Arm Position: Y In Your Swing

Video Transcript

Did you know that two of the least popular letters in the alphabet are “V” and “Y” and now are you wondering why in a golf format we are talking about letters of the alphabet. Well the reason we are doing that is so that you understand that when you put your two hands together your arms form the letter “V” and this is a normal starting position for a golf swing. Then when you add a club, that “V” turns into a “Y.” This lesson is about maintaining the “Y” and the importance of maintaining that “Y,” let me show you. When I go up to hit a golf shot I take my posture and you can see a very well defined letter “Y” in my set up. Upon the conclusion of this swing you also see a very well defined letter “Y,” one that is so well defined that if I turned around back to my set up and bent back over the club would still go right to the previous address position. That is crucial, because if your arms are breaking down during the shot you are losing accuracy, power and fun. You are curving the ball sideways where you don’t want to. So what I want you to focus on here is the letter “Y.” Now I am going to quiz you, have you been watching closely? To help me do that, and to help you do that, I have had a tube on my left arm. I was trying to see if you would catch me, and hopefully you did, and if you didn’t maybe this instruction isn’t for you, it might be too high tech. But the point is that at address the two arms and the club form the letter “Y.” As you swing back the “Y” bends a little bit because we have some wrist cock. As you swing forward that “Y” looks just like it did at address and that is going to help produce better shots. Let me show you the “Y” from a different view. Notice that it did not change. There is no twisting in the hands. Why? Because the “Y” is the extension that you are looking for through the shot. This is especially helpful information for those of you who swing outside in, because when you do we get the dreaded chicken wing. It can occur on the right side or the left, when it occurs on the left it is because your arms are breaking down through the ball as I see all slicers do. We can help fix that by hitting a lot of small shots, learning to get the feel of the “Y” through the shot. Once you get good at that you can move on to longer clubs and I guarantee you that it will start working with your woods, your driver, your long irons or whatever club it may be. Don’t forget the “Y,” it is really important.

John Elliott, Jr.
St. Andrews Golf & Country Club
3N441 Route 59
West Chicago, IL 60185
Tel: 630-231-3160

John Elliott, Jr., is listed as one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers and Golf Digest's #39 instructor in the world. He is the head professional at the Country Club of Ocala in Ocala, Florida.

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