Crooked Left Arm

I battle *inconsistency* on the golf course - of course we all do.

But my problem is particularly annoying because it seems like I either hit the ball stiff (or long and straight off the tee) or I semi-shank/duff the ball.

Obviously, because I'm capable of numerous near-perfect shots there's one fundamental thing that I'm doing wrong even it I'm getting-away with it a lot.

Inconsistency means, necessarily, swinging differently - the dreaded *non-repeating* golf swing.

Grip, alignment, handsy-ness, ball position, tempo,....I've looked askance at these usual suspects more times than I could count over the years.

And several times a year, I wax optimistic that I've finally solved the mystery.

This week, after watching some video I took of my swing at the range, I re-resolved to deal with my crooked left arm.

They say that the left arm doesn't have to be straight on the way back, so long as it's straight at impact. And they say not to focus too much on keeping it straight because such a mindset will introduce too much tension.

Whatever. I'm going to call BS on that.

I've never seen a great golfer bend his left arm as much as I do at the top of the backswing. Try as I might I haven't been able to stop it. That is until now. I think I've finally figured out how.

Essentially I wasn't turning my left shoulder enough; I wasn't thinking about putting it *on top of my right shoe* on the backswing. And that was making it hard for me to get the club up to where I felt like it should go on the backswing. Since I wasn't turning properly, I made the deadly mistake of LIFTING the club up with not only my hands, but also with a hinging of the left elbow.

I just never felt *solid* at the top of my backswing and tried a bazillion things to gain the elusive feeling, e.g. really strengthening my left hand grip.

But today after turning a bit more AND focusing on keeping the left arm straight, I finally felt the club snap solidly at the top of my backswing. Before I never had a wristcock....I HAD AN ELBOWCOCK!

Later today I read this and felt even better about my break-through:

Most people that complain of this problem try to move their arms and hands farther around than their torso has turned. The left arm should not continue to wrap around the upper torso or neck once the shoulders have stopped rotating; it simply lifts up a little bit, if anything. This means that your arms and hands are still pretty much extending in the same direction as your chest is facing at the top of the backswing, not wrapped around your neck or behind your back. Practice the following sequence in front of a mirror to demonstrate to yourself that you can keep your left arm straight.

There you have it. Once the left shoulder stops rotating, the club only has a couple more inches to rise. This is what I can key on - coordinating the movement of my shoulder with movement of the shaft.

The results?

Today I enjoyed a much easier and free-flowing back swing and was hitting no-sidespin wedges knocking all over the 100 yard sign.

I'm heading back to the range tomorrow to see if this insight has any staying power.