Professional Golfer Right Arm Swinging and Hitting

Golf Master Tips, Professional Golfer Right Arm Swinging and Hitting   - In this section, I am going to be describing right arm swinging for the first time. I have previously discussed the hitting technique in my How to Power the Golf Swing review paper, and I am not going to discuss the hitting technique again in great detail. 

I am mainly going to point out certain features of hitting, so that a golfer can clearly get to understand the differences between hitting and right arm swinging. The hitting technique was apparently first described by Homer Kelley in his book called "The Golfing Machine" [8]. I am therefore going to use the term TGM-hitting as indicating that I am describing the hitting technique in a way that was specifically recommended by Homer Kelley. 

Homer Kelley briefly mentioned the possibility of a golfer using a right arm swinging technique, but he never described his right arm swinging approach in any detail in his book, and there is no "golf standard" source of solid TGM-based information on right arm swinging. I only know of three golf instructors who teach/taught right arm swinging - the late Tom Tomasello, Gary Edwin (in Australia) and Peter Croker (in Australia). I personally found their descriptions of right arm swinging unclear and of limited help, and in this review paper, I will be describing my personal approach to right arm swinging.

Professional Golfer Right Arm Swinging and Hitting  

I believe that right arm swinging is particularly suitable for golfers who cannot pivot well due to a lack of torso/spinal flexibility and who cannot easily keep their left arm straight throughout the backswing and downswing. I believe that a well executed pivot action is essential for a left arm swinger, but less critical for a right arm swinger, who doesn't use a pivot-drive action to power the swing.

The best analogy that I can envision that will allow a golfer to clearly understand the difference in "feeling" between left arm swinging and right arm swinging is to compare the "feeling" of throwing a frisbee backhanded with the left arm (which is analogous to left arm swinging) to skipping stones with the right arm (which is analogous to right arm swinging). 

When a frisbee thrower performs a backhanded frisbee throw action, he first turns his torso away from the target and loads the left arm across the upper torso. He then starts the throw action by rotating his torso fast in the direction of the target, starting the pivot action from the bottom-up (lower body moves first and upper body moves secondarily). 

The inert left arm (which simply acts as an inert lever) is then catapulted in the direction of the target by the fast rotating torso. The torso rotation supplies the throw power, and the left arm is basically inert from a throw-power perspective.

By contrast, consider the throw action of a right-armed stone skipping individual. The major preparatory action involved in stone skipping is a preliminary loading of the right arm by withdrawing the right arm away from the torso, so that the right hand ends up in a positional location somewhere near the right shoulder. The right arm throw action in stone skipping can be perceived to be a side-throwing, slightly underhand, right arm throw action. 

During this throw action, the stone skipper can use an active pivot action or a reactive pivot action. In an active pivot action, the stone skipper will first take a step forward with the left leg and initiate a pivot action before the right arm throws - similar to the right arm throw action of a baseball pitcher. In a reactive pivot action, the stone skipper will brace his left leg, and throw his right arm across the front of his rotating torso, while using the resistance of a braced lead leg to stabilise/control/direct the reactive pivot action. 

Both pivot actions work very well, and each individual stone skipper can choose the pivot action which works best for him. Interestingly, all three of those previously-mentioned golf instructors, who teach right arm swinging, recommend a reactive pivot action. I have personally experimented with both types of pivot action, and I personally perform "right arm swinging" much better when using a reactive pivot action (which I will describe in great detail at a later stage in this review paper).


TGM-hitting and right arm swinging have one biomechanical phenomenon in common - both techniques use the right arm to power the swing. However, there are major differences in technique. A TGM-hitter mainly powers the swing via a straightening action of the right arm (representing the active release of PA#1) and a TGM-hitter provides a constant push-force against the back/aft side of the grip end of the club throughout the mid-late downswing. Because a TGM-hitter is applying the constant push-force against the club's grip (at PP#3 and at PP#1 via the palm of the right hand, which sits over the left thumb), a TGM-hitter isdrive-loading the club. 

When drive-loading a club throughout the downswing, a TGM hitter is over-riding the club's centrifugal release action (due to the passive release of PA#2) that normally occurs if a golfer uses a swinging technique. A hitter usually uses a triple barrel power accumulator swing action - 1:2/3 - and the straightening right arm actively releases all three of those power accumulators. By definition, a right arm swinger is still using a swinging technique, where the power accumulator use/release sequence is 4:2:3. 

In a swinging technique, it is only the release of PA#4 that is active, while the release of PA#2 and PA#3 is passive. In a left arm swinger, the pivot -drive action actively releases PA#4, while in a right arm swinger, the right arm releases PA#4. In other words, a right arm swinger uses the right arm to release the left arm, and the right arm basically pushes the left arm forward via push-pressure at PP#1 (located at the base of the left thumb of the left hand), and the pushed left hand then pulls the club via its left hand grip attachment (at PP#2).

Another major difference betweeen TGM-hitting and right arm swinging, is the timing of the right arm push-force action. In TGM-hitting, the right arm push-power is mainly activated in the mid-late downswing - when the right arm straightens at the right elbow joint.

 By contrast, in right arm swinging, the right arm push-power is activated in the early downswing - prior to straightening the right elbow joint. To better understand this point, one needs to better understand the fundamental biomechanics of the TGM-hitting and right arm swinging actions. In TGM-hitting, swing power is primarily generated when the right arm actively straightens in the mid-late downswing. The right shoulder is the launching pad for the right arm straightening action, and it acts as a backstop for the active release of PA#1. 

A triple-barrel TGM-hitter primarily moves the right shoulder downplane in the early downswing, so that the right shoulder can get closer to the ball,before PA#1 is actively released. If PA#1 is released too soon, a TGM-hitter will run-out-of-right arm. A key feature of a TGM-hitter's swing action is the fact that the right arm must still be slightly bent at impact, and the right arm must only be fully straight by the end of the followthrough. 

That biomechanical requirement means that the right shoulder must be sufficiently close enough to the ball at impact, so that a TGM-hitter doesn't run-out-of-right arm. A TGM-hitter can also supply a certain degree of right shoulder thrust action to his right shoulder's downplane movement, and some TGMers regard that additive right shoulder thrust action as contributing to a TGM-hitter's four-barrel swing action (4:1:2/3). 

In right arm swinging, the golfer activates the release of PA#4 (release of PA#4) via swing power derived from the right shoulder and right arm (and not via a pivot-drive action). To better understand this point, first consider how energy is supplied to the left arm in order to activate the release of PA#4 in a left am swinger's action.

Consider Ben Hogan's left arm swingers' action - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL_6M_xZvq0

Ben Hogan's release of PA#4 action - capture images from his swing video

I have plotted Ben Hogan's left hand arc movement in the above composite photo - derived from capture images from his swing video. I have divided his left hand arc movement into two stages - stage 1 (image 1 and image 3) represents the first part of the hand arc motion, and during this time period, the distance between the left hand and the right shoulder remains constant.

In stage 2 (image 2 and image 4) the distance between the left hand and right shoulder progessively increases and this stage represents the release of PA#4 (release of the left arm). The energy used to power the release PA#4 is derived from biomechanical actions occurring in stage 1. Which biomechanical actions occurring in stage 1 are primarily responsible for providing the swing power needed to power the release of PA#4 (that subsequently occurs in stage 2)?

Consider what happens in stage 1 of Ben Hogan's swing. Ben Hogan states that he starts the downswing with a lower body shift-rotation movement, and he demonstrates this action in his swing video lesson. In the first part of the swing video lesson, he performs what is called the "Pump-it Drill" about 5x - where he shifts-rotates his pelvis, and thereby pulls the entire power package (which consists of the right shoulder, the right forearm flying wedge and left arm flying wedge) down to waist level, while keeping the power package intact. 

The biomechanical process of keeping the power package intact means that there is no straightening of the right elbow during this process. If the right elbow doesn't straighten in stage 1, then the right shoulder, right elbow and hands (both the left hand and the right hand) are moving at the same speed. Ben Hogan implies that the lower body's shift-rotation movement supplies the power to passively move the intact power package down towards waist level. 

In other words, the pivot-drive action is supplying the power to move the left arm/hand during stage 1. Many TGMers think that the power comes from the pivoting torso applying a loading pressure at PP#4 (where the left arm abuts the left pectoral area of the chest wall) during stage 1. I prefer to think that it is really the 3-D movement of the left shoulder socket in space, which is pulling the left arm at the same speed, that is really responsible for supplying the swing power needed to power the release of PA#4. 

Conceptually, one can mentally think of a backhanded frisbee throw action using the left arm - during the first part of the throw action (stage 1), the pivot-drive action produces a torso rotation that rotates the left shoulder socket forwards very fast towards the target. The inert left arm is automatically pulled forward at the same speed as the left shoulder socket. 

In other words, the energy needed to move the left arm is derived from the energy needed to rotate the left shoulder socket very fast in the early phase (stage 1) of the backhanded frisbee throw action - and that energy is derived from the pivot-rotation action. At a certain time-point in the backhanded frisbee throw action, the left arm will be thrown forward and it will travel at a faster speed than the left shoulder socket, and during this phase (stage 2) the left arm will be freewheeling towards impact. In other words, the energy needed to allow the left arm to freewheel towards the target (in stage 2) was derived from the pivot-drive's biomechanical actions that happen in stage 1.

Here is another Ben Hogan swing video demonstrating this point - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJdChWnxDvU

Hogan's release of PA#4 - capture images from his swing video

Images 1, 2, 3 show Hogan's shoulder and arm movements in the early downswing - prior to the release of PA#4. Note how he has squared his pelvis as a result of the pelvis shift-rotation movement that initiates his downswing. Note how much his left and right shoulders have moved in space. 

Note that the right elbow is moving as fast as his right/left shoulders, and note that the two hands/grip is moving as fast as the shoulders - which means that the entire power package remains intact. Note that the angle between the left arm and the chest wall has remained essentially unchanged - which means that PA#4 has not yet released. 

In other words, it is during this early stage of the downswing that energy is being supplied to the left arm, that will eventually supply the left arm with enough thrust energy to enable it to freewheel towards impact in the mid-late downswing.

Note that PA#4 is releasing in images 4/5 - note that the angle between the chest wall and left arm is progressively increasing. Why does PA#4 release at that particular time-point in the downswing? I believe that it is causally due to the fact that the shoulders are becoming square to the ball-target line, and their directional thrust action downwards-and-forwards in the direction of the ball has now reached the zenith of its velocity-travel in that direction. 

The shoulders will keep on rotating actively in the mid-late downswing, but not in a direction that supplies a thrust force downwards-and-forwards in the direction of the ball. In other words, it is at this "PA#4 release" time point that the left arm gets catapulted/blasted towards impact with enough energy to freewheel through impact, and beyond impact (as occurs in that swing video of a "pure" left arm-only swinger). 

Note that the right elbow remains bent and note that the left arm-clubshaft angle remains unchanged during the early phase of PA#4's release - Hogan has still retained his clubshaft lag (image 4/5). Maintaining clubshaft lag, and avoiding casting, is critically important to a left arm swinger's action - as described in my review paper on How to Maximize Wrist Lag and Avoid Casting.

I believe that a right arm swinger must mimic these actions - i) activating/energising PA#4 in the early downswing and then releasing PA#4 with enough energy to allow the left arm to freewheel fast towards impact; while ii) ensuring that lag is maintained in the early downswing, so that casting is avoided - by using the right shoulder/arm, and not a pivot-drive action. 

I believe that a right arm swinger must get into the same position as Hogan in image 5 - note that his right elbow is approaching its pitch position in front of the right hip, and note that his right elbow has not straightened. Also, note that his left wrist is still fully upcocked, and that his right wrist is still fully dorsiflexed. How does a right arm swinger accomplish these goals?

When I studied the golf instructional advice of "right arm swinging" golf instructors, they offered no useful advice on how to accomplish these goals. In fact, their primary recommendations seemed counterintuitive, and even counterproductive - because they concentrated their golf instructional advice on a "right forearm or right hand throw action", which I believe must be preceded by a right arm-induced PA#4 loading/release procedure . Consider what they recommend in their swing video lessons or books.

Tom Tomasello produced a swing video lesson relating to his ideas about right arm swinging at a late stage of his life [9].

At the 5 minute time-point in the chapter 1 video lesson, he starts to talk about, and he demonstrates, how to perform the "right arm swing" action - and he states-: "the right forearm must throw the clubshaft down onto the plane, and that action will uncock both wrists in a karate chop motion". 

What he is describing actually happens in the mid-downswing and not the early downswing. He doesn't describe how to mimic Ben Hogan's early downswing action that allows the power package to remain intact in the early downswing. I think that many beginner golfers may misunderstand his advice, and prematurely straighten their right elbow in the early downswing. I think that Peter Croker's advice is even more problematic.

Peter Croker article in Golf Digest - http://www.crokergolf.com/golfdigestarticle1.htm

Peter Croker states that a golfer should think of throwing the clubhead at the ball as the first downswing action, and he recommends that the golfer should "feel" that he is pushing the clubhead down to the ball with the right hand.

In his book [10] Peter Croker recommends that a golfer throw the right hand at the ball.

Peter Croker's throw action - from reference number [10]

I have combined two images from Peter Croker's book. In his book, he states with reference to image 1-: "Practice swinging your right arm freely to the top"; and with reference to image 2 he states-: "Throw your hand at the golf ball".

I think that it is mistake to think of throwing the right forearm (as recommended by Tom Tomasello) or throwing the right hand (as recommended by Peter Croker) down-and-out towards the ball as the primary swing thought, because that will more likely result in a premature straightening of the right arm and also increase the likelihood of casting (prematurely losing clubhead lag).

I believe that a right arm swinger must try and get to Ben Hogan's positional alignment in image 5 in this next composite photo by "feeling" that he is firstthrowing the right upper arm (and not the right forearm or right hand).

Hogan's PA#4 release action - capture images from his swing video

The basic idea is that a right arm swinger must mimic Ben Hogan's positional/movement actions as closely as possible - by using the right arm in a "biomechanically correct" way.

I recommend that a right arm swinger start the right arm swinging action by simultaneously i) throwing the right upper arm and ii) thrusting the right shoulder downplane, so that they move at roughly the same speed. 

The right upper arm throw action is actually an active adduction movement of the right upper arm towards the right side of the torso, so that the right elbow is actively driven towards its pitch position in front of the right hip. During this right upper arm throw action, it is important to maintain the same degree of right elbow bend and the same degree of right wrist dorsiflexion (like Ben Hogan demonstrates in the above composite photo), so that the right forearm flying wedge maintains an unchanged relationship to the left arm flying wedge. 

If the right elbow bend is maintained during this active right upper arm throw action, then the right palm will be exerting a constant push-pressure against the left hand at PP#1 in a direction that is down-and-out towards the ball - see yellow arrow in image 5. In other words, the active right upper arm throw action, combined with an active downplane thrust movement of the right shoulder (that is simultaneously happening at the same speed), is responsible for releasing PA#4 - instead of the pivot-drive action (as occurs in a left arm swinger's action).

The amount of right upper arm/right shoulder active thrust energy required during this early downswing phase of activating, and then releasing, PA#4 is the amount necessary to supply the inert left arm with enough energy to easily freewheel towards impact in the mid-late downswing. A right arm swinger must notcontinue to actively thrust his right palm against the left thumb at PP#1 after he reaches the delivery position (image 5 above) because it is at this stage of the downswing that the left wrist will naturally start uncocking due to a centrifugal action (PA#2 release phase).

If a right arm swinger continues to actively thrust during the mid-late downswing, then he will end up drive-loading the shaft (like a hitter), because the right palm will start to apply a push-pressure against the aftside of the grip as the club releases. A right arm swinger must allow PA#2 to release passively via a centrifugal action (as occurs in a left arm swinger' action), and the right palm must not be pushing against PP#1, or against the grip, with excessive force in the mid-late downswing. 

In the mid-late downswing, the right elbow must start straightening (due to an active isotonic contraction of the right triceps muscle) and that active action will cause the right forearm to paddlewheel towards impact. During this "right arm straightening" action, the right palm will exert a push-force against PP#1/grip. 

However, the degree of push-force, that is operant during the "right arm straightening" action, should only allow the right palm to keep up with the left hand (as the left arm/hand freewheels towards impact due to the previously activated release of PA#4) while maintaining the appropriate amount of extensor action. In other words, a right arm swinger must closely mimic the power accumulator release sequence of a left arm swinger (4:2:3), and also ensure that the release of PA#2 and PA#3 is passive. 

If a right arm swinger attempts to actively release PA#2/3, then he will likely become a hitter, who drive-loads the shaft.

Each golfer needs to decide whether he prefers to be a right arm swinger or a hitter, and he needs to fully understand the differences in right arm action, so that he can efficiently execute the appropriate right arm actions in an efficiently time-coordinated manner. In the next section, I will describe the fundamental differences between hitting a right arm swinging in a step-by-step manner.