Straight left arm ?

[Macster]

Hi,
Even though I'm playing reasonably well this year, (apart from the last week !!), someone commented recently that I should try and get my left arm 'straighter' at address and during the swing, which seems correct ?

Over the years, I seem to have developed a tendancy for my left arm to be slightly bent as I address the ball, and altho I rarely top or thin shots too badly, I do sometimes struggle with pushes and over draw's.
Could my left arm be the cause, and is this something I should try and remodel if I'm serious about getting down to Single stats ?

Being so close now at 10.0 dead, I'm unsure as to whether tinker too much, or simply carry on as I am, and have been for some time obviously .

Any coaches have any thoughts pls ?

 

[Fore]

No expert here Chris, but everything i've ever read says have a straight but not over taut left arm.

 

[RGDave]

Hi Chris.

I have struggled since day one with getting any sort of straightness in my left arm. It might be partly responsible for my lack of distance (lack of clubhead speed) and I'm sure it certainly leads to a bit of overswing.

Many moons ago, I had lessons with a pupil of Denis Pugh. This chap (a good golfer off 1 right handed and +1 left handed ) lent me a book about playing and the swing. The guy who wrote the book played with a noticeable bend in his left arm. My pro told me he had played with the pro who'd written the book and described his swing as incredibly consistent, a little weak, but unerringly straight.

I think if you are worried about this aspect, see if you can get a lesson, discuss it with the pro and try some thoughts or drills to improve things. If you notice some definite improvement, stick with it. If it's a posture thing, it could probably be altered without too much pain. If it's a dynamic problem, that could take a lot of effort and bad play before things get better.

I don't worry about my left arm; OK, so my swing appears a bit narrow and is under-powered, but it doesn't stop me hitting the ball well and easily far enough to have a decent crack on all but the very longest holes.

Good Luck.

 

[golf_bug]

The weight of the club will tend to straighten yoru arm in the downswing, so I don't see a problem with a slight flex. You are not topping/thinning the ball so it would suggest you are ok.
Go on You Tube and look for a guy called Ron Del Barrio. His teaching is based on passive hands and arms through the swing. To stay passive you need to maintain a little flex in your left arm.
Out of interest, what do you think is holding you back (if anything) at the moment? Distance? Accuracy?

 

[Macster]

Thx guys - I dont really want to start remodelling my swing - its been with me for 20yrs and will undoubtably take a big effort to change it.
May just tinker at the practice range with a slightly straighter arm and see what gives.

golf_bug: Ahh the definitive question.......
Length isnt a problem for me generally, I hit my irons a fair distance, but not as far as some of the up & coming juniors who leather the hell out of it.
Accuracy - some days, yes, missing the green from 160yds in and then failing to get up and down is always a downer.
Driving: This has been my achiles heel this year, have been soooooooo inconsistent with a Driver in my hand. Battled a Fade off the tee all year with Driver, which confuses me as I draw most other clubs .
We have 4/5 long Par4's, and if I could hit the big stick better, would save me 1/2 shots on those for sure.

The real problem for me has perhaps been keeping the damn score going coming in, the other week I was +5 Gross playing 16, but getting drenched, and managed to Double each of the last 3 holes !!

Other days on a social, I can play way above my station

 

[golf_bug]

Driving: This has been my achiles heel this year, have been soooooooo inconsistent with a Driver in my hand. Battled a Fade off the tee all year with Driver, which confuses me as I draw most other clubs .

Me too. I hit quite biq draws with my fairway woods, but the big dog goes the other way! As a result my 3 wood probably goes as far, so have been known to ditch the driver of late.

 

[Imurg]

Driving: This has been my achiles heel this year, have been soooooooo inconsistent with a Driver in my hand. Battled a Fade off the tee all year with Driver, which confuses me as I draw most other clubs .

Me too. I hit quite biq draws with my fairway woods, but the big dog goes the other way! As a result my 3 wood probably goes as far, so have been known to ditch the driver of late.

Me three!
When I hit the driver straight it stays hit but ecery now and then I get the Mother-of-all-slices. The other day I was 70 yards off line in the middle of another fairway!
Chris - Lee Westwood has a bent left arm at impact so don't worry about it!!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'd second that emotion (who sung that btw). My driver is my real weakness. If I hit a decent driving patch my scores are superb (nett 65 last week, and -1 gross for the front 9 and +3 for the back - separately sadly) but most of the time I'm playing out of light rough or from way back and never 100% sure if I'm going left to right or right to left.

 

[big_russ]

I'd second that emotion (who sung that btw). My driver is my real weakness. If I hit a decent driving patch my scores are superb (nett 65 last week, and -1 gross for the front 9 and +3 for the back - separately sadly) but most of the time I'm playing out of light rough or from way back and never 100% sure if I'm going left to right or right to left.

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

Back to the point in question. During a recent lesson I asked about having a straight left arm in the backswing and my pro said that as long as the club was getting into the right positions then the straightness of the arm is not too important. If you can get it straight then good but if you can't then there is no big deal.

 

[bobmac]

How many of you can stand on a tee with the diver and confidently hit a fade?

 

[RGDave]

How many of you can stand on a tee with the diver and confidently hit a fade?

With anything other than my Wilson Spine....I'll have a go

 

[Iaing]

How many of you can stand on a tee with the diver and confidently hit a fade?

Me. Played in medal Saturday and used the driver on 14 holes.Aim left half of fairway and fade her in. 14 fairways hit and the jobs a good 'un. Pity the rest of my game was crap.
2 playing partners were hitting draws and knocking it 25/30 yards past me( I'm hitting it 220/230) but they both lost a couple of balls and scored higher.
I really don't understand the fascination with drawing the ball...seems to me to just get into more trouble.

 

[bobmac]

How many of you can stand on a tee with the diver and confidently hit a fade?

Me. Played in medal Saturday and used the driver on 14 holes.Aim left half of fairway and fade her in. 14 fairways hit and the jobs a good 'un. Pity the rest of my game was crap.
2 playing partners were hitting draws and knocking it 25/30 yards past me( I'm hitting it 220/230) but they both lost a couple of balls and scored higher.
I really don't understand the fascination with drawing the ball...seems to me to just get into more trouble.

Iaing, you speak with a wisedom that is beyond your years.

 

[Iaing]

How many of you can stand on a tee with the diver and confidently hit a fade?

Me. Played in medal Saturday and used the driver on 14 holes.Aim left half of fairway and fade her in. 14 fairways hit and the jobs a good 'un. Pity the rest of my game was crap.
2 playing partners were hitting draws and knocking it 25/30 yards past me( I'm hitting it 220/230) but they both lost a couple of balls and scored higher.
I really don't understand the fascination with drawing the ball...seems to me to just get into more trouble.

Iaing, you speak with a wisedom that is beyond your years.

bobmac: I usually only feel older than my years.

 

[nulassilb]

I wish I could stand on the tee and confidently hit anything at the moment.

As for straight left arm, this came up during my last lesson. My pro advised against the tense feeling that often goes with it - but I found myself straightening it at address because I was working on improving my grip.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I was standing there not knowing which postcode it would end up in let alone whether I'd hit a draw/fade or a straight one. I usually play for a draw which is my stock shot as I struggle to hit a fade intentionally with any club. Its something I'll be working on over the winter as my new address will give me much more room through impact !!

 

[CrapHacker]

I'd second that emotion (who sung that btw).

Japan

 

[CrapHacker]

How many of you can stand on a tee with the diver and confidently hit a fade?

Best I can manage, I'm afraid

Golfing diver

"It's a good gig" he said "except for the 'gators"

Okiedokey

 

[jeffc]

Niclaus played with a fade didn't he ?

that will do for me then.

 

[golf_bug]

I can hit a fade, but its inconsistent. Sometimes I will set up aiming down the left, club face aiming where I want the ball to finish, and the pesky thing will go straight on me!

In driver terms, what is the difference in distance (laterally rather than length) between a fade and a slice? I was playing last weekend having no success with a draw, so just tried hitting straight ones. The shape was left to right, but quite a long way left to right. As a result I ran out of fairway and ended up in deep rough on the right.