It’s All In The Arms!

-Pay Attention To Your Arms
If You Want To Fix Your Slice-
by Kevin Haime, CPGA Teaching Professional
 

Somewhere around 80% of golfers cut across the golf ball, resulting in a left to right ball flight (for a right handed player).  That shot pattern normally leads to a slice with longer clubs and results in shorter than average golf shots and a weak ball flight in general.  So, for 4 out of 5 golfers, the golf club is traveling too much from outside to inside through impact. 

Obviously everyone who slices the ball is trying to correct their motion and to get the golf club to travel more from the inside as it swings into the golf ball.  In order to fix this mistake most slicers try to keep their back arm close to their side during their back swing.  The rationale being that if the back arm stays close to the rib cage, the club should travel more from the inside resulting in the elimination of the slice.  Unfortunately for all the slicers out there, that thought process, which seems pretty logical, is actually dead wrong.  If you keep your back arm too close to your side on the way back, your golf club will travel too far behind you as you swing back and at the top of your backswing.  As a result, the club will be forced out away from your body in order to get back to the ball resulting in the slice you are trying to avoid.

The proper way to avoid a slice, although counter-intuitive, is to allow the arms to flow back away from the body during the backswing.  The arms must swing back and up, not in and around.  The real secret to an inside path on the way down is to make sure the arms swing more freely on the way back.  Your lead arm (left arm for a right handed player) should maintain extension as much as possible and your back arm holds the key to success.  One of my favourite golf sayings belongs to Byron Nelson who described back arm backswing motion beautifully.  Nelson said “the back arm floats and folds into an “L” position at the top of the backswing”.  I really like that thought.  Your back arm should swing away from the body during the takeaway and then fold to a 90 degree angle to both support the club at the top of the backswing and to help your lead arm to maintain it’s extension.  From this more powerful position you will have a much better chance of dropping your arms onto an inside path during the downswing and into the back of the golf ball.  Next time you’re practicing, work on swinging the club more during your takeaway and let your back arm float away from your body into a better, more powerful position.

As can be seen in these photos the back arm must swing away from the body to ensure the proper backswing.  Pinning your back arm to your rib cage during your backswing will only shrink your arc and encourage an over the top, outside-in downswing.  To understand how the back arm should swing during the backswing try some one arm swings like I’m doing in these photos.