Debunking the Myths - Keep the lead arm straight

One of the more common myths with the golf swing is that to have an effective swing that produces distance and consistency you need to keep your left arm straight (for a right hand golfer). This is simply not true. There are great players on the world Tours, Lee Westwood being one, who have a very consistent swing but allow their left arm to bend during the swing. There is no one way to swing the golf club, but there are parameters that we should all try to work within to give ourselves the best opportunity for success.


Width in the golf swing refers to the distance your hands are from your swing center, the middle of your chest, during the golf swing. It is accepted that if you are able to keep your hands away from the body, thus having good width in the swing, then you will be more consistent and hit the ball farther. This has often been misinterpreted to mean that the left arm must stay straight in the back swing, as this will give maximum width.

In reality what we are trying to do is to simply take the distance between the hands and the center of the chest at address and maintain that distance for as long as possible throughout the swing. The less this distance changes during the back swing, the less you will need to make the equal and opposite change in the down swing to get the club back to the ball.

At address the left arm is bent slightly and the goal should be to maintain that same slight flex to the top of the backswing. This will keep the arms and hands relaxed and allow them to react correctly to the body’s change of direction at the start of the downswing. If you try to keep the left arm locked straight, tension levels increase and the added tension will slow the club head down as you swing back to the ball.

Keeping that same slight flex will also guarantee good width that will promote consistency back to the impact position and club head speed as you will have more room to move the club. It is important though that the left arm does not bend excessively. Too much bending, or collapsing of the left arm can cause tendonitis in the elbow due to it straightening and then meeting resistance in the form of the ground at the completion of the extension. It will also produce inconsistency as the bending going back and straightening coming down are two additional moves that you now need to coordinate correctly.

So what is the correct width in the backswing and how can you practice it correctly? A great drill for this is done using a piece of string. Take one end of the string and tie it to one of the buttons on your shirt. Take the other end and tie it to your right thumb, so that in your address position the string is taught. Now go to the top of your backswing and try to keep the piece of string the same stretch throughout the backswing.

Your ability to maintain the tautness of the string will depend on your levels of flexibility, but your goal should be to keep it as it was at address. Take several practice swing with the string before trying to hit a few shots with the ball on a low tee.

Debunking the Myths Golf Lesson– Keep Your Head Still

If you play golf then at some stage in your golfing career someone has probably told you to keep your head still. In many other sports that we play we are asked to hit a moving ball, and it is far easier to hit a moving ball when you keep your head and thus eyes as still or level as possible. With the object you are trying to hit in motion, having your head also moving around makes focusing on the ball that much more difficult and thus it is harder to hit the ball cleanly.

In golf however the ball is stationary. It is important for you to keep your head on the same level during the swing as up and down movement of the head is a reflection of your body movement and thus swing centre moving up and down. If your upper body lifts up in the back swing then it must move down an equal amount in the downswing in order for you to make contact with the ball. It is far simpler for you to keep your body at the same angles as at address and thus keep your head level during the swing. Level but not still.

In your address position your weight is evenly distributed between the left and right feet. As you make your back swing, as in any other sport where you are trying to propel an object forward, there is a weight transfer to the rear leg. In golf we make this shift by rotating the upper body over a stable lower body.

Keeping your head still while trying to make a back swing will result in a couple of moves that are detrimental to good ball striking. The hips will slide and your weight will either move to the outside of the rear foot, or fall back onto the front foot, depending on your levels of flexibility. In doing this you have placed a great deal of pressure on your lower back and hips which over time can become painful. You have also not loaded your body correctly behind the ball, effectively losing balance and your ability to use your whole body to hit the shot, resulting is a loss of distance.

In an athletic back swing, the player will maintain the upper body flex from the hips created at address and allow the upper body to pivot around the right hip. In doing so the head will move well behind the ball, the weight will move to the inside of the right foot and there will be a definite loading around the right thigh. Studies have shown that the best players in the world move their heads anywhere from 1.5 to 5 inches away from the heads’ address position during the back swing.


A great drill for you to learn the correct head movement during the swing is to use your shadow. In your address position be sure the sun is at your back so that your shadow falls on the ground in front of you. Note on the ground where your shadow falls and then turn into your backswing by turning the upper body until the left shoulder is above the inside of the right knee. The left shoulder should turn slightly lower than the right. You will notice that the weight has shifted to the inside of the right foot and that your head has moved to the right during the backswing, as it should.

So the next time a well-meaning friend mentions that you are moving your head and you should keep it still, don’t change anything and take it as a compliment. The head should be moving laterally during the swing, but it should not be moving up and down.