Mastering Your Left Arm Position After Impact in Golf: What You Need to Know
If you have played golf long enough, you know that having your left arm straight at impact is very important. It will ensure more power, higher ball flight, and better consistency.
However, nobody talks about what happens to the left arm after impact.
Does it stay outstretched toward the target, or does it fold up? If you are struggling to find a position for that left arm after impact, you are in the right place.
We will show you how proper left wrist position, rotation, and extension can help you get your club into the right spot and become more confident in your swing.
Left Arm After Impact (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.
Contents
Mastering Your Left Arm Position After Impact in Golf
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. As seen in this video, the motion should be much more natural than most golfers make it.
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 to Improve the Left Arm After Impact
Interestingly one of the best drills to work on to improve your left arm after impact is to take some half swings with just the left arm on the club.
You’ll immediately see why this idea of straight left arm after impact can cause issues with ball flight and the natural motion of your golf swing.
When you do this, you’ll feel the butt of the club pointing at the ball and the elbow pointing down.
Belt Buckle Toward the Target
Once you have the feeling and the position of the one-handed swings, you can then add in some body rotation to make this move more efficient and improve your chances of success.
The belt buckle should be rotating toward the target as your left arm is starting to fold up around you.
This position offers additional speed and consistency in your game.
Towel Under the Left Arm
One of the most popular golf drills is to put a towel under the right arm to maintain some connection in the backswing.
However, when working on the left arm position, you can try putting a towel under the left arm. This maintains width in the swing, helps you get solid contact, and even lets you feel what it takes to rotate the arm after impact.
Soccer Ball Drill
If you notice your left elbow is starting to fly away from you after you make impact, try this soccer ball drill.
Place a ball between your forearms and make sure it stays in place as you make contact, even just after contact. If the ball drops, your lead elbow will fly away from you.
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.
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