Should you lift the club with your arms during the backswing? Yes.
Two Parts to a Good Backswing
A proper backswing comprises two movements—rotating the body and lifting with the arms. Some will argue that the arms should not raise the club, but I don’t see it this way. Once again, the feel is not real syndrome comes into play. I do not doubt that folks who argue against the arms lifting the club are sincere and honestly believe what they are saying. However, the video below shows conclusively that the arms do raise the club.
Two Independant Actions
The critical point to realize is that these two movements (rotation and lift) are independent. The backswing should always begin with rotation. In my last post, I used John Rham as an example. If you recall, by the time his club was parallel with the ground, his right arm had not folded at all. His takeaway to this point is only due to the rotation of his body. As the swing continues, the right arm folds, and the club is lifted, as shown below.
Most of us do it Wrong
Most amateurs have a takeaway that is nearly the opposite of John Rham. They start their backswing pulling the club behind them by folding the right arm rather than turning the body. Then as they inevitably raise the club, the right elbow collapses further. The left-arm bends, and the arc of the swing is shortened. Clubhead speed and distance suffer. Unfortunately, that’s not the only problem. With both arms now bent, it is nearly impossible to get back to the ball with a proper impact position. Once in a while, yes. Consistently, no! Consider this. At address, your left arm was straight. At the top of the backswing, your left arm is now bent. It needs to be straight again by the time impact occurs. Either that or you need to dip down with your body to get to the ball. This need to manipulate the arms and or body in the downswing results in fat shots, topped shots, all manner of inconsistent impact.
There’s Usually more than One Way
Those who follow this blog may recall that I feel “Keep your left arm straight” is one of the great myths of golf. I stand by that. If your left arm is slightly crooked in your address position, keep it that way through the entire swing. If your body doesn’t allow your left arm to straighten, you can still play great golf. Please google Calvin Peete for proof! For most, limiting the amount of elbow bend in the trailing arm is a better swing thought.
So, how do we fix this situation? Please watch the video to see.
Thanks for watching!
Let me know what you think.