Q and A: Golf Swing Fix

Question: Golf Swing Fix

At the end of a round of golf my right side hurts frommy right elbow hitting it. What am I doing wrong with my swing! Struggling to break 43.

G.B - USA

Answer: Golf Swing Fix

Thank you for the excellent question regarding the down swing. It sounds to me like you have a little Tiger Wood's "stuck" position going on with your swing. Hopefully I can help get you a little more power and accuracy while avoid hurting your right side.

It sounds like you have a pretty solid swing but a couple of missing pieces is standing between you and shooting in the 30's on a regular basis.

I like how described your right elbow hitting your side. This is actually a good thing as a strong down swing position is to have the right elbow tuck in close to our body. However, it appears your elbow position is off just a little. You have described it as tucking into your side (ribs). Unfortunately this is the "stuck" position that the commentators are always talking about. From that position it is very hard to hit the ball consistently. Most people will hit shots off to the right from here.

The key is to try and get your right elbow in front of your right pants pocket. If you can get to this spot you will create more room to swing your club through the ball with power.

As you can see there is not a lot of difference between the two positions, however, it can make a huge difference in your shot making.

There are a couple of reasons that cause the bad position. Our arms have too much tension, we spin our hips for the downswing and our backswing is too flat.

If your arms have too much tension they lose the fluidity of the swing. In fact they won't swing. I believe the arms are an extension of the club and are there to create leverage for power. If your arms are too tight then they will get stuck at the top of your backwing. If you start the downswing with your lower body and your arms are stiff they will get left behind and will have no choice but to hit the side of your body.

With no tension in your arms, they will 'fall' into place on the dowswing. By falling they will end up in front of your pocket. This is only if we make a solid transition from backswingto downswing.

Check out the ultra relaxed swing of Fred Couples. Take note of how relaxed his swing is and how his right elbow brushes past hit right pants pocket.

How about this great close up of Ben Hogan's right elbow? Great swing, great view!

A lot of golf swing fixes has been done to teach players to start the downswing with their lower body. Now this of course is a very good thing, however, sometimes we forget to shift the lower body before we start turning the hips. If we simply spin our hips then we end up losing our spine angle as our hips end up moving towards the golf ball. This is another way we lose space in the downswing. We must make a small shift with the lower body so that ours hips maintain their distance from the ball which will leave the space for the arms to swing through.

How about Hogan on the range? Can you see the little hip shift before he comes down and through?

Now for a modern player...Nick Watney...same little hip shift.

Thank you for your great question. I hope you found this golf swing fix helpful. If you have anymore questions please send them in by clicking below.

Kris at free-golf-lessons.com

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