The Basic Steps to Perfect Golf.

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Passive -- Master - ( Changed 25/06/2008)


Throughout the complete golf swing the arms must remain totally passive to the movement of the shoulders.

This means that during the back swing movement, it is the rotational movement of the shoulders that push the passive arms to the end of the back swing movement, and when the shoulders reach the absolute limit of the back swing movement, a combination of the movement of the hips and the rotational movement of the shoulders literally swing the passive arms/golf club into and through the contact area.
( The arms must remain in a totally passive condition.)

To give you an idea of how passive the arms should remain as you perform the golf swing, perform this exercise whilst sitting down reading this web site.

Stretch your arms out fully in front of you at shoulder height, clasp your hands together as if you are holding a golf club and pull the elbows as close together as is physically possible. Now whilst keeping the arms in a totally passive condition, simply rotate the shoulders into a back swing movement - you will note that the arms automatically follow the movement of the shoulders.- The arms during this exercise must remain totally passive to the movement of the shoulders and this is how they must remain as you perform the back swing and the down swing movement.
Simply use the rotational movement of the shoulder to do all the work and keep the arms totally passive.

Alternatively perform this simply exercise:-

After adopting your normal stance position at the address, simulate the action of gripping a golf club but then allow the hands to come apart for a distance of about three inches.

Now draw the elbows as close together as it is physically possible, but continue to hold the hands slightly apart.

You will note that in order to maintain the gap between the hands as the shoulders rotate, you must jeep the muscles of the chest in a taut condition thus holding the elbows as close together as it is possible.

Therefore, whilst holding the upper body muscles in the firm condition and holding the elbows as close together as it is possible, but continuing to maintain the gap between the hands, use the left shoulder to rotate the shoulders into a full back swing movement, pause --- and then whilst keeping the chest muscles in a taut condition and the elbows as close together as it is possible whilst continuing to maintain the gap between the hands, use the rotational movement of the hips to cause the shoulders to rotate back to the original address position, and you will note that as you rotate the shoulders back to the original address position, the arms will lag behind the movement of the shoulders and it is the lagging effect of the arms that will allow you to literally swing the passive arms into the contact area.

At first you will find it very difficult to hold the arms totally passive to the movement of the shoulders, especially as the arms swing into the contact area, but experiment with this technique, but importantly, keep the arms totally passive to the movement of the shoulders until the club head makes contact with the ball and then whilst the shoulder/arms-unit resumes its rotational movement, simultaneously force the right arm into the fully straightened position.

If you can master this aspect of the golf swing, you will see a dramatic improvement in the striking of the ball.

 

Therefore in order to encourage the arms to remain totally passive to the movement of the shoulders you must draw the elbows as close together as it is physically possible.

When you do this correctly, although the upper body unit is firmly held together as a very compact unit, the forearms and the hands are totally relaxed.


No matter how passive you may think you are holding the arms as the shoulders rotate into the down swing movement, you will probably still activate some of the muscles of the arms.

Therefore you must keep the elbows held as close together as it is physically possible which neutralises the muscles of the forearms, thus forcing the arms to remain in a passive condition and allows the arms to be literally "swung" into and through the contact area, but to do this successfully you have to resist any involvement of the muscles of the arms and keep the arms totally passive to the movement of the shoulders.


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