The more you learn, the more you want to learn.

The more you learn, the more you want to learn. In learning about the wonderful game of golf, there can be the danger of wanting to improve too fast. Remember that golf is a lifelong game; make sure that you give every piece of knowledge about the golf swing enough practice time before you try to acquire new knowledge. There is no substitute for practice.

Step by small step will make you improve and will make the improvement last forever. In the first lesson of our series; we focused on the lower body. In this lesson, our focus will be more on the role of the arms. Imagine the body being the engine of a car and the arms the steering wheel.

BODY TURN=SPEED            I             ARMS =DIRECTION
When the shoulders turn to the right in the back-swing, the arms are lifted up and as the hips turn to the left in the down-swing, the arms are being pulled down. It is as simple as that. Even though they have different tasks during the swing, the arms and the rest of the body have to work in sync. There are players that have very slow, “syrupy” swings, like U.S. Masters Champion Fred Couples and some players that swing very fast and violently, like British Open Champions Mark Calcavecia or Nick Price  but because the arms and body both work at the same speed in relation to each other, it works well for them. Regardless of what the players on TV do, find your own speed and rhythm.

Drill 1 Just close your eyes (and make sure that the Cristal vase and the dog are far enough away) and start swinging the club. As you swing the club back and forth like a pendulum, try to gradually speed up the turn of your body and try to match the speed of your arms to that of your body. Imagine that, still with your eyes closed, your hands are directly in front of your body. When you lift your arms up and pull them down, try to keep them in front of your body throughout the entire swing. You begin with your hands in front of your stomach and as you turn to the right, your hands move up up, but stay in front of your sternum. When you turn your hips to the left, keep the hands in front of the body and let them finish over your left shoulder. Try to find the fastest way for you to turn whilst still being able to control your arms.

Set Up position
In the starting position the arms are straight, the shoulders are relaxed and the arms should be pushed away from the body just a little bit. When you look down, your hands should be just left of your belly-button.  
If you look at the pros on T.V. it looks as though the arms are very important and do a lot during the swing. Nothing could be further from the truth, as a matter of fact, the hands and wrists only make 1 conscious movement during the entire swing. One of the biggest challenges is actually to trust the Physics and not manipulate the club at all during the swing. When you take up your begin position, the club-face already points to the target, so the less you change, the better.
 
The Take-away or beginning of the backswing
As your shoulders turn to the right to start the back-swing, your arms move UP and AWAY from your body, try NOT to manipulate the club for the first meter or so that the club-head travels to the right. NO turning or rotating of the hands, NO cocking of the wrists. Just lift the arms and club up without any extra movement for the first meter.  It is easier to control 1 thing than 2 different things, so you should try to get the feeling that you’re your arms have melted together and have become one single arm.

DRILL 2
Take a foot-ball (or small basket) and take your begin position (set-up position), both arms straight, your elbows and forearms being pushed towards each other and holding the ball or pillow between the palms of your hands. As you turn your shoulders to the right, push the foot-ball UP and AWAY from your body, but keeping it in front of your sternum. Do not turn your hands or fold your arms, KEEP BOTH ARMS STRAIGHT. After having done this a few times try Drill 3

DRILL 3
Now place the foot-ball between your elbows and repeat the beginning of the swing. As your shoulders turn to the right PUSH the foot-ball AWAY from your chest. For the more adventurous amongst you, you can try to make full swings, keeping the foot-ball between the elbows.
 
DRILL 4
Now please take AND the pillow or ball AND a golf club. Place the foot-ball between your elbows and grip the club and try to start making some very gentle movements. Begin by focusing on the start of the swing and when you are comfortable you can gradually lengthen the swing, eventually making full swings but keeping the foot-ball between your elbows and PUSHING IT AWAY from your chest in the backswing, PULLING the foot-ball towards your stomach in the downswing and back UP again in the follow-through, but ALWAYS keep the foot-ball IN FRONT of your body