Today’s lesson is all about the action of the right arm in the golf swing.

Work on what I talk about in this video and I promise not only will you hit the ball farther – you’ll hit it straighter as well…

Ok let’s get right into it!

What Driver Does Phil Mickelson Use

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I hope you enjoyed that!

A common misconception is that you want both arms fully extended at impact… but if you study the swings of the best players in the world you will see this is not the case. We took a look at Tiger, Dustin Johnson, John Daly, Graeme McDowell, and Lee Westwood… and you can see that they all maintain a bend in their right elbow through impact.

When you keep the elbow tucked in close to the rib cage like this, the arms and club become an extension of the body – allowing you to generate serious power with the big muscles of your hips and legs.

On the other hand, what I see in many amateur players is a right elbow that extends and disconnects from the body…

This results in a weak “armsy” hit that lacks power and consistency.

The Perfect Right Arm Drill

If you want to improve the action of the right arm in your swing, I have the perfectdrill for you. (You can find it right around the 1:20 mark of the video above).

Wrap a belt or strap loosely around your stomach so that you can slide your right arm through it.

Now take some slow and small swings. The belt will force you to keep your elbow tucked into your body, giving you the proper feeling as you rotate through impact. Practice this drill a bit and then try to bring the same feeling into your full swing.

Shallowing the Club in Transition

This is a little bit of a tangent, but I also want to point out the great examples of shallowing the club in transition that you can see in the video! Take a look at Graeme McDowell at the 5:40 mark… and Lee Westwood at around the 6:34 mark. You can really see how they flatten the club in transition. As you know, flattening the club in transition is the magic move I teach in the Ballstriking Blueprint.

It’s the single most important thing you can do to improve your golf swing, and you can learn all about it in my Ballstriking Blueprint training course. Click here to learn more!

Because the hands are the only contact with the club, players are forever looking for some new wrist technique, some grip secret that will revolutionize their golf games. Ironically, the only real secret to proper wrist action is not in what you do, but in what you do not do. The proper motion is a natural one, described here as a right-handed player would perform it; left-handers should substitute “left” for “right” and vice versa.

Overview

Because the hands are the only contact with the club, players are forever looking for some new wrist technique, some grip secret that will revolutionize their golf games. Ironically, the only real secret to proper wrist action is not in what you do, but in what you do not do. The proper motion is a natural one, described here as a right-handed player would perform it; left-handers should substitute “left” for “right” and vice versa.

Forearms

Golf Hall-of-Fame teacher Manuel de la Torre says that wrist action is an involuntary reaction to swinging the club. A classic drill to teach this involves swinging the club from waist-high to waist-high, letting the weight of the club cock the wrists on the backswing and uncock the wrists on the follow through. Think of your wrists as a door hinge—they can move back and forth, but do not move by themselves. If you keep your forearms relaxed, the weight of the club can cock the club without any interference on your part.

Left Hand

What Drivers Do The Pros Use

Even if your forearms are relaxed, there are other ways tension can creep into your arms. The left hand provides the primary connection for controlling the club. It is very common to grip too tightly with this hand. According to teacher Michael Hebron, the secret is to tighten only the last two or three fingers of your left hand—the pinky and ring fingers, and perhaps the middle finger. In doing so, you create a strong grip without locking the wrist muscles and interfering with the free movement of your wrists.

Right Hand

Likewise, Ben Hogan wrote about the same problem with the right hand. Just as the thumb and forefinger of the left hand can interfere with proper wrist action, the thumb and forefinger of the right hand can lock the right wrist in position. Hogan recommended practicing with those two fingers completely off the grip. He also recommended adding some pressure with the middle and ring fingers of the right hand to help grip the club, but many players trust the left hand to grip it and merely wrap the right-hand fingers loosely around the grip for support.

Left Wrist

Whist Drive Meaning

With your left-hand grip focused in the last two or three fingers, your wrist will remain relaxed enough to move freely… but you still need to provide a bit of guidance to the club. According to teacher Jay Williamson, the simplest way to do this is to keep the back of the left hand flat—that is, the back of the left hand and the back of the left forearm form a straight line. Doing so limits the movement of the wrist to a single plane, improving consistency. This action will not be difficult because using only the last two or three fingers to grip the club actually encourages this movement.

What Driver Does Tiger Woods Use

Right Wrist

What Driver Is Rory Mcilroy Using

Ben Hogan famously wrote that, after his hands had passed his hips on the downswing, he tried to hit the ball as hard as he could—“I wish I had three right hands.” But for most teachers, including de la Torre, the right wrist does very little during the swing except respond to the swinging of the club. It provides support to the left wrist while the forearm remains relaxed; it cocks in response to the weight of the club at the top of the backswing, and uncocks at contact as a result of the momentum of the club and the straightening of the right arm.