"Let the elbows separate 1/2 way back"

[mew09golfer]

Question.

In the soft draw pattern, Brian recommends allowing the elbows to separate about 1/2 way into the backswing. What does this accomplish? In my own case this plus allowing the swing to "cross the line abit" seems helpful, but counterintuitive.

[fronesis]

Originally Posted by mew09golfer

Question.

In the soft draw pattern, Brian recommends allowing the elbows to separate about 1/2 way into the backswing. What does this accomplish? In my own case this plus allowing the swing to "cross the line abit" seems helpful, but counterintuitive.

It accomplishes a lot of things. But chief among them is to correct a laid off backswing.

There's no reason it should be counterintuitive unless you have been taught or otherwise ingrained a very laid off backswing. But it wasn't counterintuitive at all for a lot of hall of fame players who did both of these things.

[glcoach]

The ball and chain of Golf Digest instruction is hard to let go of for some people. It was for me, I would be hitting it great, but noticing I didn't have some body part in the "Adam Scott" position and tear apart my golf swing so that it looked better. I ended up with a mess that Brian and I have worked hard to clean up.

The advice that the golf swing is like a garden finally got through to me that there is no magic bullet, just a lot of hard work to make a pattern effective.

[Jim Kobylinski]

Originally Posted by mew09golfer

Question.

In the soft draw pattern, Brian recommends allowing the elbows to separate about 1/2 way into the backswing. What does this accomplish? In my own case this plus allowing the swing to "cross the line abit" seems helpful, but counterintuitive.

It keeps the right elbow "flyn'" more which allows the club to get steeper and less laid off.

[puttmad]

It also helps you to prevent "packing" your right elbow into your right side, which gives you a better swing arc.....

[glcoach]

Precisely, steep is supposed to be a bad word in modern instruction no matter where it is used (backswing, downswing, etc.) but this has led to a bunch of people too laid off and underplane.

Don't worry about a word, phrase or body part...try it, not caring is liberating.

[Brian Manzella]

In the MLB "Home Run Derby" the other night, I didn't see ANYONE with a "top of the backswing" position that didn't look "arm separated."

Why?

So you have more to PULL ON.

And PULL INto position.

[birdie_man]

I'm not a baseball expert but I take it you're supposed to swing slightly down AND left yes?

I figured out this is why I have trouble with high pitches and hitting to opposite field. (I used to pull em a lot and esp. the high pitches)

[gravity003]

Sorry but I must disagree. Swing should be at a slight up angle. Think about it. Pitcher is standing on a mound and releasing ball over his head. Ball path is downward. If you swing down there is only point where bat swing plane and ball path intersect. If you swing on same plane as ball path you can be a little late or early and bat path can still intersect. This is for fast balls. Balls that break you have to swing where ball will be and not where it is at. Kinda like shooting trap or skeet. Put your shot pattern into the space the target is going to be when pellets arrive at that point in time.

[birdie_man]

Interesting...

Do you know this or is it a theory?

Mine admittedly is pretty theoretiCAL and I haven't played much baseball lately to try it out. I did get some of it from a buddy who went to college on a baseball scholarship.

I assume he must know some stuff but he very well could be off base.