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Straight Arm Triangle

It is not uncommon for golfers to experience a mechanical "breakdown" when it comes time to add speed & power; this is especially true if it is a pattern that needs or has undergone some technical "re-working". Thus, when training, it is important to operate at a point that pushes our limits; this "dynamic" version of the Merry-Go-Round falls under this category and it is an excellent progression for players who:

Struggle with efficient torso orientation(s) under load.
Default to an"early-extension" OR "stall-flip" pattern
Rely on unnecessary upper-limb compensations during the release.

Tags: Poor Contact, Not Straight Enough, Early Extension, Release, Drill, Intermediate

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This drill is the straight arm triangle drill.

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So this is working on using your chest to control low point and working on a more of a

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stall pattern or trying to improve someone who doesn't keep their chest moving on the

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way through.

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So it's one of the classic triangle drills, so I'm going to keep my arms straight and

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I'm going to try and keep that right arm straight in the backswing and then I'm going to

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try and keep that left arm straight in the falter.

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Really going to feel like I do nothing with my wrist other than maybe a little bit of natural

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unhinging to help shallow it out and get the club all the way down towards the ground.

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But the main goal of this drill is those arms staying as straight as you can keep them

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and controlling low point by where the chest is.

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In fact, I like to do this sometimes I'll draw the low point lines and I'll work on just

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okay, if my arms are straight there I'd have a little bit of early extension and maybe

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too much side tilt to move the bottom of the swing back that way and then I'd have more of a

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stay flexed and turn to try to move the bottom of the swing there and then I'd try to find

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the middle where I stay a little bit more flexed in kind of my merry-go-round position and

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then turn my body while keeping the chest height down towards the ground.

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Many golfers, I find this very beneficial for golfers who have more of a stand up or more

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of a reverse thrust like this in combo with their hands flipping or for some golfers who

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reverse thrust and still keep their chest moving on the way through but hit a lot of thin

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kind of picky shots because the chest is out of position.

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So this is a way to kind of dynamically feel the merry-go-round drill while making contact with

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a golf ball.

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One common pattern that I'll see is often golfers when they're first starting this.

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Let's say there's my merry-go-round position when they first do this trying to keep the

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arms straight they might shank it or at the very least they will do that and they will come

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in very steep with the club face open and hit it way off to the right.

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So you'll see that again they will have the arms straight and then spin the upper body and kind

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of bring it too much outside in with the club face wide open.

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What usually happens there is this golfer would naturally bend those arms to balance that out.

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So my upper body would turn a little bit more level and my arms would come from the inside and

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had a lot of straight shots but typically struggle with that fat thin contact like a demonstrated

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there.

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So what you would have to do if that's your pattern which again is one of the more common

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patterns is you have to watch your your tilts and make sure that that right shoulder is staying

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down and the club is shallowing a little bit or coming from more of an inside path because of

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what the arms are doing not because of what the body is doing.

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So my arms are going to stay straight and I'm still going to monitor bringing the club

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into the golf wall on a slightly inside or a solid path and manage the club face with just a

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little wrist movement. If you do a lot of adjusting your swing with your elbows and shoulders

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this will help you to control it more with your wrists as well as with your pivot.

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Two good ways to help create a little bit more consistency especially with your short iron game.