside agency and therefore illegal. Clearly there are major issues going on and the simple answer is to seek professional help and get a lesson. Are you not trying to go back too far and too straigt which has issues of its own. A video would help

How could an elbow support be illegal ??
What next,will i be disqualified for wearing my back brace,as it keeps my lower back straight,and improves my posture,even though i only wear it because i suffer with Sciatica.
Sometimes,i am stunned by some of the comments on here.

 

[SocketRocket]

How could an elbow support be illegal ??
What next,will i be disqualified for wearing my back brace,as it keeps my lower back straight,and improves my posture,even though i only wear it because i suffer with Sciatica.
Sometimes,i am stunned by some of the comments on here.

He is correct. Wearing a support for medical reasons is generally OK but it is not OK to use a support that is only wore to improve your stroke of the ball. See Rule 14-3 and especially FAQ-8 which explains the use of supports.

Getting back to the original problem. It is not critical that your left arm stays poker straight in the backswing, I would suggest that it is not a good idea as it creates tension. Rather allow it to form a slight relaxed cresent shape. Try and keep your elbows as close together as possible through the swing, during the downswing let your arms have a loose and streched out feel that is completely free of tension. The arms will pull out to their limits due to the free flowing rotational forces.

 

[RGDave]

I'll try to be brief.

You don't necessarily need to have a straight arm, it's desirable but not essential. I've never managed it, and that includes the old days when I could knock it round under 75 on a good day. I have a signed copy of a book about golf (I'll not reveal the writer) who I actually played with and enjoyed seeing him shoot a -3 gross score. His left arm was worse than mine!

Neoprene support does not work, I tried it. I also tried drills with coke bottles and all sorts.

My pro has explained to me *why* he believes I can't do it, and I also accept that in order to max distance and have a good-looking swing, it's kind of important.

Don't get too tied up with it. If it was easy to fix, I'd have done it.

 

[kid2]

Hi all.
I have been struggling for ages now with very inconsistant ball contact.
My shots are all over the place, I am sure a lot of my problem is my inabillity to keep my left elbow straight on my back swing.

As much as I concentrate on this, I cannot seem to overcome this swing fault, I now find myself using a very short backswing as this is the only way I can get a decent contact with the ball at the moment, trouble is my distance obviously suffering.

In desperation, I have even thought of wearing some kind of neoprene elbow support to try to keep it straight.

Could it be a fault with my grip that is causing it?
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appriciated.

Your fairly adamant that its your elbow collapse thats causing your issue.....Are you sure?

If so this may help but there could very well be many other factors involved......

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2011-01/watson-top-swing

 

[RGDave]

Your fairly adamant that its your elbow collapse thats causing your issue.....Are you sure?

If so this may help but there could very well be many other factors involved......

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2011-01/watson-top-swing

Cool. That looks interesting.

Idea no. 9,905 for RG to try.

 

[Migs]

I've had the same problem recently and will share what my pro taught me... it may or may not help:

After just a couple of swings my pro soon noticed that the reason I was having problems keeping my left arm straight was because I was swinging too much with just my arms and wasn't turning my hips/shoulder enough and therefore your arm can only physically go so far back in your swing before your body gets in the way.

To emphasise the shoulder turn movement he gave me a very basic drill as follows:

Hold any club in front of you horizontally with your left hand in the middle of the club palm facing down so your hand is like a fist round the club shaft. Then place your right hand next to it face up gripping the shaft from underneath. Take your golf stance and then draw back as if taking a swing concentrating to turn from the hips and getting a big shoulder turn. Your right arm should be pulling the swing back whilst keeping your left arm straight and strong. If done correctly at the top of the swing position you should feel in a very solid position and one which should aid your muscle memory to replicate in your proper swing.

Hope i've explained this well enough, did me the world of good in keeping a straight arm and loose my wild slice!