Keep Swing Taut for Width; #1 Most Popular Golf Teacher on You Tube Shawn Clement

[claytronica23]

Shawn - great and critical clip here. In the pursuit of width, I have become fixated on a super straight left arm going back - similar to Els, who is nearly hyper-extended. All I seem to doing is adding tension to the arm unit, which results in "holding on" to the whole damn thing into impact and through - blocking shots right and never giving myself a chance to relax, stretch out, and release. Is it acceptable for me to abandon the notion of a dead straight left arm going back? Many thanks!

[clemshaw]

@claytronica23 Yes; you want to feel that the width is created by centrifugal force resulting from the body getting out of the way of the Arm club unit's swing; we have a few threads on this in my forum and you should check it out! See "arms and body timing", "stop crashing" and "top view of swing" for more on this as well as "Get Bubba wide"; they expand on this nicely; Shawn

[steckleinjr]

Another long golf season is over in South Florida. Time to re-feed my Clement addiction! Maybe i'll skip a rock or snap a towel or throw a club! You should be seeing a few of my canadian students this summer, aye! Least i can do. Hope all is well

[tfdoke]

I watched this video for about the 100th time today (like all your videos) and just thought is this why when you watch on TV the pros look like they are lining up to the ball and the ball is out to the very front of the club head (their arms are relaxed and not taut) then before they swing they taut their arms and the ball ends up being in the middle of the club. I think I have been lining up with the ball in the middle with "un-taut" arms and pulling the ball left...thoughts???

[jlnewma7]

At address, do you suggest an angle between the wrists and clubshaft (resulting in slight toe-up position) or more of a straight-line relationship with the taut elbows.

[AbbyCadaver01]

Good tip to review if you haven't played in a while to get thing back on track quickly.

Good suff!

[MrRichardbirkbeck]

Hi Shawn,

Feel like ive just got the last piece of the jigsaw. I've been trying all the other stuff on your vidoes but still i've been hacking up the turf or topping the ball. Realllly struggled to maintain constant good contact with the ball. Keeping the arms taut to the side of the chest and swinging forward before the backswing with a straight arm solved all the problems. Went from my average round of 100- 106 to 89 straight off!! Hope its not just a flash in the pan? Many thanks Rich

[clemshaw]

Hey Rich! Make sure you see my latest "Golf Pro lesson the insanity of golf" so that this issue does not return!

Shawn

[Michael10659]

Hi Shawn,

This taut arms technique (IMO) is one of the most important things in the swing. The taut arms will give you the width you need and help maintain all the other concepts you talk about. For most golfers if they are like myself tend to get lazy in mid swing and lose the taut, You have to maintain that taut sensation all the way thru. This was so the key for me. One other thing was the fact that I was a little to tall at address and adjusted that as well. I am CRUSHING my irons now

[clemshaw]

Way to go Michael! Stay tuned for a couple more videos coming in the next few days! Shawn

[cuechip]

Hi Shawn, I've almost watched all your videos, and I was wondering if this may be a reason why I've been hitting real fat shots lately. Once I tried this concept, no more fat shots! Do you think this sounds right? or am I just imagining things? Thanks!

[clemshaw]

Good! The thing that will seal the deal is the video I just uploaded called "Golf Pro lesson the insanity of golf" which talks about having the right focus that will bring about the solid contact and direction;

BTW, very sorry about not getting to this comment sooner! Shawn

[bluejfk]

The last part of moving to this swing was this part. It was hard for me as my right elbow was flying a little. The results occurred fairly quickly at the driving range. The hard part was taking it to the course. It is hard to think about your backswing and hit through the ball.

Also, this has also made my 1/2 3/4 shots a lot more consistent. FOR ME, thinking about the feel about how much the elbow is bent on the backswing is a much better thought than thinking where my hands need to be.

[clemshaw]

Very cool comment! Thanks!

Shawn

[jeffbass999]

Hey shawn. How much are one hour long lessons for junior with you. Should I try with on of the other proffesionals or are u better?

[clemshaw]

Hey Jeff; sorry for not getting back to you sooner;

Every one of our teachers on our team is great! We all strive to do better every day and genuinely care about your success; we get together every week to review and discuss how we go about teaching all aspects of golf to every level of player; you are in great hands here; Thanks for your comment and question; Shawn

[bluejfk]

I was turned on to Shawn's swing theories hoping to relieve some joint issues that I was having. Going into this new more nautral swing I thought I was going to get a higher shot dispersion than with the "Leadbetter" more mechanical swing methods. I was WRONG.

Over the past two months I have had the highest birdie to round ration in my life. When I get in a groove I am throwing darts from GW to 7 iron. Now I just have to get rid of the 3-5 severe tee shot farts that are still in my game.

[KingMada1]

Hi Shawn, it's acutally my first time watching a golf video, and I have a problem with my swine, I always hit the ball, dead on staight, but the ball always ends up curving to the right.

Can you let me know my problem?

Thanks.

[clemshaw]

I have 3 nice videos for you to watch; first you need to learn how to hook the ball in order to end the slicing: "Golf Pro lesson Hooks and Slices"; next you need to get deeper into it with "golf pro lesson be a solid ball striker" and "golf pro lesson tilted spiral" part 1, 2 and 3; especially #3!

All the best! Shawn

[Threadonaspool]

Your a legend Shawn! Cant wait to try out the bit at the end.... building up the momentum for the backswing.

What do you recommend for this; when I lift the club off the ground for my normal backswing, the face of the club will close slightly (maybe 5-10 degrees). Is this a problem??

I just think if I try what you have recommended in this video it might become a major issue.

[clemshaw]

Hey Man; no, not a problem at all! Impact is very different and you want to be square as the ball is coming off the face; and if you realize that the hands lead the face into impact you will see that the club face is more open than at address; see "golf pro lesson weak grip or strong grip?" and you will get it!

Shawn

[cuthbielad]

Hi Shawn, I struggled with the concept of taut because in order to maintain the tautness I used muscular strength, for me I swing best when my arms feel soft and my wrists are loose. For me an important distinction is not to employ muscular strength when swinging and as you say let gravity do the work.

[K4crasher]

Hi Shawn.

Just to say thanks for all of your video postings.They are starting to make a real difference to my game.

Looked at various experts on the web but you are my go to guy.

All i have to do now is save up my pennies to have some personal lessons from you in Canada.

Keep up the great work Shawn.

Lastly,what a fantastic swing you have.Can i buy it off you?

[clemshaw]

Thanks very much! You don't need to buy mine; it is way too much fun acquiring one for yourself! :)

Shawn

[sam979415]

but shouldnt your lower body resist against your shoulder turn.the x faxter

[clemshaw]

No way! Jim McLean apologized for being miss interpreted about this back in 2004! You must see my "golf pro lesson X-out the X-factor" and then see "golf pro lesson Learn your Golf Machine" and "Golf Pro Lesson Be a solid Ball striker" and you will see exactly what I mean; Shawn

[sam979415]

at the top of my back swing my club is laid off but i dont come up steep which is what normally happens.does anyone no what im doin and how to sort it out

[yc2s]

shawn, when I try to keep my left arm taut, I feel my arms very tight and I lose feels about my swing (and hit terrible shots). Am I over-doing it or it's the right sensation? I have this arm bent problem since day one I play golf and I really really want to get rid of it. any advice is greatly appreciated. thanks!

[clemshaw]

Yes! First you need to make sure there is no resistance in the backswing from your body to make the arms collapse against your rib cage so check out "no Bones About it" and then have a look at my "Left arm Straight?" video for a very intriguing solution!! Cheap too! All are on my "you Tube Shawn" page of my website...Shawn

[jimmya67]

Also, does the Hogan "arms close together" approach interfere with getting the "chest out" as you recommend in the Posture Integrity video? Thanks again, your videos are fantastic and you're an amazing communicator of the golf swing.

[jimmya67]

Shawn, I'm confused about where my arms should be in order to be correctly stacked at address. I've always followed Hogan's advice of arms close together (which you refer to here), arm pockets up w/elbows pointing to hips. This results in my upper arm/arm pit connected to my pectorals. But then I saw your Posture Integrity video and you said armpits s/b against my rib cage which increases the distance btwn my arms (and is really hard for me to establish at address). Which is correct? Thanks!

[clemshaw]

Great comment and observation;

Nothing is to be strained! Rib cage, pectorals, both! Feel a solid connection which should give you the feel that when you turn the rib cage out of the way in the backswing, it will toss the arms wide and away from the body into the backswing...see the "golf pro lesson be a better ball striker" video to see this in action with the perpetual motion drill; also the "no bones about it" video will shed some light...Shawn

[jwsmith00]

Shawn, you discuss Hogan a bit in this video. Specifically his idea that the elbows should be close together. But if you watch the Hogan DVD, they look what Hogan actually did, and his elbows were loose and free of tension at address. Hogan did NOT keep his elbows together at address. Venturi states that Hogan only had his elbows together at impact. When I follow this advice, I hit some very good solid shots. So should my arms be free of tensions or taut at address?

[clemshaw]

This is precisely why I did this video; because for some, they need more tone in the arms because they flop around too much during the backswing; for others, they require more finesse in the arms; only you can tell which works best;

Great comment! Shawn

[cmsima]

Shawn - I think this video has been a missing link for me. I'd like to clarify my understanding. Using your ball/string example. The ball represents my hands holding the club .. right? If I keep the string (arms) taut, the ball (hands) swing on a wide arc. And by the way, the clubhead goes along for the ride & gets catapulted into the ball. Right? My current swing thought is keep my arms relaxed and let the body move them while keeping the left taut through the initial downswing. Right?

[GUNman3893]

im just going to throw this out there is there a way that i could show you my golf swing so that you clould give me a quick analysis...thanks agian

[clemshaw]

Of course! I do many long distance lessons; you will see my rates at golflearningcentre dot com

I can have a quick look to give you an idea too; Just send me a link to your you tube vid from front, back and down the line with a 6 iron; Shawn

[taylorsir]

shawn, starting to suffer with tennis elbow could i be doing something wrong with this taut arms drill,right handed player,down to 7h/cap from 9,ps bit of a mix up with my comments, thahks

[taylorsir]

sorry shawn forgot to tell you its my left arm with tennis elbow, seen all your vids there great

[taylorsir]

great videos ,my h/cap had gone from 6 up to 9 after trying that x factor stuff,after seeing your excellent videos ive started to come back down and feeling more comfortable with my swing again ,please could we have little more on wrist action before and after impact thanks again

[stevedo61]

Are those cayman balls you're hitting?

[stevebee92653]

So, the hips turn with the shoulders? It sure looks more comfortable than what I was taught.......Thanks for the good stuff.

[clemshaw]

Yes, Harvey Penick and Bobby Jones taught this in the 1930's...Very powerful and effortless way to swing!

[itubeutude]

Excellent video again shawn. Can yoy talk a little more about the relationship between shoulder and hip turn. How much do the shoulders turn in relation to the hips?. I read a tip one day that said, "turn the shoulders, resist the hips for maximum coil".

[clemshaw]

Thanks very much! I just finished doing the Toronto Golf Show where we had a booth and gave lessons all weekend; too many golfers are confused about this X factor business and I will post a video today to help you understand this. Thanks for your question and stay tuned!