Do you lock out straight your left arm elbow?

[mangohead]

I tried locking straight my left arm and it seemed to help.

Should left arm be relaxed with slight bend in elbow, or should it be rigidly locked out at elbow?

[doctor220]

Generally nothing in the golf swing is rigid. All tour players have some elbow bend, you would not be able to swing with a rigid left elbow 

[Monshulligan]

Its almost more important to keep lead arm straight AFTER impact than in backswing. Search YT cogorno straight left arm. Game changer. 
 

bent lead arm at impact is chicken wing, and not the good kind. 
 

also, to say “all tour players have…” anything is clearly false.  All tour players have a golf ball and clubs. Beyond that, some are rigid and locked, some are bent in backswing, but youd be hard pressed to find any with bend at or just after impact. 
 

as for “you would not be able to swing with a rigid left elbow.”  Tell that to bryson dechambeau. Either way, its feel vs real, and for some people the FEEL of a locked lead elbow is what they need. 
 

again, i highly recommend the cogorno video on straight left arm, and strongly advise you to seek a new “doctor.”

 

youre on the right track w rigid left elbow feel. Especially since “it seemed to help.”

[Zitlow]

At address point your left elbow down the fairway. The only tension you should feel is a pec grab with your upper left arm and maintain it from the start of the swing to well into your follow through. 

 

 

 

[Zitlow]

The golf swing is about supple quickness, we're hitting a 1.68oz golf ball not an 18lb bowling ball. Relaxed muscles are quick muscles, tight muscles are slow muscles. 

 

 

The weight of the club is swinging or should be swinging away from us, the arms are conduits for energy to flow to the clubhead. Tight arms block the flow of energy, the energy is retained in the arms instead of getting out to the clubhead. 

[glk]

 

[glk]

 

[Monshulligan]

Nuff said

[DShepley]

Corey Conners is one of the best ball strikers on tour and certainly doesn't keep his left arm straight.

 

[Monshulligan]

As i stated previously, and even placed in all caps, its about straight AFTER impact. Like corey conners here in this pic. Couldnt be straighter. 
 

also, to reiterate, its more about feel vs real and if locked feel works for you, go for it. Still looking for someone to show the chicken wing left elbow at/just after impact on a tour player… 

[Monshulligan]

Bueno y no

[Zitlow]

15 minutes ago, Monshulligan said:

Nuff said

 

The club is fully released there. The energy in the clubhead is pulling his arms into extension away from him just after impact. From there his left arm folds bringing the club back around. 

 

Notice at address his left elbow is pointed down the fairway. He doesn't have much if any give in his left arm, yikes. His upper left arm doesn't come off his pec until well into the follow through.

 

 

 

Don't buy into the left arm off chest in the down swing garbage that's been posted here. 

[Nard_S]

If you are over bending lead arm in back swing, just not a good thing. Points up poor or false rotation.

[Nels55]

4 hours ago, Monshulligan said:

Its almost more important to keep lead arm straight AFTER impact than in backswing. Search YT cogorno straight left arm. Game changer. 
 

bent lead arm at impact is chicken wing, and not the good kind. 
 

also, to say “all tour players have…” anything is clearly false.  All tour players have a golf ball and clubs. Beyond that, some are rigid and locked, some are bent in backswing, but youd be hard pressed to find any with bend at or just after impact. 
 

as for “you would not be able to swing with a rigid left elbow.”  Tell that to bryson dechambeau. Either way, its feel vs real, and for some people the FEEL of a locked lead elbow is what they need. 
 

again, i highly recommend the cogorno video on straight left arm, and strongly advise you to seek a new “doctor.”

 

youre on the right track w rigid left elbow feel. Especially since “it seemed to help.”

 

If I want to hurt my lower back I will try to keep my lead arm straight after impact.  Also major championships can be won while letting the lead arm fold properly:

[MonteScheinblum]

Almost no one has it straight during the backswing and many great players have it bent after impact.  It’s a function of the rest of your swing before impact, so if you have matchups that require it to be bent after impact like Spieth, Hovland or Westwood, the intent of keeping it straight after impact can cause long term issues.  Regardless of any short term success.  
 

Not the least of which is chronic elbow tendinitis.  

[Chunkitgood]

My observation is that better golfers have a straighter left arm than poor ones on the backswing.  I suspect in a good swing the club head exerts a force in the backswing that causes the club to rotate around its center of gravity (in a clockwise direction viewed from the front) which causes the butt of the club to move away from the body straightening the arm.