Right arm in the takeaway

I read a execllent piece on Tigers Swing this week in Golf World UK with some good comparison pics from 2001 and 2004

One of the things most notably different is in his takeaway. The pro analysing it stated ( and you could see ) how he kept his right arm virtually straight as far as he could and in front of his body. This gave him a really wide start. Now in 2004 his right arm seems to fold earlier giving him a flatter swing plane

I went out and tried this action on the range thinking straight right arm (in fact holding the triangle as far as I could manage). It gave me a steeper swing plane for sure and also felt like my backswing was much more compacted (i.e short of parallel). However I did notice a lot of extra power this way and it seemed a lot simpler to get the club back down on plane and then use my hands to shape shots

Im interested to know if anyone else feels this and if its a good move to ingrain? Im thinking Id like to work on a steeper swing plane this year to make it easier to come back down from the inside?

I found that buy keeping my right straight till my club was hip hight, keeps my club on plane, from there I just bend my right arm 90 degree, I keep my left arm straight the whole way in my back swing. just allow a very slight flex so it isn't stiff. this give me a good swing plane and allows me the hit longer shots without putting any extra effort into my shot.

Yeah, that works for me too. If i keep my right arm and have a slight lateral movement to the right (into my right hip) at the start of my backswing I can get maximum width. From here i find its just so much easaier to swing back through the ball and have real power and even shape shots by deliberately swinging inside to inside for a draw or inside to outside for a cut. If i dont get wide on the backswing all sorts of bad things happen

If you are looking for a way to widen the arc in your backswing, work at the range on pushing the club away from you as you swing back.

Once your club reaches parallel, your right arm is going to break down. What you should be looking for a the top is the bicep/tricep is at 90* to your side, your forearm is 90* to your bicep/tricep and your hand is 90* to your forearm.

Yes - partially. Also, keep your hips from over rotating on the backswing. The general rule for hips is 45*, shoulders 90*. If you can keep your hips at 35 - 40* and shoulders at 90* you will create even more torque. But back to legs, if you keep your left heel planted and the less you turn your left knee away from the target, the more torque you will create.

If you keep your right arm straight in the takeaway you'll find that when it starts to fold it will do so at the correct angle (i.,e 90 deg where your right elbow is pointing to the floor). If you dont your right elbow will be pointing somwhere behind you which is a bad position. This is what im trying to really work on at the range this winter. I also find for width you should have a slight lateral slide at the very start, to curl into your right leg. This also helps me get my hands further away from the ball (but make sure you keep the right knee flexed so as that move doesnt turn into a sway)