An invaluable swing tip. How on earth the majority of golf teachers don't mention this is unbelievable. This keeps the path of the takeaway constant and stable.
Great lesson! Lee Trevino spoke of something similar, pointing out that most people who can keep the right harm tucked and the inside forearm facing up typically are the ones who can hit farther and have a tendency to hit more draws.
I took this to the driving range today with dramatic results. Only playing about 2 yrs. Started hitting balls with the usual inconsistencies, but I really concentrated on this one thing and it absolutely turned my ball striking around. Single biggest tip/change I’ve ever had so far. This game has been extremely difficult but I feel like I made some serious progress. I’ll be following along. Thanks
I like what you're saying. I've studied golf for too long. I bought the golf machine book too long ago. Very complicated. But I would have to say that but I had studied before I watched your video they were talking about how you would want to lose your arm wrestling at the top of your backswing thereby creating the right elbow to lead and a little bit flatter swing. But what you're saying is to take that right hand and grip it so your elbow is in to begin with. That way I don't have to concentrate on losing the arm wrestling match at the top of my backswing. And this will help me a lot with when I flatten the swing out too much. Ultimately it has to be all natural so if I set the hand to begin with I won't have to figure it out at the transition from the top to the start of the downswing. Is that right? downswing.
Great instruction!! I worked this change into my swing over the last 3 months and have gained a great amount of strike consistancy. Result, my handicap index has dropped from 12.5 to 9.5 in 2 months. A word of advise, practice half swings from left arm parallel until you want to scream. IT WORKS!! Thanks Zach for an outstanding video.
these videos are a tremendous help, especially how you break the feel down. A lot of channels fly thru their instructions and it’s hard to see how they do what they do
I also read Homer Kellye's book, The Golfing Machine. To say that it was a tough read is putting it mildly. You don't start at page 1 and read it in order. I can't locate my copy at the moment, but I do recall that the model for the book is a young lady who appears to be wearing penny loafers, a blouse and a pencil skirt that goes well below her knees. Those of you who have read it know what I mean. Do you grip the club normally with your right hand and then set the right elbow? It looks like that's what you do. I notice that if I set the elbow before taking the grip, my right hand is in a very strong position.
That was his wife. Guess he wanted a model that was not an accomplished golfer. Yes I would grip first then adjust the arm or just what you said will occur.
FIRST hold the club in your LEAD hand. THEN mate the TRAIL hand to the lead hand. The key is You MUST RELAX the trail arm so that the elbow can be tucked close to the trail side... as Zach demos but note how his right elbow is more IN FRONT of his rib cage and also not on or behind his shirt's right side seam. Your trail hand does NOT rotate into a strong grip... BUT your trail wrist may bend back a bit. Hope this helps.
Simply gold, thanks Zach. A softer trail arm and the softer I try is key. Anything that prevents the right shoulder from spinning out early aids flusher contact
I have been using your right elbow/arm set-up for about 6 months because of a rotator cuff issue. I learned how to hit my ball straight again and with much more power and distance. After many months of worse and worse pain, finding a rotator cuff was now completely detached, I had surgery on January 16th, a couple of months before my 74th birthday. I am in the healing process and soon to be more and more into the physical therapy part. I can't wait to get back in shape and out on the golf course. I WILL STRICKTLY ADHERE TO YOUR TIP as I get back ready to hit my age. Thank you for the great Video.....only wish I had seen it a year ago Jeff
I kinda stumbled on tucking my right elbow in last season on my own. My swing was just to wide open and I wasn't generating any power. I can't remember what tipped me off to try tucking my elbow in, but whatever it was has now been confirmed by your video that I am onto somthing game changing. I'm very excited to get my 2024 season underway after my shoulder surgery gets fully recovered. Thx for the help!
Thank you Zach. Many golfers may already have this movement in their muscle memory from childhood without knowing it. Attempting to skim a flat stone on surface of water with underhand throw mimics exactly the trail arm (and hip!) action in golf downswing.
Glad you like it, definitely makes more sense to set it and forget it. Most will set it incorrectly, then go around chasing the right backswing position. Makes it very difficult.
My swing coach showed me this last week went from picking the ball to striping dollar bills sometimes partially behind the ball but i'll get used to the feel. This is sooo good
Love it! Could not agree more At every set up and on every golf swing I simply lastly twitch my right elbow inward and then immediately swing my club. I call my routine: Aim, Twitch and Swing. At at age 76 my swing is now priceles. Cheers👍🥂😊
The Magic of the Right Forearm...TGM reference...hmmm. I worked with Ben Doyle, GSED, for 6 years. I used to, not sure if I still do, do dishes with a flat left wrist and a bent right wrist. I still drive a car with a flat left wrist and a bent right wrist. I got my GSEM recently and I'm glad I did it.
He speaks truth. For most of us we all hit better when the left arm dominates the swing. If the right arm dominates its going to be a mis-hit. A sage golf coach I had one time said left is right, right is wrong. But its easier said than done when you are very right handed.
Greetings Zach and thanks for the excellent video. You have established yourself as an excellent striker , teacher and You tubesman. Homer discusses the SECRET of golf as the ability to sustain lag pressure all the way from start down to finish. The secret is to MAINTAIN THAT PRESSURE ( inertia ). As you know the principle of golf is the LINE OF COMPRESSION. THE magic in the golf swing has to do the left forearm participation in the swing and its relation to the plane line. The elbow position as part of the magic reveals the TYPE of swing being employed : pitch , punch or push. Swing or hit. Thanks for the excellent video. Cheers
Fantastic video. Thank you so much for this. I have had so many different theories in my head and gone down so many rabbit holes working on trail hand action in the takeaway. I needed to see this to clarify my ideas. I've always known that I played better with this takeaway, but felt it got the clubhead behind me. Conversely, just tilting ky shoulders and lifting my hands looked good on video but caused me to hit hooks and hold off blocks from fear of pulls and hooks. It's actually a combo. I do need to tilt/sidebend but also need to externally rotate my trail (right) hand as well. Thank you so much!!
This confirms my theory: Right handeds should play as left handed do, and viceversa. It just make sense, and many stars of golf actually did it, starting from Moe Norman. Too bad I realized this after 10 years playing golf and reaching 2 hcp. Not willing to do it all over lol, but the book I'm writing will explain everything. By the way, I read the yellow book. A must !
Yep, pretty good tip and drill right there. I reckon set-up and grip is 90% of the golf swing. You put people in a different position at address and suddenly a number of problems they've been battling for months, disappear overnight.
Nice video, my thoughts on this is that by keeping your trail elbow close to your body as you swing down, it improves your timing. This allows you to strike the ball more solidly and consistently. If either your hands or hips race ahead or trail behind you will hit wild shots all over the place. Just my two cents
Mr. Allen.....thanks for this RUclips video... very generous thanks for sharing.......There wasn't the link you spoke about to the Free videos you mentioned
The magic is actually in the Vardon grip which puts the hands on the handle at address and impact in the middle of the range of rotation of forearm bones around each other - ulna and radius / pronation and supination. In the takeaway sequence the grip first forces the trail wrist into maxed out extension 🫸 which then literally forces the trail arm to bend elbow-down then externally rotate. The bending of the trail arm in a V tucked into the side and maxed out extension in the trail wrist is what creates the leverage that allows the trail hand to control the path of the lead arm mass which drags the club head mass down to the ball, with additional acceleration created by the creation of radial deviation in the wrist to cock the club up 👍 and unlar deviation to release that lag as when casting a fly or cracking whip. Something I realized when using Five Lessons 15 year ago to try to understand Hogan’s swing was that in the downswing the trail arm straightens and its forearm rotates very much like a palm-up / palm-down forearm rotating karate punch. Why is a rotating karate punch more powerful than a non-rotating palm down boxing jab? The rotation creates more acceleration. One does not get that acceleration in the downswing unless one tucks the trail elbows down in the backswing so it does straighten and rotate. The straighten of the trail arm doesn’t push the club down at the ball it simply allow the mass of the lead arm to whip down at the ball dragging the radially deviated lagging club behind 😊
By far the best TIP I have come across and I have seen a lot. This tip makes the golf swing very easy and automatically puts the club in the right swing pattern time after time. Thanks for posting
Just watch Patrick Welsh, recent Oklahoma U. graduate and playing on the Korn Ferry Tour. He’s played “crosshand or left hand low since the beginning. Great young player.
Was thinking of that myself. Was wondering if some who really struggle with the golf swing just completely changed to cross handed, how would that go? We see it all the time in putting.
How I know my baseball coach was a golfer. made me keep that back elbow below parallel. Now when i do that it golfing it just works out to a better shot.
well, you are clearly one of life's good guys and 100% genuine; and, there is a lot of good stuff here; and you do position your right elow in the perfect position at address. one thing i would say is that your right elbow would rotate, exactly as you demonstrate, if you just simply waggle the club at address. when the heel pad of the left hand presses forwards, to waggle the club back, it pulls on the left side of the right forearm, which rotates the elbow. and, this is key, as the heel pad of the left hand does exactly the same thing at the point at the point of propulsion- when the club is parallel to the target line- in the backswing. hogan talked about the "crossroads" of the golf swing; and, the point of propulsion is a key cross roads position. and, if you don't mind me saying, you journey in the wrong direction at this particular juncture. and, it is a lack of propulsion, at this point, that causes you to swing up outside the arc. and, you can prove this to yourself quite easily. as a drill, grip the club with just your left hand; point it out to your right, at parallel to the target line; and, then just wait a while. the pressure that the heel pad of the hand applies onto the club, to take the weight of the club, will actually set the club in motion; and, it will move on the perfect arc. put your right hand on the club when you get to the top of your backswing and you will be in the perfect position at the top. you may feel as though you are in a flat position; but, you will be in the perfect position at the top. and, you will never feel the need to do the cross handed drill- which serves only to disable swing propulsion- ever again.
That is funny I felt that right elbow... I hadn’t played in months, finding that power again was all in that elbow... I golf regularly always trying to tweak the swing
That photo is from Ben Hogan’s old book. The right elbow under is more of a draw/hooker’s position. If you look at footage of Hogan he actually sets up with a straightish left leg and more of a left arm tucked position. I have never seen footage that matches his demonstration with the club fitting between left and right. Even with closed feet using driver he has a slightly open upper half. This gives a feeling that it would be very difficult to miss it left.
@@ZachAllenGolf I think there’s a bit of that. But I also think with Power Golf and Modern Fundamentals there was a strong element of teaching the masses how to break 80 as opposed to teach them to swing like me. Dropping the right elbow under somewhat will help probably 95% of golfers. In the early 1970s he said he was considering writing an advanced golf book but that it would be a full handspan thick. I wish he did. Some of his notes were found in Ken Venturi’s desk after he died. I still hold out hope there is a pile of his notebooks gathering dust somewhere.
Good stuff, and wondering why on your last swing your right elbow arm is not near your body on impact? It is probably 5 inches away. I thought you want right arm close as Ben Hogan did at impact
I have always thought that your dominate side should be closer to the target than your weaker side. Right handlers would play “left” handed and vice versa. I think Mickelsen and Spieth are examples. What do you think?
Might make sense for a select few, however, the majority are so use to throwing a ball, baseball, tennis, other racket sports, hockey, things they played in their youth, that it usually makes more sense to stay with that side. Usually more power also.
Interestingly enough my daughter is right handed, but plays golf lefty, just from watching me hit balls and mimicking what she saw. She was good enough to play in college and has a great swing.
Hey Zach. Great tip. Tried it on the range yesterday and intuitively I can see the value. I had one concern that I thought you were going to address in the video but didn't. When I first tried this setup, I made a big mistake by rotating the trail arm so much that it caused my right hand grip to become crazy strong to the point where it was almost under the club with palm up. The first iron shot I hit on the golf course understandably was an awful pull hook created by releasing with the faulty grip and shutting the club face down. Thoughts on creating the magic elbow while maintaining a proper grip?
That is a great point. While the elbow and upper arm are externally rotated, (pocket of your elbow pointing to the sky. The lower part of the right arm is not the same. Some might even feel it is internal in order to fit there normal grip to the club.
Homer Kelly was a Boeing aircraft engineer from Seattle and wrote the Golf Machine...It is a book of mathematical and geometric laws principals and theories which is for the most part unreadable as it relates to the golf swing...I bought the book as a junior golfer as well and after 2 or 3 pages I tossed it...When Homer passed away his most famous disciple (Bobby Clampett) had no one to explain the book and his career fell very far short of where it should have been...There are far easier books/theories/methods to follow than Homers book imho...With that said he was a very nice man...I met him and he never pushed his ideas onto anyone...But he left behind a very very difficult read...Good pointers though that you are giving here in your video...Best wishes and good luck to all...
Despite what Hogan books say Hogan never had his right elbow inside the left elbow when viewed down the line, also it was easier for Hogan, and Booby Jones to have such a bent right elbow at address, because both had long arms for their height.
True but you know he practices and taught it in both of his books. I think there came a point where his trail elbow was so well trained that he didn’t need to preset it.
Does the right arm in the downswing start to straighten from the top all the way down through impact I've noticed when the club is parallel to the target line, in the downswing my hands are still waist high and not mid thigh like the pros
Good nuggets! How about the left arm now? I see Adam Scott (Tiger, etc.) lock that lead side arm and the elbow (Olecranon*) *points out towards the target.* What's the consensus there?
Bryson does it also, some like this because they believe it takes the left side of the golf course or a big hook out of play. However, for the average player setting your arm like this at address can have some bad consequences in the takeaway, like disconnection, or the lead arm helping to roll the club inside.
Hogan had (by description of his mentee Ken Venturi) very long arms. Could his bending of the Right elbow have been caused by these knuckle dragging arms? What is you have short arms? To keep the trail elbow bent would require a Will Zalatoris like bend. We all know what that did to his back.
Would still totally apply, I actually can shoot in the low 80's playing left handed, and it's alway's a very good conscious though for me to set my trail arm correctly.
What is amazing is nobody taught Ben Hogan the Ben Hogan swing. Like Ruth he had a natural swing with power and accuracy. Pioneers need to be respected.
Miller Barber, John Daly, Fred Couples, Jack Nicklaus all other examples of flying right elbows, however, considering their talent level, and taking golf up at a very young age, might be difficult for the average golfers to replicate.
I agree with you completely and I have incorporated this swing habit into my swing with excellent results. However, have you ever watched the swing of Jack Nicklaus? His right elbow is flaired out….just saying.
Zach do you promote a Lead arm pull release or a trail arm push release? I believe with your lesson today a lead arm release would be lot more efficient.
An invaluable swing tip. How on earth the majority of golf teachers don't mention this is unbelievable.
This keeps the path of the takeaway constant and stable.
Because they want you to keep coming back 😂
Zach. This is beyond belief. The downswing and release are now grooved and automatic. Thanks a million!!!
That’s what I want to hear! 👏
Great lesson! Lee Trevino spoke of something similar, pointing out that most people who can keep the right harm tucked and the inside forearm facing up typically are the ones who can hit farther and have a tendency to hit more draws.
Great insight there
I took this to the driving range today with dramatic results. Only playing about 2 yrs. Started hitting balls with the usual inconsistencies, but I really concentrated on this one thing and it absolutely turned my ball striking around. Single biggest tip/change I’ve ever had so far. This game has been extremely difficult but I feel like I made some serious progress. I’ll be following along. Thanks
Wow, that is awesome to hear sounds like it really simplified your swing. Great job
I like what you're saying. I've studied golf for too long. I bought the golf machine book too long ago. Very complicated. But I would have to say that but I had studied before I watched your video they were talking about how you would want to lose your arm wrestling at the top of your backswing thereby creating the right elbow to lead and a little bit flatter swing.
But what you're saying is to take that right hand and grip it so your elbow is in to begin with. That way I don't have to concentrate on losing the arm wrestling match at the top of my backswing. And this will help me a lot with when I flatten the swing out too much. Ultimately it has to be all natural so if I set the hand to begin with I won't have to figure it out at the transition from the top to the start of the downswing. Is that right? downswing.
Thank you. Very helpful
Great instruction!! I worked this change into my swing over the last 3 months and have gained a great amount of strike consistancy. Result, my handicap index has dropped from 12.5 to 9.5 in 2 months. A word of advise, practice half swings from left arm parallel until you want to scream. IT WORKS!! Thanks Zach for an outstanding video.
Wow that is some impressive improvement.
these videos are a tremendous help, especially how you break the feel down. A lot of channels fly thru their instructions and it’s hard to see how they do what they do
This tip ,i read it in hogan's book, really is important. It is so important for good golf. Ty for covering it.
I also read Homer Kellye's book, The Golfing Machine. To say that it was a tough read is putting it mildly. You don't start at page 1 and read it in order. I can't locate my copy at the moment, but I do recall that the model for the book is a young lady who appears to be wearing penny loafers, a blouse and a pencil skirt that goes well below her knees. Those of you who have read it know what I mean. Do you grip the club normally with your right hand and then set the right elbow? It looks like that's what you do. I notice that if I set the elbow before taking the grip, my right hand is in a very strong position.
That was his wife. Guess he wanted a model that was not an accomplished golfer. Yes I would grip first then adjust the arm or just what you said will occur.
FIRST hold the club in your LEAD hand. THEN mate the TRAIL hand to the lead hand. The key is You MUST RELAX the trail arm so that the elbow can be tucked close to the trail side... as Zach demos but note how his right elbow is more IN FRONT of his rib cage and also not on or behind his shirt's right side seam. Your trail hand does NOT rotate into a strong grip... BUT your trail wrist may bend back a bit. Hope this helps.
Simply gold, thanks Zach. A softer trail arm and the softer I try is key. Anything that prevents the right shoulder from spinning out early aids flusher contact
%100 correct, if the wrong muscles never get too active will definitely help in the right side not taking over.
I have been using your right elbow/arm set-up for about 6 months because of a rotator cuff issue. I learned how to hit my ball straight again and with much more power and distance. After many months of worse and worse pain, finding a rotator cuff was now completely detached, I had surgery on January 16th, a couple of months before my 74th birthday. I am in the healing process and soon to be more and more into the physical therapy part. I can't wait to get back in shape and out on the golf course. I WILL STRICKTLY ADHERE TO YOUR TIP as I get back ready to hit my age.
Thank you for the great Video.....only wish I had seen it a year ago
Jeff
I kinda stumbled on tucking my right elbow in last season on my own. My swing was just to wide open and I wasn't generating any power. I can't remember what tipped me off to try tucking my elbow in, but whatever it was has now been confirmed by your video that I am onto somthing game changing. I'm very excited to get my 2024 season underway after my shoulder surgery gets fully recovered. Thx for the help!
Go get it, sounds like you are on to something good.
I implemented this after studying Ben Hogans swing and it has completely changed my iron shots. Consistent, accurate, powerful.
Thank you Zach. Many golfers may already have this movement in their muscle memory from childhood without knowing it. Attempting to skim a flat stone on surface of water with underhand throw mimics exactly the trail arm (and hip!) action in golf downswing.
Great analogy, I guess you would keep the trail elbow in close even before you threw.
I second that, I will pretend I am a kid on the shore of a lake with many stones available for skimming when I am on the range...😊
I went to golftec for nearly a year and never received any information that helped me as much as this simple video. Thanks Zach!
Glad it helped
great advice...so important in the golf swing to get the trail arm open at address. makes the swing so much easier and can feel natural right away.
Glad you like it, definitely makes more sense to set it and forget it. Most will set it incorrectly, then go around chasing the right backswing position. Makes it very difficult.
I've watched hundreds of videos and few have delivered results like keeping my elbow facing UP! MAGIC!!
Perfect tip, Hogan talked about the ‘cups ‘ of both elbows pointing up at the sky.(5 lessons…)
Spent a week at golf school doing just that. Heaven.
Absolutely
My swing coach showed me this last week went from picking the ball to striping dollar bills sometimes partially behind the ball but i'll get used to the feel. This is sooo good
Love it! Could not agree more
At every set up and on every golf swing I simply lastly twitch my right elbow inward and then immediately swing my club. I call my routine: Aim, Twitch and Swing.
At at age 76 my swing is now priceles. Cheers👍🥂😊
Oh man😂 that is all time!
Superb input coach! You are generous!
I appreciate that!
Thanks!
Thanks so much, really appreciate the support!
I struggle with getting the club naturally rotated and to the top on plane. This may help with the feel that is missing. Thank you Zack!
Happy to help!
This may be the best thing I've ever seen. Well said and explained. You're a savant. You're changing lives!
Zach.... wow unexpected awesome simple tip....my inside to out ball striking has never been better
Great to hear!
The Magic of the Right Forearm...TGM reference...hmmm. I worked with Ben Doyle, GSED, for 6 years. I used to, not sure if I still do, do dishes with a flat left wrist and a bent right wrist. I still drive a car with a flat left wrist and a bent right wrist. I got my GSEM recently and I'm glad I did it.
Could watch this drill forever Zach. Merry Chrismas-Russ
He speaks truth. For most of us we all hit better when the left arm dominates the swing. If the right arm dominates its going to be a mis-hit. A sage golf coach I had one time said left is right, right is wrong. But its easier said than done when you are very right handed.
I just tried this and it's great advise.
This and the LH grip change has completely transformed my swing, for the better
Greetings Zach and thanks for the excellent video. You have established yourself as an excellent striker , teacher and You tubesman.
Homer discusses the SECRET of golf as the ability to sustain lag pressure all the way from start down to finish. The secret is to MAINTAIN THAT PRESSURE
( inertia ). As you know the principle of golf is the LINE OF COMPRESSION.
THE magic in the golf swing has to do the left forearm participation in the swing and its relation to the plane line.
The elbow position as part of the magic reveals the TYPE of swing being employed : pitch , punch or push.
Swing or hit.
Thanks for the excellent video.
Cheers
One of your best tips ever. Makes a lot of sense to me. I can see the over the top move disappearing, Thanks
I’ve seen it really help some bad over the top swings.
Fantastic video. Thank you so much for this. I have had so many different theories in my head and gone down so many rabbit holes working on trail hand action in the takeaway. I needed to see this to clarify my ideas. I've always known that I played better with this takeaway, but felt it got the clubhead behind me. Conversely, just tilting ky shoulders and lifting my hands looked good on video but caused me to hit hooks and hold off blocks from fear of pulls and hooks. It's actually a combo. I do need to tilt/sidebend but also need to externally rotate my trail (right) hand as well. Thank you so much!!
This confirms my theory: Right handeds should play as left handed do, and viceversa. It just make sense, and many stars of golf actually did it, starting from Moe Norman. Too bad I realized this after 10 years playing golf and reaching 2 hcp. Not willing to do it all over lol, but the book I'm writing will explain everything. By the way, I read the yellow book. A must !
Just tried that on my homemade range here in the Philippines, love it Zach!
Sweet!
感恩！预備动作時，左手肘比右手肘高，如果不常训练或去注意，是忽略或忘记这重奌！高球的技巧重奌最少是MON NOAMAN加拿大男球手，他学習他的人卻不多，而且他很会找合用的球桿，高球除了学技巧，要学会找合用球桿，可事半功倍呀！您提的右手肘的直角曲打球的技巧，許多的教練都會提的，可知这动作是重点之中重奌。但要学到自如熟練可能至少三个月呀！
True Moe Norman is a great example of this 👍🏻
I love this technique! Thanks and Aloha from kaua'i
Love the tip, I knew exactly what you was talking about and how that feels. With that move it also keeps you from hitting it fat. Thanks again
Yep, pretty good tip and drill right there. I reckon set-up and grip is 90% of the golf swing. You put people in a different position at address and suddenly a number of problems they've been battling for months, disappear overnight.
Fantastic advice and instruction, AS ALWAYS..
Enjoy your tips immensely! They have helped me so much.
Great tutorial Zach -- Appreciate it!
Nice video, my thoughts on this is that by keeping your trail elbow close to your body as you swing down, it improves your timing. This allows you to strike the ball more solidly and consistently. If either your hands or hips race ahead or trail behind you will hit wild shots all over the place. Just my two cents
100 awesome video and this is exactly what you need to do
Yes! Thank you!
Great session Zach. That backhand drill is very interesting-Russ
It is a very good way to get that trail arm to behave and cooperate.
Mr. Allen.....thanks for this RUclips video... very generous thanks for sharing.......There wasn't the link you spoke about to the Free videos you mentioned
The magic is actually in the Vardon grip which puts the hands on the handle at address and impact in the middle of the range of rotation of forearm bones around each other - ulna and radius / pronation and supination.
In the takeaway sequence the grip first forces the trail wrist into maxed out extension 🫸 which then literally forces the trail arm to bend elbow-down then externally rotate. The bending of the trail arm in a V tucked into the side and maxed out extension in the trail wrist is what creates the leverage that allows the trail hand to control the path of the lead arm mass which drags the club head mass down to the ball, with additional acceleration created by the creation of radial deviation in the wrist to cock the club up 👍 and unlar deviation to release that lag as when casting a fly or cracking whip.
Something I realized when using Five Lessons 15 year ago to try to understand Hogan’s swing was that in the downswing the trail arm straightens and its forearm rotates very much like a palm-up / palm-down forearm rotating karate punch. Why is a rotating karate punch more powerful than a non-rotating palm down boxing jab? The rotation creates more acceleration. One does not get that acceleration in the downswing unless one tucks the trail elbows down in the backswing so it does straighten and rotate.
The straighten of the trail arm doesn’t push the club down at the ball it simply allow the mass of the lead arm to whip down at the ball dragging the radially deviated lagging club behind 😊
Holy crap now that is an explanation! 👏
By far the best TIP I have come across and I have seen a lot. This tip makes the golf swing very easy and automatically puts the club in the right swing pattern time after time. Thanks for posting
Thanks again Zach!
For sure
Thank you! Great tip!
You are so welcome!
One of the best descriptions of how the right arm moves i ever heard. Thanks!
nice video.... i realizer that the golf swing is just a hinge. That is why machines with hinges hit it perfectly every time.
Great point
Great explanation!
Excellent advice bro
Glad you think so!
I was so screwed up this actually even helped my putting stroke
Me too! Everything from driver to putter, even bunker shots.
Thank you, very helpful
Glad it was helpful!
Whoa! Best. Tip. Ever.
Just watch Patrick Welsh, recent Oklahoma U. graduate and playing on the Korn Ferry Tour. He’s played “crosshand or left hand low since the beginning. Great young player.
Was thinking of that myself. Was wondering if some who really struggle with the golf swing just completely changed to cross handed, how would that go? We see it all the time in putting.
How I know my baseball coach was a golfer. made me keep that back elbow below parallel. Now when i do that it golfing it just works out to a better shot.
That sounds like a great feel.
well, you are clearly one of life's good guys and 100% genuine; and, there is a lot of good stuff here; and you do position your right elow in the perfect position at address. one thing i would say is that your right elbow would rotate, exactly as you demonstrate, if you just simply waggle the club at address. when the heel pad of the left hand presses forwards, to waggle the club back, it pulls on the left side of the right forearm, which rotates the elbow. and, this is key, as the heel pad of the left hand does exactly the same thing at the point at the point of propulsion- when the club is parallel to the target line- in the backswing. hogan talked about the "crossroads" of the golf swing; and, the point of propulsion is a key cross roads position. and, if you don't mind me saying, you journey in the wrong direction at this particular juncture. and, it is a lack of propulsion, at this point, that causes you to swing up outside the arc. and, you can prove this to yourself quite easily. as a drill, grip the club with just your left hand; point it out to your right, at parallel to the target line; and, then just wait a while. the pressure that the heel pad of the hand applies onto the club, to take the weight of the club, will actually set the club in motion; and, it will move on the perfect arc. put your right hand on the club when you get to the top of your backswing and you will be in the perfect position at the top. you may feel as though you are in a flat position; but, you will be in the perfect position at the top. and, you will never feel the need to do the cross handed drill- which serves only to disable swing propulsion- ever again.
Wow that is a lot of info right there. Gonna have to come back to that one tomorrow when I’m more awake.
@@ZachAllenGolf ok, i'll give you swing drill of all swings, when you have got that one down
Great illustration of right side dominance (for right handers). Question- where should the left elbow be pointing at address? Thanks. 👍
Excellent tip and drill!
That is funny I felt that right elbow... I hadn’t played in months, finding that power again was all in that elbow... I golf regularly always trying to tweak the swing
Great reminder
Once again awesome instruction
Moe Norman called it sunny side up for the trail arm.
Never knew that
Very nice. My right arm was so out of kilter that it made me have a weak grip for decades. Great explanation.
Great insight there. That can definitely influence you to take weak grip.
Brilliant !
great lesson Zach, thanks👍
That photo is from Ben Hogan’s old book.
The right elbow under is more of a draw/hooker’s position. If you look at footage of Hogan he actually sets up with a straightish left leg and more of a left arm tucked position. I have never seen footage that matches his demonstration with the club fitting between left and right. Even with closed feet using driver he has a slightly open upper half. This gives a feeling that it would be very difficult to miss it left.
You are definitely not wrong but I believe for him to put it in his book he trained this way at one point early in his career.
@@ZachAllenGolf I think there’s a bit of that. But I also think with Power Golf and Modern Fundamentals there was a strong element of teaching the masses how to break 80 as opposed to teach them to swing like me. Dropping the right elbow under somewhat will help probably 95% of golfers.
In the early 1970s he said he was considering writing an advanced golf book but that it would be a full handspan thick. I wish he did. Some of his notes were found in Ken Venturi’s desk after he died. I still hold out hope there is a pile of his notebooks gathering dust somewhere.
Thank you for the invaluable info ❤
you sir are correct. I've been playing golf for three years and just broke 70.
That’s impressive
Sure you did.
Tiger's son is a +4 handicap and didn't break 70 after only 3 years with TIGER as his teacher.
This is just like another video I saw call the “atomic elbow”. My question is when should I activate my thorax? Before or after I dorsi flex?
Good stuff, and wondering why on your last swing your right elbow arm is not near your body on impact? It is probably 5 inches away. I thought you want right arm close as Ben Hogan did at impact
That is crazy good ❤
Hope it puts you in the slot
What is the right hand position on the club at address? Where should the V be pointing? Should the forearm be pronated or supinated?
Thats a complicated question, many variables at play, and matchups that can be effective.
I have always thought that your dominate side should be closer to the target than your weaker side. Right handlers would play “left” handed and vice versa. I think Mickelsen and Spieth are examples. What do you think?
Might make sense for a select few, however, the majority are so use to throwing a ball, baseball, tennis, other racket sports, hockey, things they played in their youth, that it usually makes more sense to stay with that side. Usually more power also.
Interestingly enough my daughter is right handed, but plays golf lefty, just from watching me hit balls and mimicking what she saw. She was good enough to play in college and has a great swing.
absolutely correct
Hey Zach. Great tip. Tried it on the range yesterday and intuitively I can see the value. I had one concern that I thought you were going to address in the video but didn't. When I first tried this setup, I made a big mistake by rotating the trail arm so much that it caused my right hand grip to become crazy strong to the point where it was almost under the club with palm up. The first iron shot I hit on the golf course understandably was an awful pull hook created by releasing with the faulty grip and shutting the club face down. Thoughts on creating the magic elbow while maintaining a proper grip?
That is a great point. While the elbow and upper arm are externally rotated, (pocket of your elbow pointing to the sky. The lower part of the right arm is not the same. Some might even feel it is internal in order to fit there normal grip to the club.
Homer Kelly was a Boeing aircraft engineer from Seattle and wrote the Golf Machine...It is a book of mathematical and geometric laws principals and theories which is for the most part unreadable as it relates to the golf swing...I bought the book as a junior golfer as well and after 2 or 3 pages I tossed it...When Homer passed away his most famous disciple (Bobby Clampett) had no one to explain the book and his career fell very far short of where it should have been...There are far easier books/theories/methods to follow than Homers book imho...With that said he was a very nice man...I met him and he never pushed his ideas onto anyone...But he left behind a very very difficult read...Good pointers though that you are giving here in your video...Best wishes and good luck to all...
Great info and tribute to a very smart man.
Despite what Hogan books say Hogan never had his right elbow inside the left elbow when viewed down the line, also it was easier for Hogan, and Booby Jones to have such a bent right elbow at address, because both had long arms for their height.
True but you know he practices and taught it in both of his books. I think there came a point where his trail elbow was so well trained that he didn’t need to preset it.
Does the right arm in the downswing start to straighten from the top all the way down through impact I've noticed when the club is parallel to the target line, in the downswing my hands are still waist high and not mid thigh like the pros
............. This is great if your goal is to hit close to the green or if you have hours to practice on each Iron.
Great
Would it matter regardless of grip? Thanks for this
I just got my driver back in the fairways with this exact thing. Back to hitting 300-330 down the middle...
Good nuggets!
How about the left arm now? I see Adam Scott (Tiger, etc.) lock that lead side arm and the elbow (Olecranon*) *points out towards the target.*
What's the consensus there?
Bryson does it also, some like this because they believe it takes the left side of the golf course or a big hook out of play. However, for the average player setting your arm like this at address can have some bad consequences in the takeaway, like disconnection, or the lead arm helping to roll the club inside.
Hogan had (by description of his mentee Ken Venturi) very long arms. Could his bending of the Right elbow have been caused by these knuckle dragging arms? What is you have short arms? To keep the trail elbow bent would require a Will Zalatoris like bend. We all know what that did to his back.
So what changes if I'm right handed (right dominate) but I play golf left handed?
Would still totally apply, I actually can shoot in the low 80's playing left handed, and it's alway's a very good conscious though for me to set my trail arm correctly.
What is amazing is nobody taught Ben Hogan the Ben Hogan swing. Like Ruth he had a natural swing with power and accuracy. Pioneers need to be respected.
Not sure about babe Ruth but Hogan worked his ass to the bone. Almost giving up multiple times. Not sure I would say a natural. Maybe Sam Snead.
How do you stop the backswing being "flat" when adopting this elbow position?
Jack’s T shots went flying over everyone else too!
Miller Barber, John Daly, Fred Couples, Jack Nicklaus all other examples of flying right elbows, however, considering their talent level, and taking golf up at a very young age, might be difficult for the average golfers to replicate.
great stuuf
That right elbow position worked great for Jack, what happened today? Did Jack not do it correctly? LOL
I agree with you completely and I have incorporated this swing habit into my swing with excellent results. However, have you ever watched the swing of Jack Nicklaus? His right elbow is flaired out….just saying.
Jack Nicklaus’s flying right elbow has been talked for years
Most amateur golfers would be better served with a simpler backswing position.
My issue is that it doesn't feel natural and trail arm wants to go back to where it was. How do you deal with that?
I agree with you on the right arm but I don't agree with the baseball analogy...good hitters do very similar action as a good golf swining...
Is it the same for driver?
Dude doesn’t blink.
Great content, nonetheless 😌
Zach do you promote a Lead arm pull release or a trail arm push release? I believe with your lesson today a lead arm release would be lot more efficient.
We definitely cannot have the trail arm or side over take or over power the lead side. But make no mistake the trail side is working.
hi, i cant seem to find the thumbnail image of hogan used on this video. Can you help me find out where it originates? thanks
It’s a screenshot from Ben’s power golf book
@@ZachAllenGolf yes indeed it is, thanks for your reply . . . mike
Was that Mac that was having you work on your right arm?