In Need of Sage Advice From a Knowledgeable Swing Coach

mschantz · November 3, 2019

I worked not too long ago with a really good swing coach and now have a swing I am happy with.

Except for one thing. My left arm is never exactly straight at any time in the swing. I understand a little bend on the backswing is ok, but the arm never gets straight so I have a little bit of a chicken wing causing my hands to get too close to me and it can look like I'm scooping the ball. With no ball, I can keep that arm straight no problem. But something changes when I have actually hit a ball. I have probably always swung like this, but I have been trying everything I can think of for months to get that arm straight. I have tried countless drills and several swing aids. My forearms are not flying apart. Every time I think it's solved I video myself and that arm is still bent. If you removed my left elbow that arm would still find a way to bend.

My swing coach never mentioned it but he always videoed me down the line because I had some serious swing plane and club face issues that have been resolved. I know I mentioned my left arm to him but he was unconcerned. Maybe he thought we'd eventually get to it. Maybe he didn't think it was a big deal. I spent a lot of money with him but I could only afford so much.

Here is my dilemma: stop worrying about it since I'm hitting pretty well. Or get it right. I think a straight left arm will add more distance to my shots by adding more compression at impact.

I'd appreciate opinions on this. If anyone has dealt with this issue before in a student and has a drill or two, I'd love to hear about it. I have a feeling this is probably an easy fix. I just don't know what my brain needs to say to my body to keep that arm straight.

Help. Please.

larrybud · November 3, 2019

Chicken wing is a symptom of something happening before it. So just trying to "straighten your left arm" isn't going to work, at least not in any kind of long term. Maybe that's why your instructor was ignoring it, he was trying to fix stuff that would cause it.

Your mind is an amazing device. It will make compensations on the fly in order for you to make contact with the ball. This is one of those compensations. Think about it, if your left arm is severely bent at impact, and the ONLY change you made was to straighten it, your club head would hit the ground before the ball because you would be lengthening the line between your body and the club head.

Maybe Monte or Dan will chime in, but positing a video will go a long way.

mschantz · November 3, 2019

@larrybud

I just made an appointment with my swing coach.

Thanks for you comments.

psufish · November 3, 2019

You're going to want to find a good coach or get some online lessons from one of the trusted instructors. You have some issues that will require time and work that are beyond some advice

Hawkeye77 · November 3, 2019

Hope it works out! I'm no coach and the coaches on here will want some vids to weigh in (likely anyway).

Impossible to know where it is headed, but I get the dilemma. A few years ago I could play pretty well (12+), had some chicken wing issues, early release, you name it. Great rounds were because of great timing matching up and otherwise, crap shoot. Visited Monte with my daughter a few years ago and had the conversation - want to change to something that would allow me to still play and likely better when I'm retired someday, or keep an old swing that would eventually cause me some back issues and/or likely not be sustainable. Little by little - you may have more time/dedication (lol)/natural ability - I've changed. The differences when I'm doing the new things right is striking, ingraining them has been a long process for me and still going on. Knee issues and eventual surgery, lack of practice, elbow issues, blah, blah, blah - only one uninterrupted by something season since 2015, BUT made a lot of progress in the last 18 months even with a dodgy left elbow, now a 7 and thinking that elusive 5 may be attainable. Full swing has been extremely incremental, short game terrific (for me).

Point is, there is a potential dilemma - is your coach getting you playing as well as you can given a tendency that will likely remain (and that may be just fine) or do you want to set down the road of addressing some more fundamental "issues" - which could be a short or longer road, who knows.

If you love golf, you will enjoy the journey. Some great such threads on here in this forum - I'd take a look and get a feel for what folks of all handicaps have been working on and ups and downs. Schnee, QMany, Dave Dunlop from across the pond, ddetts, ebrasmus, TIM929 (now exploring Gankas), Cardoustie's epiphanies, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some, and sorry about that, but all interesting for different reasons.

mschantz · November 3, 2019

> @Hawkeye77 said:

>

> Point is, there is a potential dilemma - is your coach getting you playing as well as you can given a tendency that will likely remain (and that may be just fine) or do you want to set down the road of addressing some more fundamental "issues" - which could be a short or longer road, who knows.

If I were really smacking the ball hard the left arm wouldn't concern me. I can do half swings all day with my left arm straight and get good compression. The distances aren't that much shorter than my full swing now. But something happens when I go up all the way up that causes me to scoop the ball rather than compress it. I take instruction very well, so I am confident I will get this issue fixed. This man did a lot for me in less than 10 hours of instruction.

But for some reason if this isn't fixable, I am ok with how I am hitting now. 300+ yard drives are out the question but 270 ish is doable. I'm getting 230 from my 3W off the deck. 3H is around 200. 7 iron is 150-160. 5 iron is 180-185. I really ok with these numbers. And for the last few weeks I haven't thought at all about my left arm.

To be brutally honest, I hate how it looks in slow motion; it's horribly ugly and it really bothers me. And the fact that I haven't been able to fix it makes me even more determined to do so.

Again, thank you.