Mastering Your Backswing: Essential Wrist and Arm Movements for Beginner Golfers

Golf is a game of precision and technique, and one of the fundamental aspects of a good golf swing is mastering the movements of your lead arm and wrist. For beginner golfers, understanding how these elements work together can drastically improve your game and set you on the path to playing like a pro. In this post, we'll explore the basics of lead arm and wrist movements during the backswing, as explained by Nick Clearwater.

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Understanding Wrist Flexion and Extension

The Basics

The wrist can change position in various ways throughout the backswing. One key concept is the wrist's ability to flex (cup) or extend (bow). Many amateur golfers struggle because they start their swing with an excessively extended (cupped) wrist, which can lead to slicing the ball or hitting it too high.

Expert Example

Observing one of the best players ever, we notice that at address, he starts with a slightly cupped wrist. As he moves through his backswing, there is minimal change in the flexion and extension. This consistency is crucial as it helps maintain control over the clubface throughout the swing.

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Observing the Changes

Side and Front Views

When analyzing the swing from the side view, you'll notice:

• The wrist remains almost the same from address to when the shaft parallels the ground.
• It may appear slightly flatter at this point but stays mostly unchanged up to the top of the backswing.

From the front view, another dimension becomes evident:

• The angle of the wrist changes as the golfer cocks or uncocks it, making the shaft more vertical relative to the arm.
• At the top of the swing, the lead arm is fairly straight, with a 90-degree angle between the forearm and the shaft, an essential checkpoint for achieving the correct wrist flex.

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Practical Golf Tips for Beginners

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Keeping Your Wrist Relatively Flat

Golf Tip:

• Address and Backswing: Start with your wrist almost flat and avoid excessive cupping. This will help prevent opening the clubface too much and set yourself up for a clean and controlled shot.

Mastering Wrist Cocking

Golf Drill:

• Vertical Shaft: Practice cocking your wrist to make the shaft more vertical. An effective way to measure how well you're doing this is by using the Golf Deck app. Record your swing and ensure the angle between your forearm and the shaft is about 90 degrees when your lead arm is parallel to the ground.

Maintaining a Straight Arm

Golf Tip:

• Arm Position: To keep your lead arm straight, apply tension between your forearm and bicep. A useful drill is to place your right palm facing down and stretch your right arm out as much as you can during the backswing. This helps maintain the straightness of your lead arm by focusing on your trail arm.

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Putting It All Together

To integrate these elements into your practice routine:

1. Start with wrist cocking drills, ensuring your wrists are in the correct position as you swing to the top.
2. Practice maintaining a flat wrist by avoiding excessive flexion or extension.
3. Focus on keeping your lead arm straight using the tension method described above.

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Conclusion and Next Steps

By understanding and practicing these basics, you can significantly improve your backswing. Combine wrist flexion, extension, cocking, and arm position to form a powerful, consistent swing. Practice these techniques individually and then together to bring them onto the golf course.