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As I get older and gain more experience teaching and trying to play I have come to focus more on the right arm and how it functions during the swing. From watching hundreds of Tour caliber swings in slow motion and teaching players with a full range of abilities from hack to tour winner I have developed a preference for what I would call a “flared” upper right arm at left arm parallel (P-3) [short “P” positions video explanation] in the backswing as opposed to a “pinched” position, but in this survey you will see that excellent players utilize every conceivable right arm motion, from Miller Barber, whose upper right arm was parallel to the ground at P-3 (or completely horizontal), to Fred Couples, whose upper arm was still facing straight back at the camera at the same position (or completely vertical). To measure this position, I draw a line from the tip of the right elbow to the top of the right shoulder at P-3, which essentially measures the amount of external rotation of the right shoulder joint at this point in the swing. Ben Hogan’s swing has always been my favorite (I rank Anthony Kim’s swing right up there with him) and you will find that Hogan had his right arm bent at address and kept or added to that bend as he moved from address to left arm parallel. With a deeper right arm position (it was also spaced well away from his body) he completed the backswing with right arm extensor action and wrist cock, which maintained his width as he initiated the forward swing with the lower body. His right elbow barely moved upward or backward after left arm parallel and as he incorporated his ideas of viewing the forward swing as a “half sidearm, half underhand” motion along with his concept of shifting the swing plane to a more inside approach in the downswing he demonstrated an aggressive movement of external rotation of the upper arm, which gave the right elbow the look of leading the hands and the upper arm clearance to arrive at P-6 fully in front of the right hip. When you watch the “pinchers” such as Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods you see the upper right arm externally rotate much sooner in the backswing so that at P-3 the elbow appears much more in front of the body with the upper arm pointing more back at the camera. These guys are athletic enough to complete the backswing with the arm retaining that position and to start down with the arm still in front of them. This would seem like the simplest way to get the right arm in front of the right side and to allow the hands to arrive at impact with a drive/hold release action, but I can guarantee you that this is much more demanding physically on the upper trunk, and when I see the clear majority of non-tour players try this the right arm pulls back deeper in transition and everything from sequence to shaft angle gets screwy. Right arm and shoulder overuse in the backswing is a huge problem for average players, and when the upper arm starts the swing by pinching in front of the body it inevitably seeks out more depth and height as the backswing completes and the downswing starts. This motion pattern often causes the shaft to steepen in transition, retards the rotation of the lower body in the forward swing, and promotes early extension of the spine, none of which are conducive to effective ball striking.
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