The left arm in golf

ROBERT T. JONES, JR.

Some practical pointers on the control of the back-swing, given by the retired golfing champion

Beginning at the position of address, the back-swing in golf ought to be controlled by the left hand and arm. The ideal here is a wide arc, as full as the unstrained motion and turn of the body will permit, which will cause the machine to arrive at the topmost position extended but not tensed, in a position to build up and deliver the utmost power upon the ball.

In the case of the right-handed player, the motion of the back-stroke is to the right. Hence the arc of the swing is limited by the motion of the left side and the extension of the left arm. It will be noted that the expert players keep the left arm perfectly straight while taking the club back. Throughout the entire back-swing, the right arm merely submits to the action of the left, folding up as the motion forces it back. All this time the right hand retains a light grip upon the club sufficient merely to assist the left and facilitate the movement by lightening the burden.

A little experimenting with a right-handed back-swing will convince anybody that here is one great source from which many errors flow. Loosening the left-hand grip and controlling the swing entirely with the right hand leads, naturally, into positions that characterise the beginner. To begin with, the left arm will not be pulled out straight and the left shoulder does not follow around. The motion is almost unavoidably one of lifting and at the top there is no stability of the left side. Both arms are relaxed and the arc of the swing is considerably diminished.

• The more I play golf, the more I become convinced that the left hand must dominate in any sound swing. I am aware of all the difficulties that the average golfer experiences in reaching this happy result, but I nevertheless have not the least doubt that it is the end toward which he must aim.

Although obviously the back-swing is merely a means of getting into position, and is not itself directly concerned with hitting the ball, still it is an important part of the swing, and I think the more reliable play is made possible by asserting left-hand control from the very moment the club leaves the ball going back. I have been experimenting a good bit lately along these lines and I have found on every occasion, even when playing very short shots, that my results are uniformly good when, and only when, I swing the club back with my left hand, allowing the right to grip the shaft only very lightly.

The value of a leisurely back-swing has been adequately and rightly stressed. One reason why it is so important has to do with the left-hand control, for the right hand is naturally a fast-mover and it is safe to say that most quick back-swings are caused by too much right hand. In its back-hand position, in order to swing the club back, the left hand must push and the left arm must extend itself. Its motion, therefore, must be slower than that which could be accomplished by a quick pick-up with the other hand. The magnificent breadth of arc to be seen in the swings of most expert players has caused general admiration. Only one thing can make this wide, sweeping arc possible, and that is a left arm which is extended to the utmost. Obviously, if there is any bend in the left elbow, the path of the clubhead must be contracted by that much. And certainly the most effective way to assure a full extension of the left arm is to force it to do most of the swinging.

In starting the club back, the first movement should never be performed by the wrists alone. It is a common mistake to originate the motion of a swing by rolling the wrists so that the clubhead swings in sharply around the knees, or by an abrupt pick-up with the right hand. These mistakes are both fatal because they immediately place the left hand at a disadvantage in such a way that it is almost impossible for it ever to assume control. The best motion at this point is a straight push backward with the left arm, involving a direct turn of the hips and shoulders. If this is done correctly, the clubhead will actually be the last thing to move, and it will in the end be dragged away from the ball, lagging behind the hands. This motion not only preserves, or rather, assures an extended left arm, but it also encourages a free hip turn, a thing which is most difficult for the average golfer to achieve.

It is not hard to prove that the besetting sin with the vast army of golfers is a failure to hit through with the left arm and hand, attended by a tendency to permit the right to overpower the left. The inclination is practically to stop the forward sweep of the left arm, as the effort is made to snap the head through with the right. And the biggest trouble is that the right snaps too soon, overpowering the left, resulting in a bad hook.

The action by the left arm in swinging the club through, obviously enough, is a backhanded one, and to make it as effective as possible, it should be entirely back-handed, that is the left hand should be so placed that a direct straight-pull is possible by the outside muscles of the left arm from the shoulder to the elbow. Possibly the idea I am trying to convey will be made somewhat clearer by the following. Stretch the left straight out in front of the shoulder with the palm facing straight down to the ground. Now drop the arm from that position straight down to the side. The wrist and forearm are now in the position which yields the fullest power for striking a back-hand blow with the arm.

In making the back-swing, avoid turning the wrist of the left arm away from that position any more than is necessary. If you maintain that position with the wrist at the top of the swing, you will have the left arm set to do its most effective work in swinging the clubhead through. See that the left arm swings straight out after the ball as far as it will reach. Don't bother about the turning over of the right wrist. This will take care of itself.

Shanking, heeling and slicing are to a great extent caused by allowing the left elbow to bend during the hitting stroke and by letting the left arm stray too far from the side of the body. This is one of the most glaring of the many mistakes a player can make, that is, to the observer, but the player, himself, is rarely conscious of just what he is doing.

If one will do a little watching, he will find that this elbow has a more pronounced tendency to fly out when the shot to be played is a short one. This is the reason why most of the real shanks occur on short pitches or spared mashie or iron shots; and it is also a fine reason why the less skillful golfer prefers to hit hard with a less powerful club rather than to play a half shot with another. The ability to keep the left hand moving even on the shortest stroke is one of the really valuable essentials of the expert, a thing which helps to take him out of the class of the ordinary player.

Sometimes it is hard to be certain whether this fault, which becomes evident to the observer in the bend of the left elbow, really originates there or whether the right hand, by excessive activity, itself forces the error. For a right-handed person, the natural inclination is to play the short shots mainly with the right hand. In every other game or activity, the right is the hand of touch and of control. Whenever a deft flick of the wrist is required—in other games—the right hand is the one used to accomplish it. So when the golfer has to play a wee pitch over a bunker, he is likely to make of it a right-hand stroke. When this happens the shot is usually a poor one.

There may be some question about the rigid necessity of a straight left arm in the back-swing. But there can be no doubt that it must be straight at the moment of striking the ball. Furthermore, it must operate all the way down close to the body and never be permitted to break or wander outward.

Hitting a golf ball is not purely a left-handed, back-handed proposition. The right is the source of a great part of the power of the stroke. But the left must be the guide— the restraining force which holds the machinery in the proper arc or groove. When the left arm collapses, this guiding restraining force is removed and the power can no longer have capable direction.

Continued on page 68

Continued from page 48

The difficult part of the whole thing is to maintain a straight left without actually stiffening the arm and without restricting the motion of the left wrist. When one thinks about a straight arm, it becomes harder to remember to give free play to the wrists and the stroke is apt to become what has been termed "stiff-armed" although it is really "stiff-wristed."

I, myself, have played so long with a straight left arm that it is now one of the very few things I need not worry my head about—that is, during the back-swing. But occasionally I get into trouble here because I do not always remember to relax my wrists at the top of the swing. Whenever the wrists fail to flex or cock themselves at the top, the stroke is robbed of all its crispness and rhythm.

And the wrist-break at the top— the complement of the straight left arm is very important in connection with keeping the left straight during the act of hitting.

I have found that a generous break of the wrists at the top of the swing almost assures a straight powerful left arm at impact. It is, therefore, the wrists more than the arm that I think about. I am certain that it is this one thing, more than anything else, which has been responsible for the recent improvement in my mashie-niblick play. My troubles in the past were all traceable to the one thing—that when I shortened my swing and softened the blow for the short pitches my wrists failed to respond as they did when the extra length of a full swing moved them.

It may be repeated that one of the most important things for a golfer to watch is the left wrist—to be certain that it is active, and that it is thoroughly flexible when the club reaches the top. The "cocking" of the wrists at the top of the swing is one of the prime necessities of a sound and effective stroke, and the whole thing depends upon the left. The right wrist rarely shows any disinclination toward allowing itself to be bent, but the left very often appears to emulate a stick of wood if certain precautionary measures are not taken. There can be no question that it is difficult to maintain a straight left arm and a sufficiently definite grip upon the club without setting up some tension in the left wrist. To accomplish these things without stiffening the wrist is the golfer's problem.

NOTE: This article by Bobby Jones is published with the permission of the Bell Syndicate Incorporated.