Overswing and bent left arm

[Wolfman]

I have been told that on my back swing i tend to overswing slightly and this bends my left arm into a curve

The result also tends to be the bent left arm remains bent at impact screwing up my shot accuracy

I have tried to reduce my backswing and keep my left arm straight but old habits etc etc

Has anybody else experienced this ??

Note i can hit the ball well but i am sure my inconsistency is down to this issue


When i try to reduce my backswing it feels very wrong and not complete more a feeling as i can keep a straighter arm and improved impact follow through when i get it right

 

[RGDave]

Chicken and egg. My left arm won't straighten and I often overswing. Which causes which?

Either way, consistency isn't a problem a.t.m. (for once....)

 

[SocketRocket]

If you keep your swing arc as wide as possible then it's impossible to overswing. Think width not height in backswing.

 

[Foxholer]

If you keep your swing arc as wide as possible then it's impossible to overswing. Think width not height in backswing.

My trainer's tip for this was to feel that the left wrist (not hand) is pushing left (away from the base of the thumb). Wrist cock still happens, but elbow doesn't 'collapse' into an over-swing. Mind you, one day soon, I might make more than a 3/4 back-swing!

 

[Wolfman]

Working on this early this morning and i have noticed

1. if the weight shift is not happening i.e central not reversed the turn is restricted and the arm starts to bend
2. really exagerate the weight shift and the turn over the right leg is easier and arm stays straight

I think i might be guilty of leaving my weight in the middle and not shifting it more to the right

Anybody else had this

Note this is not a reverse weight shift more of no weight shift at all !

 

[bobmac]

Mmmmmmm
This could be getting close to a fault curing a fault. I wouldn't like to see you starting to sway on the backswing.
I'm teaching later and will film a little drill for you while I'm there

 

[SocketRocket]

If you start to fall back to the left in the backswing (Reverse pivot) it will also encourage overswinging.

 

[Captain_Black]

I have suffered this myself & have only just started to overcome the problem.
I caused me to have a terrible slice with my driver & 3 wood.
The problem was my lack of body turn, I was just using my arms to swing.
I cured it by keeping my hands/arms forward & slowing down my swing, I concentrated on turning my torso until my left shoulder had turned a full 90 degrees on the backswing before starting my downswing.
It sounds like you have a similar problem.

 

[duncan mackie]

I have been told that on my back swing i tend to overswing slightly and this bends my left arm into a curve

I quote this bit as the use of words is always important.

Your arm will not be bent into a curve - either the elbow is hinging on the backswing, or it isn't!

As Bob suggests, from the balance of your post, there is a fault creeping (or crept) in somewhere and you certainly don't want to compound the situation in the manner indicated. Shortening yes, finding other moves to enable what you consider a full turn without hinging the elbow is a no.

 

[Wolfman]

Thanks guys, you are correct about fault to cure a fault

Weight shift / reducing overswing wasnt the bandaid !

Watched many of my golf buddies today and most if not all bent slightly the left arm in the backswing, maybe i am fighting it for no reason ?

Sadly my snap hooks plague me with the driver on nearly all tee shots but i have a feeling this is possibly because...

1. Right hand too dominant and too far clockwise ( under club )
2. recent change to my left hand grip has forced the right hand to close the face at impact

Now an interesting point was i believed that my extension follow through was also to blame, i worked hard on this but in reality i now think i was holding off the dominant right hand and keeping the face square..........phew !

So i will put my left hand grip back to how it has served me well for years and sort out my right and work from them before messing with anything else.

I also agree a tendency to sway to the right is a no no in any weight shift

 

[bobmac]

So your 'normal' swing is too long caused by your left arm hinging at the elbow and you want to keep the arm straighter to improve your consistency?
Any change will feel uncomfortable to start with.
Here's what I would do.
Film your normal swing from face on of you actually hitting a ball. (no pretend practice swings in the garden)
Then film again but swing back half way and try and point the club at the sky like the pic below.



Note how the arm is straight.
Now here's the daft part....
When you swing back and try and point the club at the sky, you will see on the video, what feels like a half backswing pointing at the sky will actually be a full swing pointing more down the range.
So, when you feel your swing is only half way back, it will actually be a full swing.
Try this, I think you'll be surprised where you half swing goes.

 

[CMAC]

I had the same, bent left arm and nemesis shot was a horrendous low snap hook with the driver. Teaching pro had me concentrating on proper turn and half swing as in Bobs post above, straight left arm is easy to do there and he also made me take a count of 5 from start to finish with a 6 iron (super slow). It stopped the arm bending and driving is pretty good now with the wider arc.

 

[Wolfman]

So your 'normal' swing is too long caused by your left arm hinging at the elbow and you want to keep the arm straighter to improve your consistency?
Any change will feel uncomfortable to start with.
Here's what I would do.
Film your normal swing from face on of you actually hitting a ball. (no pretend practice swings in the garden)
Then film again but swing back half way and try and point the club at the sky like the pic below.

View attachment 2572

Note how the arm is straight.
Now here's the daft part....
When you swing back and try and point the club at the sky, you will see on the video, what feels like a half backswing pointing at the sky will actually be a full swing pointing more down the range.
So, when you feel your swing is only half way back, it will actually be a full swing.
Try this, I think you'll be surprised where you half swing goes.[/QUOTE

Excellent, thanks for the tip Bob

I would say my left arm is bending too much because my shoulders have stopped but momentum has kept them going hence the bend


You are right about how wrong the feel is when you think its a reduced swing only to find its the same swing !

I will give that a try


Bob do you think a snap / duck hook would also be caused by a bent left arm at impact ( not chicken wing ) or is it the strong right hand grip issue perhaps ?


I have worked on the grip and the closed hooded face on the driver seems to come from something else other than grip

This has only started to show itself when i changed my left hand grip to a more in the fingers, i fear that my strong right hand may be dominating things and shutting the face ?

 

[bobmac]

I would say my left arm is bending too much because my shoulders have stopped but momentum has kept them going hence the bend

If you stop your arms half way back, your shoulders will start to react and turn more.

Bob do you think a snap / duck hook would also be caused by a bent left arm at impact ( not chicken wing ) or is it the strong right hand grip issue perhaps ?

If it's a proper duck hook, it's not just the clubface that's the problem, it's the body has stopped turning through the shot.
Get a neutral grip and keep turning through impact, that will stop the duck hook.

 

[Wolfman]

Thanks again Bob, went to the range tonight and not pretty !

Ok using just my driver and 3 wood i was hitting mostly hooks, snap hooks etc

The flight was left with more turn to the left and very low flight so a typical duck / snap hook i think

After follow through i lowered my arms to check the club face arms out front towards target and the face was badly closed

So i tried hard to correct the grip, didnt and the only way i straightened them out was to swing more out to the right of target through impact, hard to time and gauge correctly had about 1 or 2 online but some hooks if i didnt try hard

So i have concluded my right hand just will not behave and keeps moving more under the club clockwise ( seemed to have had this before )

At home i have swung in the garden using the 10 finger baseball grip ( i have smallish hands ) and the feel of control felt good

Am i likely to give myself more problems with the baseball grip as all i want is control and better accuracy at present, your advice is appreciated

 

[Slicer30]

Wolfman - I had lots of issues with this too. Sounds like you have some doubts about your grip as well.

for me it was mainly due to me grip. The grip of the club was running diagonally through my hand rather than through the fingers.

If I held me arm out in front of me and tried to point the club to the sky the only way I could do it was by bending my arm a little.

I watch this video every time I start to have concerns over my grip - Mark Crossfield

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7DA...AvjVQa1PpcFO_pEPVBWqhLU6Ut47grlOh5vbAi6P4xMI=

 

[deanobillquay]

Wolfman - I had lots of issues with this too. Sounds like you have some doubts about your grip as well.

for me it was mainly due to me grip. The grip of the club was running diagonally through my hand rather than through the fingers.

If I held me arm out in front of me and tried to point the club to the sky the only way I could do it was by bending my arm a little.

I watch this video every time I start to have concerns over my grip - Mark Crossfield

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7DA...AvjVQa1PpcFO_pEPVBWqhLU6Ut47grlOh5vbAi6P4xMI=

This is brilliant advice, I had similar trouble, changed my grip slightly and it's made a HUGE difference!