I will often see new golfers keeping their arms straight when they set up and hit the ball. This is often because when seeing clips of Tour Pros, it looks as though on certain positions that their arms are straight. Having your arms straight however particularly at set-up can cause a number of issues throughout the swing. It typically causes added tension, lack of wrist hinge and overall restricted rotation of the arms.
The correct structure with the arms is that the left arm will be reasonably straight, however still with some flex. The right arm however does need to be bent. You want to make sure that the right arms sits a little lower than your left arm. If it doesn't it can cause real issues in your takeaway as the right arm will tend to not fold effectively as well can cause you to 'come over the top' on the downswing as the right shoulder tends to be too active causing the arms to be pushed away from the body.
With the right arm being slightly bent, you will create a takeaway where the right arm will start to fold as long as you gradually hinge your wrists. The ideal position at the top of your swing should be where the left arm is reasonably straight with the right elbow pointing roughly to the ground. When this done correctly, you will feel strong connection between your chest and your arms.
A fantastic drill to use to obtain the correct arm structure is placing a bucket in between your arms at set-up. You want to then turn and hinge your wrists to the top of the swing. You will start to feel that your right bicep is rotating as well the right arm remaining bent. Just ensure the bucket stays between your arms right to the top of your swing. You could also use a towel with a similar effect. Just ensure the towel stays under your arms during the backswing and right up until impact.
If you'd like any further information about how to correctly use your arms just contact myself at David Waters Golf.
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