Control your elbow bend in the downswing and follow-through for power and consistency
Nick Clearwater, Senior Director of Teaching Quality at GolfTEC, knows GolfTEC’s SwingTRU Motion Study as well as anybody.
Most recently, Clearwater was featured on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive to talk about the study’s findings, one of which is proper arm and elbow bend throughout the golf swing.
Simply explained, the less skilled the golfer (on the left in the image above), the farther apart, and more bent, the elbows are in the downswing and follow-through. This move, commonly known as the dreaded chicken wing, leads to thin and fat mishits.
A great golfer, like PGA Tour professional Shane Bertsch (on the right), however, keeps their arms and elbows straighter throughout this part of the swing, leading to a consistent contact and powerful ball flight.
As featured on Golf Channel’s School of Golf: The Elbow Bend Drill
As part of our exclusive instructional series on Golf Channel, Clearwater compares a high-handicap golfer with PGA Tour pro Shane Bertsch. Notice how straight Bertsch’s arms are compared to the amateur, especially at impact and throughout the finish.
This proper impact position allows Bertsch to rarely mishit a golf ball, and generate massive amounts of power while staying balanced.
So, give the Elbow Bend Drill a shot to improve your elbow bends in the downswing and follow-through. Because, as you successfully extend your arms more throughout the entire swing, the effectiveness of your ballstriking can see an immediate and drastic improvement.
For more tips and all the latest instruction, news and equipment information, check out the GolfTEC Scramble daily and find a GolfTEC Improvement Center near you to start playing better golf today!
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While visiting family in Vancouver I had a swing evaluation and a club fitting. I was at Coquitlam Golftec.
Jamie Stirling was my coach. Since coming back to the UK and also a visit to Mauritius where I was playing golf every day I found my game was the most consistent it has ever been, longer drives, straight, all working so much better than before. The video of my lesson has helped me and the change to my swing has worked wonders. I won a competition on my return to the UK, thanks to the coach and golftecs equipment and style of coaching. I wish I had a centre here in the UK. On my return to Canada in December I will be continuing with lessons and practice. I also passed on my knowledge to my sister who is a beginner and she is now playing quite nicely thank you GOLFTEC.