The right arm in the golf swing completes a throwing like motion in the downswing after loading up in the backswing. The release of the right arm and should be natural utilizing throwing motion. In fact, some instructors will have golfers practice this throwing motion by throwing a ball down the target line or even a club!
Sometimes the golf swing can be confusing!
Right?
We have all stood over a shot and wondered what I am supposed to do with my right arm, or left shoulder, or my legs.
Sometimes we can be frozen by the over analysis and thoughts being circulated in our heads.
The game of golf is confusing enough. I finally found a way to make it more simple when I focus on two thoughts.
- What my target is!
- What do I want my right arm to do?
From there my body can respond to the target and task at hand to hit many of the shots needed to play successful golf. In this most recent season, I found myself striking my irons extremely solid, hitting 13-14 greens per round and shooting many scores right around par.
When we start thinking about what our left shoulder is doing or if I need to move my hips 45 degrees, all is lost. The average golf swing takes less than 1.3 seconds and the brain can only handle so much.
In fact, after I give my right arm the task, I simply focus on the target.
You see, many of us played baseball or other athletic based sports where a throwing motion happens quite naturally!
Think of this for a second, if I tossed you baseball or football to throw, would you think about what your legs are doing?
Would you worry about your release point, or would you simply look at your target and move your throwing arm accordingly?
You see it can be simple!
Below, I will dive into the role and function of the right arm in the golf swing and provide a comprehensive overview along with some tips and drills to help you start playing better golf today!
What Does The Right Arm Do In The Golf Swing?
A simple way to think of this is as you stand over the ball, you are taking your right hand back towards just above your shoulder and throwing the club head towards the target and hitting the ball on the way through.
Below I will dive into the following:
- The throwing motion of the right arm
- How the right hand releases
- Why this motion works
- Giving your right hand a task to complete
- Drills you can start today
Right Arm in the Golf Swing: The Throwing Motion
For years, too many golfers have struggled with properly release of the club from the still photos found in many golf publications that show this awesome position before impact where it appears that the golfer has a ton of lag.
While the golfer does indeed have some impressive lag, it is not a result of trying to hold that position or to create lag.
The reality is the position is the result of making a throwing like motion from the top of the backswing. Remember, the swing only takes 1.3 seconds and if you try to hold the release until that position your game will struggle greatly.
Instead, what you should do is start that throwing motion from the top and let it go.
Shawn Clement, one of the top youtube instructors around, has his golfers practice throwing old clubs down the driving range to get the feeling of the full release.
Mike Austin and his followers will often talk about the throwing motion and allowing it to go at the start of the downswing. The body will respond and the throwing motion will provide some excellent speed at the right time!
To learn more about the throwing motion and when to begin, check out this video involving David Duval: (Check out 1:27 into the video)
It might shock you a bit!
When I first saw this my mind was blown a little bit, but I went to work and start with this feeling. It provided about 3-4 extra miles per hour in the downswing that resulted in some nice distance gains.
Right Arm in the Golf Swing: How the Right Hand Releases
For years, the golfer was taught to turn the right hand over during the swing which resulted in some rather extreme forearm rotation. The conventional teaching had the golfer opening the club face on the backswing and then shutting it on the downswing.
For those of us that couldn’t get it quite right, we hit the occasional pull left and couldn’t eliminate either side of the golf corce. The release is vital in the swing.
So first we start with the throwing motion and then focus on how the right hand releases.
Mike Malaska shares his thoughts on this topic:
The right hand has more of a slapping motion, which allows the club face to be more stable through impact.
Instead of the right hand coming over the top, you can throw from the top, but have the right hand give more of a slapping motion instead of turning over.
Another great instructor that dives into this topic is Mike Bender. He believes in an arm driven swing and utilizing a throwing motion and allow the arms and hands to generate the speed in the downswing.
His approach is refreshing as it allows the golfer to play golf based on his or her athletic ability, instead of focusing on so many different positions in the swing.
Too many golfers are worried about the positions of the body instead of throwing and allow the swing to happen naturally. Golf is much more fun when we can be target focused instead of positional focused. S
top the madness and give this approach a shot!
Right Arm in the Golf Swing: Why This Motion Works
For years, golf was taught through still photos. While the intentions were good, the reality is that the golf swing is a athletic movement based on making an athletic, target based movement through the swing.
If you study the greatest swings of all time you will notice different grips, setups, stances, backswing, movements in the head, etc.
Best Swings of All Time – Check Them Out!
The moment of truth happens at impact. Most great golfers get to similar positions by impact and it starts with the right movement in the right arm and release of the club face.
I believe Ben Hogan was once quoted as saying he wished he had three right hands. Make sure you utilize your right hand and stop trying to drag the handle to create lag.
One of the most mind blowing videos and drills of all time is the Monte Scheinblum drill that you have to check out below:
This video and drill is wonderful proof of this motion and the importance of throwing the club and ending the journey to hold lag and create it.
Right Arm in the Golf Swing: Giving Your Right Hand A Task To Complete
Mike Malaska has spent more and more time on the position at impact and training your right hand to get to the impact position, which matters the most. He believes in starting with the right hand and training your right hand and arm to get to the right impact position.
Your body and mind have some wonderful abilities to complete task based and target based approaches to the game.
The game can be more simple than it has been for so many golfers. Free yourself up and allow your athletic, task based approach to take over. Find that target, give your right hand the task and get out of the way.
Stay tension free, have some confidence and start hitting the shots needed to bring some consistency to your game!
Right Arm in the Golf Swing: Drills You Can Start Today
Drill #1: Throw a golf ball at the golf ball
- Put a golf ball on the ground.
- Setup as if you were you going to hit a shot.
- Place another golf ball in your right hand.
- Take a simulated backswing without a club, but with the ball in your right hand.
- Now throw the ball at the ball.
Drill #2: No Turn Cast Drill
- Setup to hit a golf shot.
- Move only your arms back without turn your shoulders.
- Now try to cast the club and hit the ball
Drill #3: Train Your Right Hand/Arm
- Setup and hit simple one handed chips with your right hand.
- Focus on your impact position and train your right hand and arm to get to the impact position that works.
- Work your way up to half swings and then add your left arms.
- Continue to focus on getting your right hand and arm into position at impact.
I have added a bonus drill to help you gain more speed. We all know the importance of adding distance in the game of golf!
Enjoy!
BONUS DRILL: Increase your swing speed through overspeed training
- Check out SuperSpeed Overspeed Training Protocols
- Train every other day for 10-15 minutes.
- See a 4-6% increase in swing speed as early as the first training protocol.
The number one thing that has helped me gain significant distance is the SuperSpeed Training System. This overspeed based system where you train every other day for about 10-15 minutes with different swing sticks can help you increase your swing speed by 5-8% which can be 20-30 yards. Who wouldn’t want an extra 20-30 yards. Plus it helps improve your mechanics.
SuperSpeed Golf – Use Discount Code Golfjourney365 for some savings!
The analytics are pretty clear on the importance of speed in the game of golf. Would you rather hit your approach shot from 130 yards of 160 yards? The answer is pretty simple! We know that over the course of time, we will hit shots from 130 yards much closer than from 160 yards, whether we are an average amateur golfer, a scratch golfer, or a PGA Tour member!
The key is having shorter approach shots, so we can hit the ball closer to the hole and then make more putts! Speed is king in the game of golf! Make sure you check out SuperSpeed Golf!
My Secret To Golf Improvement
Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently. About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage.
I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.
This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer. I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day. I can practice or play rounds of golf.
I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.
It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.
Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.
