Right arm troubles on the downswing

Hi all,

In an effort to increase distance and consistency of my irons I had a lesson. He described my swing as "safe" but I would need to increase my hand speed to increase distance, initially I'll lose consistency but with practice and perserverance my goals would be acheived.

Apparently the power of my swing is with my shoulders with my hands and arms coming along for the ride. I'm now trying to lead with the hands to increase speed and the shoulders will follow. When I got it right under his guidance it made at least 20 yards difference and much better impact.

However I'm struggling to replicate my lesson. The next is a couple of weeks away. Are there any drills to acheive the results?

I also videoed my swing this weekend. On the down swing my right elbow stays away from the right of my torso whereas all good swings I see the right elbow tucking in quite nicely. Are there any drills to consistently get in this position - I suspect my two problems are linked.

I'm fairly certain I'm not coming over the top but my ball striking is inconsistent

Ta muchly!

Before trying to speed things up you should make sure you are getting the best out of what you have now.

From what you say you are making inconsistent impact with the ball and you need to understand why. Its easier to fix a repeatable fault than an inconsistent one.

I suggest you get yourself either some clubface impact tape or impact spray (you can get it off the net quite cheap) You will then be able to study the impact pattern on the clubface and see if you are hitting off the toe, heel, high on the face or all over the place. Once this is understood you can work on creating a repeatable swing that makes solid impact.

Have you considered the 3 skills route to improved contact?

I hope this is of some help to you?

__________________
Best Regards
Brian

________________________________
Funny o'l game!

I would be patient with the changes the pro made for you. Keep focused on his path of advice because it seemed to help. And he is right about the consistency vs. results affect.

The drills you should be working on are the ones he showed you (if not, make sure he does in the next lesson, telling him you had a hard time replicating the results...etc).

Thanks for the advice. Perseverance!

I'm uploading my 7 iron swing for comments - please be kind!

I think I should add since I have taken this video my swing is changing and I think I've sorted my right arm on the downswing. I'll video my next outing to see what you think.

Doesn't video turn out to be a horror show!

Driver:
The camera angle suggests the ball is further back in my stance than it actually is

7 Iron:

I have thought about the 3skills. Just not bitten the bullet yet. Trying to stick with my pro for now ..... and the help here....and my library of other books and mags!!

The only thing I can see from these videos that relates to what your working on is your connection between your arms and torso.

I can see from what your coach has told you that you're trying to get your arms back infront of your body in the downswing which is good. I'm guessing your power is a bit limp and the contact feels a bit slappy in these vids.

To help, feel the connection between your arms and body in your backswing.

At the minute, your arms move, but your shoulder/chest cage doesn't move until you've lifted your arms past 9 o clock. Move them together on the way back. It'll keep your hands infront of your chest in the backswing and leave you less to do in the downswing to match them up.

The result will be one unit swinging through the ball. You won't have to stall your body to allow your arms to catch up and you won't need to artificially accelerate your arms to catch up with your body. Match your arms and body together on the way down and you should be able to leave the clubhead behind and really get your right side into it.

For a little extra boost, don't straighten your right arm in the downswing too early and don't release those wrists! I can see in your follow through that your right hand is well over your left way too early. Slap city! Keep a bend in your elbow and punch through the ball. If you were going to punch someone in the face, you wouldn't hit them with a flick of the wrist and a straight arm. You'd get ***** slapped right back!

The rest looks ok, by the way. Just focus on this bit for now. It relates to what your coach is doing.

for reference:

Bend in right arm into impact:
Historic Golf Photos | The Ron Watts Collection of golf pictures and art.

Shoulders and arms back together:
Historic Golf Photos | The Ron Watts Collection of golf pictures and art.

Don't flip the wrists at it, hands infront of body, right side 'avin' it large!:
Historic Golf Photos | The Ron Watts Collection of golf pictures and art.

__________________
Luke: I don't believe it!
Yoda: That is why you fail.

Thankd for the tips Neil. I'll take them to my next practice session later in the week

Cool. Be sure to post your findings when you return!