You’ve probably been told to keep your arms connected to your body when you swing. Good tip — if you’re around the green.
On the tee box, however, staying too connected can actually rob you of power. Here, it’s more than okay to disconnect. Not only will it give you needed width, but it will help you finish your backswing with plenty of space to generate maximum speed in your downswing.
DO THIS
To get a feel for disconnecting your arms from your body when swinging a driver, wedge a headcover into the armpit of your trail arm. Set up like normal and swing. Your goal is to turn your body while simultaneously lifting your arms and getting your hands as far away from your head as possible. If you do it correctly, the headcover will fall to the ground as you make your way to the top of your backswing.
Getting your arms and hands away from your body like this provide two very important things: extra time and extra width, which can turn any mild-mannered downswing into a speeding bullet.
Bernie Najar is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher and is the director of instruction at Caves Valley GC in Owings Mills, Md.
