Keep right forearm above the left

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

Golf Columnist

A most common takeaway fault committed by amateur golfers is to swing the club back too far inside or outside the target line. To maximize distance and direction you need to take the clubhead away from the ball straight along the target line as long as possible, particularly if you stand over the ball in an upright posture.

For a wider swing arc that promotes power and distance you need to keep the clubhead staying in the valley created between the target line and your hand line as long as possible during the backswing. Your hand line is the one that passes the forefinger of your right hand and is parallel to the target line. Your hands need to stay inside the hand line during the takeaway.

Be careful, though, not to overdo the straight takeaway of the clubhead. You have to avoid swinging the clubhead outside the target line or jerking your hands outside the hand line.

A word of emphasis about the straight swing path: despite your effort to take the club straight away from the ball, the clubhead will actually work slightly inside the target line as your body turns immediately as you take the club away from the ball.

Yet, snatching the clubhead back too much inside the target line with the hands leads to the 'laid-off' problem, which causes various swing faults including outside-to-in swing path through impact. Your club is referred to as ‘laid off’ when its head is behind your hands at any point during the swing.

A good way to take the club away from the ball as straight as possible without swinging the club overly outside or inside the target line is to focus on keeping the right forearm staying above the left during the takeaway.

Even if you try to keep your right arm on top of the left on the backswing, it will automatically move under the left arm at the proper moment as you swing the club to the top. As your backswing continues toward its top, your right arm should start to fold at the end of the takeaway and move under your left.

Namely, keeping your right forearm higher than the left during the takeaway prevents you from folding and shortening your right arm too early, making it easier to maintain the straight left arm during the backswing. That promotes wider swing arc and slower pace, two keys to producing solid strikes.

Besides, that enables you to keep the clubhead in the valley formed between the target line and your hand line longer without an extra effort.

A word of caution: avoid keeping the upper part of your right arm pressed against the side of your chest during the backswing. For the correct, free arm swing you must allow your right elbow to move away from your torso. Overly keeping the right elbow staying against your side causes the club to swing too much inside the target line and your hands to move immoderately inside the toe line.

Crucially, if you correctly keep your right forearm on top of the left, rather than under it, during the takeaway, the leading edge of the clubface will be parallel to your spine at the midway point of the backswing when the clubshaft is parallel to the target line and horizontal to the ground. This means that the clubface was remaining square to the swing plane, also meaning that you haven't rotated the clubface way open as you swing back.

It will work wonders if you practice half swings so the leading edge of the clubface is parallel to your spine when the clubshaft is parallel to the ground. on each side of your body. That way you will learn to keep the right forearm above the left during the early part of the backswing and thereby swing the club correctly throughout the swing.