Entries Tagged as 'golf downswing'

Right Arm Unhinges For Power In Downswing

We’ve talked a lot about right wrist lag in your golf swing. But for power you MUST unhinge your right arm (elbow) early on in the downswing to help you maintain your width (leverage).  Many golfers see pictures of golfers in their downswing and think the right arm stays bent (hinged) along with the right wrist. This is NOT so!

I like to think of the downswing as the exact opposite in regards to motion and movement. Whatever you did going back, you undo in the opposite sequence coming down. Make sense? So to get the clubhead back to the ball with width and leverage, you need to start first with your lower body, then as you start rotating your shoulders back to the ball, you also start to unhinge your right arm.

I know for a long time, I was starting down holding the bend in my right elbow way too long, and it was not allowing me to make solid contact with the golf ball.

So get up right now, grap a short club as not to break anything in the house, get in front of a mirror and do some downswings with the thought of unhinging your right arm earlier and see how it looks.

Right Wrist Lag Key To Power In Downswing

In an earlier article, we talked about the importance of wrist lag in golf. It is one of the main power sources for longer drives, and yet many golfers don’t work on it.

A great power golf swing tip is to focus on keeping the angle in your right wrist for as long as you can in the downswing. This is so important, that there are a couple of golf training aids specifically for that reason. Maintaining the right wrist angle (lag) is a fantastic thought during your downswing.

For a good visual, look at the picture of Tiger Woods below. Wow! Look at how long he holds this wrist angle into his downswing!

tigerwristlag

With all the great ball strikers, you will see an angle in the right wrist even at impact. The right forearm is angled away from the shaft, allowing maximum compression onto the golf ball.