flying right elbow

[samburk]

Can anybody please tell me what negative affects a "flying right elbow" has on your golf swing, and does anybody have any tips or drills I could use to prevent it?

Thanks

[Timothy Slaught]

Re: flying right elbow

Hello:

The good:

1) Can give extension to the swing if the backswing is consistent
2) Gives a feeling of freedom in the swing and can help create arm speed
3) Jack sort of did it but his elbow was always pointed down.
4) Retief did it and won two US Opens (but is trying to get away from it).

The bad:

1) Makes the swing too upright
2) Usually ends up across the line on long clubs
3) Hard to keep syncronization with the body (disconnected move)
4) Inconsistent swing position because it is hard to feel where the arm is stopping. Thus the across the line result.

Like most things in golf, correct is not on one extreme or the other. Too close to the body restricts the swing somewhat. Although, there are some pros who play exceptional from this position. Robert Allenby is a good example. He is so connected with both arms on his swing but manages exceptional leverage with his body rotation. By taking the arms out of the equation (along for the ride with the torso so to speak) he is a very consistent ball striker.

Start by tucking the right elbow and see how things go. If it feels tight then gradually move the right elbow away from the body until things feel good. The tucked right elbow should help you get an inside path to the ball. You must have good body rotation using the legs to propel this from the top of the backswing. This is due to the fact that you are restricting the leverage of the right arm by tucking but you will end up striking with more of the body ( right shoulder, lat & hip) than the slap created with a more arm dominant swing. Contrary to popular belief the right shoulder is a great power source but it needs to be on the right path on the downswing: down first and then toward the target. That's why it's called a downswing and not an out swing.

Experiment and see what works. This is good advice for other parts of the game as well. Many players get stuck in a rut and never attempt anything different to correct things. Good luck.

[samburk]

Re: flying right elbow

thanks Tim, that has made things a lot clearer