straight left arm

Status
Not open for further replies.
Billy_the_worm

Billy_the_worm

New
I have no idea what my left arm does. It starts straight, and stays straight as far as i can see, after that I couldn't care less about it tbh. A slight bend, stays straight, dunno, just never something I have ever thought about in 27 years of playing.

SM, I agree re plane and path, but the Johnny Miller impact is all thing is something I can't fathom. How can you control something that is moving that fast and is a direct results of other things? I am not being critical, I am geuinely interested.
 
self-mastery

self-mastery

New
Billy_the_worm said:
SM, I agree re plane and path, but the Johnny Miller impact is all thing is something I can't fathom. How can you control something that is moving that fast and is a direct results of other things? I am not being critical, I am geuinely interested.
Click to expand...

It's not a Johnny Miller-like impact feel at all. I literally throw it away. I hope Brian responds to this because his O11 comments on fully snapping the kinetic chain got me tinkering. It's hard to actively put on your pivot brakes and allow the club to snap through the conventional way, so I borrowed a few unconditional ideas. As long as I keep the connection between my upper left arm and left pectoralis, I can snap the club through as hard as I like. My body and left arm stay back, my left wrist and club fly up, left and forward.

I've named this the maximum kinetic chain snap pattern...lol :D fun times. I can finally rip my driver with consistency.
 
Last edited:
P

pecky987

New
Billy_the_worm said:
I have no idea what my left arm does. It starts straight, and stays straight as far as i can see, after that I couldn't care less about it tbh. A slight bend, stays straight, dunno, just never something I have ever thought about in 27 years of playing.

SM, I agree re plane and path, but the Johnny Miller impact is all thing is something I can't fathom. How can you control something that is moving that fast and is a direct results of other things? I am not being critical, I am geuinely interested.[/QUOT

lets work backwards a bit. at impact, the left arm must be straight, as mu
st the left wrist. so it makes sense, IMO, to keep that left arm as straight as is physically possible, for each individual golfer. some will be straighter, than others, which is fine. i feel, if you bend it alot, it is likely to be out of alignment when it matters, at impact.

if you can bend the arm alot, and still get into a good impact alignments, then thats fine, but for most golfers, i believe it should remain relatively straight, to ensure good impact conditions
Click to expand...
 
Billy_the_worm

Billy_the_worm

New
SM

So when you refer to impact you are referring to your release? I can snap as hard as I like as long as my left wrist does not break down.

Pecky, your arms are moving pretty fast at impact, I have no idea how you can let the arms snap through impact and at the same time put tension in to keep them straight, the two would work against each other. I believe Tiger calls it 'noddle arms', your bigger muscles snap the shoulders then arms through and you keep the arms tension free as much as you can. How you focus on keeping the left arm straight at impact is beyond me, I simply cannot relate to that concept. (although I think I understand SM's long words lol:))
 
P

pecky987

New
you shouldn't feel your hands are in concrete to keep them straight. thats a terrible idea, i agree. to maintian width, there must be SUFFICIENT clearing of the lower body in the backswing. harvey penick 'the right hip clears, to allow the arms full access to the backswing'. dont actively try to keep your arms straight.
for me personally, i've always been flexible, and had not too many problems in maintaining that width, with not as much hip turn as others. other may need more to maintain this width.
there is some force, i agree, that forces the clubhead outwards, which straightens the arm, but if it is too bent, this is not enough
 
Billy_the_worm

Billy_the_worm

New
There are different ways to swing ie Watson early release, slight bend in left arm, Nicklaus average release, little less bend and of course Hogan a late release and as straight as you like with his left arm. All 3 worked;) And Nicklaus and Hogan are the opposite end of the scale regards plane. A slight bend is perfectly normal and many very flexible professionals play with it.
 
K

Kevin Shields

Super Moderator
I havent read all the posts, so im sorry if im repeating anyones opinion. I would think WHEN and WHY the left arm bends would be the most significant factors to whether it was detrimental. WHEN - is it early, because of a picky takeaway, or lack of pivot? I would say detrimental, obviously. Or is it late, because of a full turn and a soft transition with a little extra bend of the right arm. If you can handle the timing of the downswing and use rotation to straighten those angles, go for it. WHY - alot of muscular, thick chested guys can't draw their left arm across their chest easily and need a little more out of the backswing like Ed Dougherty.
 
P

puttmad

New
Hey guys,
There is another factor involved here...
It is to do with personal upper body physiology, i.e. arm length in relation to shoulder width..

The above relationship dictates arm position at the top and with the ideal relationship, the left arm will attain a straight position, whilst the right arm is also in a "correct" position...A good example of ideal relationship is Mike Dunaway..
He gets BOTH arms in the ideal position at the top, perfect to deliver his max speed downswing from the right arm...
You just have to live with what you got I suppose...:)
 
P

puttmad

New
Billy_the_worm said:
I believe Tiger calls it 'noddle arms', your bigger muscles snap the shoulders then arms through and you keep the arms tension free as much as you can.
Click to expand...

I think you'll find that it is "noodle" arms as in SOFT Chinese noodles....and it is Mo Norman's expression.....:)
 
T

teeithigh

New
have u ever seen beginners try to keep their left arm straight? they are STIFF AND RIGID and have no clue about swishing, whipping, releasing the damm clubhead! have to let it fly with noodle arms.....or Brian's "manequin" arms!!
 
P

pecky987

New
sorry to be repeating myself, but i have to say that an overly straight and rigid left arm is as detrimental as and overly early bent left arm. their are definately flexible issues, but these can be overcome with the correct lower body movement
 
J

Jared Willerson

Super Moderator
The ball doesn't know nor care how straight left arms are. Some bend a little, some are straight.

Describing the ideal bend is difficult to define, you just know it when you see it. Same goes for too rigid a left arm and too loose a left arm.

Pulled taut, doesn't necessarily mean straight.
 
P

pecky987

New
Jim Kobylinski said:
How's that pecky?
Click to expand...

like i previosly said, if there is not the correct lower body turn going into the backswing, the arms will be forced to fold, as they have no space. less flexible people need to release there their hips more, to allow extension. if it does not clear goin back, then the arms run into the body and fold. more flexible people need less clearing
 
B

Bigwill

New
In other words, many people need more hip turn in the backswing, rather that trying to restrict the hip turn too much?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top