Left Arm in Golf Swing Follow Through: What the Lead Arm Should Do After Impact

A straight left arm at impact helps you deliver speed, solid strike, and consistent ball flight—but what happens after impact matters just as much.

The arm should stay extended for a few inches, then fold with the elbow pointing down as the left hand moves under the right and the club releases around your body.

Lock it straight and you risk a chicken-wing and weak contact; flip it early and you’ll fight hooks and inconsistency.

In this guide, we’ll show how the lead wrist should be flexed at impact and then move gradually toward extension after impact to time that release. Wear HackMotion to see those wrist changes in real time and train the same, repeatable picture on every swing.

Left Arm in the Follow Through (Key Takeaways)

If you don’t have time to read through this guide on the left arm after impact, here are a few of the most important things to remember:

• After impact, the left hand should be under the right hand. This allows the club to rotate and turn around your body.
• Keep the left elbow pointed toward the ground; if it moves up towards the sky, you’ll feel that chicken wing move you want to avoid in your game.
• If you let your arms rotate naturally, it will also help to close the clubface. This position of the clubface closing as you go through impact will help you get straighter and more accurate golf shots.
• Always maintain your balance and posture as you move through impact. If you end up with excessive arm rotation and instability, you’ll hit a hook.

Mastering the Left Arm in Golf Swing Follow Through

Keep the Left Arm Straight at Impact

At impact, you’ll want to leave your left arm straight. If the left arm collapses, your ability to hit the ball and turf consistently will be compromised.

Most of the time, you’ll top the ball or hit it thin if your left arm is not straight at impact.

Since the left arm is straight at impact, expect it to also be straight for a few inches after the ball until it starts to fold up and rotate.

This is the natural movement of the arm in the golf swing.

Left Hand Stays Below the Right

One of the easiest ways for amateur golfers to think about the left arm position after impact is to consider the hands. At this point in the golf swing your left hand should be under your right hand.

Just after you make impact, the left elbow should point down toward the ground, not up to the sky. This lowers the position of the left hand and allows the right hand to come up over the top of the left.

Practice this first by just taking some swings with your left arm only where you feel the elbow start to fold up. Then, move to putting the other hand on the club and watching the way the arms naturally fold for proper rotation.

Lead Wrist Flexed to Extended

After analyzing more than 1,000,000 golf swings with HackMotion, we recognize the importance of lead wrist flexion at impact.

However, after impact, as the arms start to fold and rotate around you, you will see some extension in the lead wrist.

The best way to practice this is to work on some slow motion swings while you have your HackMotion wrist sensor on. The wrist sensor will measure your wrist angle at impact and then give you an indication of what is happening after impact.

You may not be allowing your left arm to rotate if you see the lead wrist stay in the flexed position long after impact.

Club Face Rotation

The ideal clubface position at impact is to be square to slightly closed. Once you make contact with the ball the clubface continues to rotate to a closed position.

This additional rotation of the clubface is the natural movement if the right arm is coming over the top of the left arm.

Check your club face position by looking at how much extension you have in your lead wrist at impact while wearing your HackMotion. You can also use impact tape or a launch monitor to see how good you are at squaring the club.

The Elbow Rotates and Folds

Many amateur players struggle with the idea of keeping that left arm straight all the way until they finish their swing.

This is actually not good for your game and could put too much pressure in your hands and wrists that it becomes painful.

Instead, keep your left arm extended but loose.

Putting tension in the lead arm and trying to hold that all the way through impact can negatively affect your impact position. Once you make contact with the ball, allow the left elbow to rotate and fold.

Maintain Posture

Finally, to ensure that the left arm is in the proper place after impact, make sure you maintain your posture even after you hit the ball. The right shoulder should stay down to maintain proper contact and ball flight.

Make sure you don’t let the right shoulder lift high, as you’ll notice it starts to change the position of your strike and create inconsistency in your ball flight.

Drills for a Better Lead Arm Follow Through After Impact

Take left-arm-only half swings to clean up your post-impact position. This shows you why trying to keep the left arm rigid after impact hurts contact and flight.

As you swing through, keep the butt of the club pointing at the ball and the left elbow pointing down, then let the arm fold naturally.

That simple feel keeps the face stable through impact, improves ball-then-turf contact, and removes the chicken-wing.

Here are a few more drills to help improve the left arm after impact.

Hit-Hard-Stop-Quick (Release Starter)

Trains shaft lean at impact and prevents the clubhead from overtaking the lead arm too early.

You’ll feel the left arm extend through impact, then fold naturally—not lock.

Arms-Parallel Rehinge (Progression)

Builds on Hit-Hard-Stop-Quick. You’ll carry that solid impact alignment into the follow-through, then add height and speed by hinging up, not rolling over.

Towel Under Lead Arm (Connection without Tension)

Keeps the lead arm connected so it can extend through impact and fold smoothly after (great chicken-wing killer).

Final Thoughts

At this point, you should now have a better idea of what the left arm does after impact and how you should train to get the club in this position.

Some golfers ask why the positions after impact matter, but these positions tell us a lot about what impact looks like, whether the club is in the proper place at impact and if you are getting your best ball flight.

Wearing your HackMotion wrist sensor will help you keep tabs on the left wrist and whether or not it’s in the correct position from impact all the way to follow through.