You need to lift your left arm during the backswing to make a good swing — but if you lift it too much, the clubhead will have a tendency to drift too far from your body, fueling an outside-in downswing and a glut of hard pulls and nasty slices. Ouch.
To fix the problem, and allow your body to rotate while motioning the club on a lower and wider arc, try making a few rehearsal swings with a cackhanded or reverse grip. With a few swings at about half or three-quarter speed, you’ll feel that the club is more inclined to swing low and to the inside. (The reverse grip makes it very difficult to lift the club straight up.)
At the top of the backswing, your right elbow will naturally “pin” to your right side, again, preventing you from lifting your arms too much. Better yet, it helps you rotate more powerfully through the ball for shots that never miss.
Daniel Carraher teaches at The Golf Club at South Hampton in St. Augustine, Fla.
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