How to increase length and accuracy

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

One of the best ways of hitting shots as far and accurately as you are capable of is clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of the left forearm, going back and coming through.

Recreational golfers tend to be reluctant to rotate their left forearm to keep the clubface square on the backswing. However, failure to rotate the arm causes the club to work on too upright a plane, making it difficult to turn shoulders and hips sufficiently.

Not only to turn body fully, but also to create optimum swing arc you need to start rotating your left forearm clockwise at the end of the takeaway where your left hand is in front of the right thigh, or after taking the club straight away from the ball for the first 18 inches or so.

For the correct arm rotation keep your right arm staying above your left until the club reaches hip-high in the takeaway, where you start rotating your left forearm clockwise in proportion to the rotation of your shoulders. In a good golf swing your shoulders also start turning at the end of the takeaway.

Rotating your left forearm correctly, you will find the inside of your left forearm almost facing the ground at the top with the club weight felt in the index finger of your right hand. Not only does that allow the club to work on the correct swing path and plane, but also encourage your shoulders and hips to turn freely and fully.

The forearm rotation on the backswing encourages a relatively flat swing, presenting very little chance of coming over the top. It allows you to swing the club around the body, not too high above your head.

A flat swing negates a conscious effort to drop the club down to the inside of the ball-target line that is needed to avoid an over-the-top move, also making the swing very simple and easy to repeat. All you have to do to hit the ball flush is focus on rotating your left forearm counter-clockwise through impact, which encourages the club to catch the ball with its face dead square or slightly closed. You will accomplish powerful, solid contact of the ball in the middle of the clubface.

A nice and solid contact of the ball on the sweetspot of the clubface, coupled with faster clubhead speed through impact, generates maximum power and distance. Better yet, the clubhead speed is accelerated to the maximum by the counterclockwise rotation of the left arm in the downswing.

On top, the left forearm rotation in the backswing keeps you from tilting your upper body to the left into a reverse pivot, which helps stop hanging back on the right side in the downswing.

Besides, rotating your left forearm counterclockwise allows your right forearm to cross over the left through the shot, encouraging the club to correctly work to the left of the target after impact and stay low to the ground.

It may concern you that the arm rotation may cause the clubface to open too much wide in the backswing and thus robs you of the chance of delivering it squarely to the ball, but you don't have to fear it. That is merely a concern.

To prove this and purge your mind of anxiety, adopt a slightly strong left-hand grip, swing back normally with the rotation of the left forearm and pause at the top of the backswing. Then, return the clubhead behind the ball to its address position without manipulation on the way down. You will see the clubface is as square or slightly open to the ball-target line as it was at address, which means too wide open a clubface alignment does not happen.

After all, the clubface restores its original address position at impact provided that you are gripping the club softly and allow it to swing naturally without your manoeuvring it.

A word of caution about gripping the club: adopt a neutral or a tad strong left-hand grip. Too strong a grip forces you to swing the club back too much inside the ball-target line and prematurely behind you. In a good backswing your hands and club do not depart from your toe line halfway back. This is particularly true with players who set up in an upright posture.

Golfers who go for a strong left-hand grip had better avoid the forearm rotation on the backswing as the left forearm has been already turned sufficiently to the right at address. If this is the case for you, you'd better focus on swinging the club back straight as long as possible and try to swing through the ball toward the target to keep the hook at bay.