Left arm collapse/leaning back

[johnboru]

Hi,
I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of improvement with my swing. I am taking lessons and the main problem appears to be my left arm bending on the backswing and then not straightening up on the downswing. I make contact with the arm still slightly bent and then the ball tends to go anywhere but where I intended. My coach then gets me to practice half-swing drills for ages, the lesson ends and I go home feeling I will be ok. Then I hit the range and the the arm problem seems to have reappeared and my next lesson is another 30 minutes of drills trying to straighten my arm.....
Another problem is that I tend to be ever-so-slightly leant back at impact. Which never used to be an issue but seems to have crept into my swing since I started trying to straighten my left arm....
It is becoming a real annoyance now that I am trying so hard yet going backwards with my swing.
I seem to have so many things on my mind now - grip, posture, tempo, transition, left arm, leaning back and finishing the shot.
Am I overcomplicating things?

[GregJWillis]

Re: Left arm collapse/leaning back

Yes. And this is common starting out. Not to comment on the pro's approach or getting into details about all the aspects of your swing, but it might help you to work 1 item at a time...so the "short" swing approach is ok. But what might be missing is that all you are doing in this short swing is exactly the same as your full, except that you are getting away with it because you are not completling the rest of this fundamentally "wrong" swing.

When I see "short" leading arms, (breaking at the top and spraying the ball) the first thing I do is get the player to do the following:

* Face 180 degrees away from your target (back to the target at setup)
* Extend your leading arm straight out from your chest and set your wrists (cocked).
* Trailing arm relaxed

"So this position", I would say, "is what the top of the swing should feel like."

They say, "No way. I don't feel like this at all."

"Sure, because you are taking your leading arm ONLY as the first move and moving the club across your chest thinking this is how the club should go and leaving your shoulders basically where they were at setup. The leading arm has nowhere to go to get the club to the top now but break around your chest."

"Oh, ok. So all I have to do it turn my shoulders as the first move to get my back to the target?"

"Yes."

[johnboru]

Re: Left arm collapse/leaning back

Thanks a lot to the pair of you.
I will try out your advice at the range later and hopefully get a positive reaction.
As is the case with everything else in trying to master this crazy game, it all makes perfect sense when explained as clearly and concisely as you have.... it's just a matter of being able to get my stubborn body to submit to what it should be doing.

[jcbdb]

Re: Left arm collapse/leaning back

Hi

I have had a similar problem recently.

The elements I looked at in order were:
Grip
Posture at setup
Alignment
Shoulder turn

I have seen great improvements in my game and consistency (was playing off 20 and in three months I am now breaking 80 consistently - though I have spent lots of time focusing on my short game and putting as well!).

Whilst all the above are key to a repeatable, solid swing I beleive the shoulder turn I feel was key to fixing the problem (though again I can't emphasis enough the importance of the basics as these cause nearly all faults later in the swing).

Rather than turning my shoulders level I had a tendency to drop/dip my left shoulder, ever so slightly on my backswing. The drop was very subtle and missed my a few coaches.

I now turning the shoulders on a level plane (must be clear not level to the ground as due to the spine tilt and right shoulder being slightly below the left at setup your shoulders do not turn level to the ground).

A great way to check whether this is an issue for you is by doing the pivot drill with a club across your shoulders and turn your left shoulder over your right foot - does the club stay on the same level or dip?

You will find a level shoulder turn will not allow you to continue your arms and hands back as you arms can't turn past your chest, thus less breaking in the left arm. I don't have to think about the arms and hands causing an overswing as the correct posture, alignment and shoulder turn take care of it.

Also remember some bend in the left arm is ok as the force on the down swing will bring a natural bend back in line. Being tense in the left arm at setup to resolve the problem could well compound the problem!

A bit lengthy I know but to summarise, look at the cause not the effect.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

JCBDB

[johnboru]

Re: Left arm collapse/leaning back

Thanks jcbdb.
I have been taking the advice of the others who answered my original question and the shoulder turn was definitely part of the problem... I worked on a nice measured takeaway at the range today, leading to a good shoulder turn. My arms felt a lot freer and not so restricted/close to the chest. I hit some fantastic shots when I nailed the timing of my club acceleration through the ball - even my bad shots were straight, if a little fat.
Cheers fellas.

[GregJWillis]

Re: Left arm collapse/leaning back

Another satified customer

[Lady Grey]

Re: Left arm collapse/leaning back

(writing all this down wildly)....

I think I may have found the answer to one of my rusty come'back problems here..

With shoulder problems, I seem to tense up, but after reading this, I think I now know how I can fix this..

will try next week!!

Cheers and thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lady Grey]

Re: Left arm collapse/leaning back

thanks! will check it out!