Giving Blood Arm Position at Address

[Keefer]

Two of the best swingers of the golf club Ben Hogan and Mickey Wright both advocated keeping the elbows close together at address and trying to keep them together throughout the swing. Mickey Wright actually sold a training device to keep them together. When you do this the arms are in a "giving blood" position with the cups of the elbows facing outward.

Some good things would seem to happen automatically with this set-up. With my neutal grip the left wrist flattens on it's own at the top with no manipulation and the right elbow bends in closer to the body (waiter holding tray position). With the arms extended more at address the slack is taken out and the radius would seem to be easier to maintain.

The elbows want to point down during the swing (no chicken wing) which is advocated by some teachers such as Jimmy Ballard. It puts the arms more in front of the chest and tighter against the body to help maintain connection during the swing.

Most epiphanies I've had are thru feel and come and go. One day the feel is there and the next day it could be gone. This elbows close together at address giving blood position would on the surface seem to be more of a set-up thing that helps put in place some good things to happen automatically during the swing.

My limited experience with this seems to validate incorporating this into my set-up. I seem to get less dispersion with straighter shots and it's easier for me to hit a draw. Doing a quick Google search seems to have some positive things to say on this. Any thoughts?

 

[JonWil]

Keefer,
My thinking is that it is not the best focus for full swings. I think the focus should be on how the body's weight is moving through the impact interval since everything hanging on it is just trying to get in line. That's speed. Where they get in line, lowpoint, face direction etc,. that's technique (grip, stance, pivot move, finish). I think good technique is only getting involved to the extent you don't break something.

 

[Keefer]

Keefer,
My thinking is that it is not the best focus for full swings. I think the focus should be on how the body's weight is moving through the impact interval since everything hanging on it is just trying to get in line. That's speed. Where they get in line, lowpoint, face direction etc,. that's technique (grip, stance, pivot move, finish). I think good technique is only getting involved to the extent you don't break something.

I really don't think there is much focus with this, at least for me. It's all in the set-up. I just set-up with the elbows a little closer together. Seems almost natural. As I mentioned several good things happen naturally as a result of this. Flat left wrist, elbows pointing down, taut arms a little more in front of chest with good connection. The face seems to want to square on it's own.

I see a lot of Pro's putting a glove under their arms for better connection. Just by setting up with the elbows closer together this happens naturally. See little down-side if any. For me it's as simple as taking my grip and stance. It's just part of the set-up routine. Time will tell if this is just another fleeting epiphany or is the real deal.

However, many teachers advocate a flat left wrist, elbows pointing down and good connection with the arms against the body throughtout the swing. This one small adjustment seems to put in place these things to happen without any thought.

 

[dbl]

Would that aid of using an asparagus rubber band around the arms help achieve this? I would think so.

I tried it on a few swings and it seems to have a reduce amount of left arm rotation, both back and into impact. Probably good for some people. I'm not sure on distance, but I feel very restricted with this and probably went slower.

 

[JonWil]

Time will tell if this is just another fleeting epiphany or is the real deal.

Sounds to me like it is a solid foundation for your swing. It does not sound like the kind of intention you could lose easily so you are probably golden!! Congrats..