Right Arm / Elbow

I've been noticing lately that my swing with the longer clubs is a bit steeper than normal resulting in higher trajectories and some loss in distance. Looking at what was causing the steeper swing angle, I noticed that my (bent) right arm was leaning noticeably at the top of the backswing. The right hand was supporting the club OK, but the arm was leaning nevertheless.

By making sure the right arm basically flexes up and down, you get to a more vertical position at the top of the backswing, i.e. the line through the lower part of the right arm to the elbow is vertical and points directly to the ground. (If that's not too clear, hold your right arm out in front of you with the elbow underneath and flex straight up to 90 degrees. Move all of that a little to the right and that's basically where my right arm now is at the top of the backswing.)

The interesting thing about this position is that it brings the club back down on a much shallower plane. I'm surprised at the amount of difference this seems to make....... Hadn't noticed / given it much thought before.

I've found that the idea of keeping my elbows as close together as possible through the whole swing helps a lot. I've tried the trick of putting a coat hanger around them and that helps to get the feel of it.