Widening Swing Arc Provides Benefits

By T.J. Tomasi

Universial Press Syndicate

If you could make only one change to your golf swing, is there one that would improve your game right away? The answer is yes, according to an article published in “ Science and Golf II: Proceedings of the World Scientific Congress of Golf.”

Researchers K. Kanwar, a professional golf instructor, and R.V. Chowgule, of the Bombay Hospital Research and Medical Center,state their objective: “The aim of this study was to find out whether one particular swing change . widening of the on-plane backswing arc of the right arm during the takeaway -- can produce significant improvements in distance, direction and trajectory.”

To find out, they used stop-action video to measure 17 golfers and compared what they called the “clearance angle.” The clearance angle quantifies how much the right arm moves away from the right side of the body in the takeaway. The angle is measured before the right elbow folds or the wrists cock. It is the position where the clubshaft is directly over the toe line in a square stance, and the foot line is parallel to the target line.

The angle is created by two lines, one drawn at address from the shoulder, down the arm and through the hand, and the other at the end of the takeaway just prior to the set of the club. The width of this angle is equal to the width of the swing arc.

The advantage of a wide arc, as described by the researchers: “The one simple instruction of widening the right-arm backswing arc resulted in distance improvement in almost every case.” The average increase was 6.16 yards, and there was also some improvement in accuracy (0.76 yards).

Another logical explanation is that since the 17 subjects were tested after only three, one-hour training sessions, the more they practiced producing the widest possible clearance angle, the farther and straighter they’d hit it.

But one thing we know about the game of golf is that it often contradicts logic. The researchers’ recommendation to establish width during the takeaway is sound advice, so give it a try and let me know how it works out.