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Should You Keep your Left Arm Straight?
When I ask amateurs if they should keep their left arm straight as they swing back or not, most of them may say left arm should be straight.
Lots of tour pros look like they keep their left arm straight, so you may think you have to do the same.
But Jim Mclean who is one of the most famous teachers in golf said that most PGA Tour players have some bend in their left arm on the backswing.
He said that the left arm should not stay locked during the swing.
For those who have a very flexible body, it may feel natural to straighten their left arms going back. That's fine.
But if you are like most players, you shouldn't try to keep it straight.
If you try to keep it straight, you might fail to transfer your weight correctly on the backswing.
You can have some bend in your left arm like Jim Mclean said. But you don't want too much bend.
You should extend your left arm as long as your left arm stays relaxed during the swing.
Lots of amateurs bend their left arm too much in order to lengthen their swing. But most of the time, they are not turning enough on the backswing, so they bend their left arm to compensate.
As long as you are shifting your weight fully to the right side, you don't have to worry too much about your left arm.
The Drill to Stop Bending Your Left Arm too much
If you bend your left arm too much at the top of your golf swing, it becomes harder to return your clubhead to the ball.
The key to fix your problem is in your right arm rather than your left arm.
Here is the good drill to avoid bending your left arm too much.
1) Hold your 9-iron with your right hand only
2) Put your left hand at your hip
3) Swing your club with your right hand only
Try to make sure that the clubhead speed reaches its fastest speed at the bottom of your swing.
After practicing without a ball for a while, you should go ahead and hit some ball with your right arm only. When you hit balls, tee it up.
When you go back to your swing with both hands, try to swing as if you are swing the club with your right hand only.
This is a very good drill to increase your distance and to fix your faulty ball flight such as slice or hook.