Cohesive body tension

I’m working on keeping my upper arms ‘packed’ close to the body. It’s funny how doing the exact opposite (of what you think you should be doing) often produces the best results. In this case it certainly did for me.

Take 1

I started out by doing the obvious by pushing my upper arms towards my chest and armpits. (see picture 1)

This felt good but somehow it didn’t feel quite right as I felt it promoted a flipping release of the club for me.

 

Picture 1

Take 2

Ok. So I needed to find a way to keep the upper arms packed which also promotes the proper hand (release) attitudes.

When I tried to pull the arms away from the body (to the sides), I noticed that they didn’t really move away from the body. That’s because they are attached to the shoulder joints at one end and attached to the hands (which hold on to a golf club) on the other... (see picture 2)

I also found that the pulling sensation of the back of the hands puts additional pressure in the fingers and pressure points. This pressure equals feedback and clubhead awareness. These opposing forces stabilize the arm club unit, making it easier to find the slot and repeat the motion.

Picture 2

Elbows and finish

Another thing to consider is that you must make sure that the elbows stay close to the body throughout the swing. Only well after impact, after the club has reached parallel to the ground (See picture 3) you should start to actively pull the arms & club unit upwards, away from the body. (See picture 4) Even though this is a different topic altogether I thought it’d be good to mention it briefly.

Disclaimer

I’m a student, not a teacher; and therefore I reserve the right to change my mind at any time. I am writing this stuff down merely for future reference. If it helps someone else along the way that is great but again, I’m not pretending to have any, let alone all of the answers…

I’m swinging on a very flat plane with clubs that have lie angles that are 8 degrees flatter than ‘standard’. It is easier to keep the arms close to the body when you’re not swinging as upright as many of the modern more upright clubs promote.

P.S. Please visit the Advanced Ball Striking site and Forum for loads of good information and discussion on all things golf.