Ava Romero
A flying elbow in golf occurs when a golfer's trail elbow moves across and behind their body during the backswing, resulting in a flying motion. This can lead to several issues, such as slices, loss of distance, inconsistency in shots, and shoulder injuries. To cure a flying elbow, golfers must first understand the underlying cause, which is often due to poor posture, tight chest and shoulder muscles, or incorrect wrist position. The cure involves increasing chest and shoulder flexibility through stretching exercises like the Standing Arm Slide, improving wrist position, and practicing swing drills with proper posture and flexibility. Devices like the ArmAlarm provide real-time feedback to help golfers correct their flying elbow.
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What You'll Learn
Understand why the elbow is flying
Understanding why the elbow flies away from the body during a golf swing is crucial to correcting this issue. One of the primary causes is tightness in the chest and shoulder muscles, leading to a forward-bent or rounded middle spine. This tightness restricts the golfer's ability to fully rotate their shoulders and backswing, resulting in the elbow lifting away from the body to compensate for the lack of rotation.
Inadequate flexibility in the chest and shoulders can be addressed through specific stretching exercises, such as the "Standing Arm Slide." This exercise involves standing with your back against a wall or door and gradually increasing the stretch by sliding your arms upwards, helping to improve flexibility and reduce the tendency for the elbow to fly.
Another significant contributor to the flying elbow is incorrect wrist positioning during the backswing. When the lead wrist is overly extended at the top of the swing, it places the club in a steeper position, causing the elbow to separate from the body. By focusing on keeping the lead wrist flat or slightly flexed during the backswing, golfers can maintain better control and prevent the elbow from flying out.
Additionally, excessive use of the right arm and inadequate rotation of the shoulders can lead to the flying elbow. Golfers should aim for better shoulder and hip rotation, ensuring they don't rely solely on the right elbow for power. Drills such as placing a golf glove under the right armpit can help golfers feel more connected to their body during the swing and keep the elbow tucked in.
Poor posture, both in standing and golf address posture, can also be a factor in the flying elbow. Analyzing and correcting posture can help golfers maintain a more controlled swing and reduce the likelihood of the elbow flying away from the body.
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Improve chest and shoulder flexibility
To cure flying elbow in golf, it is important to improve chest and shoulder flexibility. Poor posture in standing and in golf address posture is often the root cause of the flying elbow. A forward bent or rounded middle (thoracic) spine due to tight chest and frontal shoulder muscles prevents a golfer from making a complete rotational back swing and placing the back arm into the proper position at the top of the backswing.
To improve chest and shoulder flexibility, you can try the following exercises:
Standing Arm Slide
Stand with your back against a wall or locked door. Walk your feet several feet away from the wall or door and slide your body down the surface until your hips and knees are bent at a 30-60 degree angle. Elevate your arms out to your sides with your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle and attempt to touch the back of your upper and lower arms flat against the wall. If you feel tightness in your chest and shoulders, do not force your arms to touch the wall. Simply hold the stretch for 2-3 minutes, or until you feel your muscles relax and you are better able to touch the wall. Once you can touch the wall with your arms by your sides, increase the difficulty by slowly sliding your arms as high as possible on the wall while maintaining contact with the surface. Hold the highest position for 2-3 minutes or until you feel your chest and shoulder tightness relax.
Forearm Rotations
Lie on your side and bend your knees up to hip level. Extend your arms straight out in front of you and put your hands together at chest or shoulder height. Lift your top arm and move it so it falls toward the ground on the other side until you feel a stretch. Bring your arm back to its original position and repeat 20-30 times. This exercise can also be done while lying on your back or sitting in a chair with a low back. Place a rolled-up towel or foam roller horizontally between your shoulder blades and tighten your stomach muscles.
Broomstick Stretch
Rest your elbows on a bench, chair, or similar surface, with your elbows and hands shoulder-width apart. Hold a broomstick or golf club in this position and drop your hips down towards your feet, so your chest drops towards the ground. Hold this position for 8-10 seconds and repeat 15 times.
Forearm Slides
Stand with your forearms against the wall. Place a foam roller between your forearms and the wall if desired. Slide your forearms straight up and down the wall, maintaining contact with the surface the entire time. Continue this motion for one minute and repeat two more times.
Soft Tissue Rolling
Place a tennis or lacrosse ball on a flat surface. Rest your forearm on top of the ball with your palm facing up or down. Slowly roll your entire forearm up and down over the ball 10-15 times, pausing on spots that feel sore. Flex and extend your wrists while maintaining pressure.
In addition to these exercises, be sure to warm up before golfing to get your blood flowing and prepare your body for intense activity. Stretching your shoulders, arms, and back before each session can also help prevent flying elbow.
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Fix incorrect wrist position
Incorrect wrist positioning is a common issue in golf, and it can lead to a flying elbow. The wrists move in three ways: extension/flexion, radial deviation/ulnar deviation, and pronation/supination. The wrist position must be correct at setup and at the top of the backswing to achieve a square and solid impact.
To fix incorrect wrist positioning, you must first understand the situation of your wrists and the club face at the top of your swing, and how to move towards a sound impact position. One of the most common wrist mistakes in golf is too much extension in the lead wrist, which reduces control, power, and consistency in shots. To avoid this, aim for a flat lead wrist position or a slightly flexed lead wrist position at impact. This will give you more time to square the clubface before you make impact.
You can also try the Hit Hard Stop Quick drill to stop wrist flipping. Swing fast, making sure your hands are ahead of the ball, and then stop as quickly as you can just after impact. This will help you remember the ideal position of lead wrist flexion and shaft lean at impact.
Another cause of incorrect wrist positioning is gripping the club too tightly, which increases lead wrist extension and makes proper wrist flexion difficult. To avoid this, focus on gripping the club in the fingers of your hand, rather than the palm, to improve your wrist action and generate more power.
Finally, to improve your wrist action, you can use a wrist sensor like HackMotion to record data at setup, the top of the backswing, and impact. This will help you measure and analyse your wrist action and ensure you are in the correct position as you play.
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Improve forearm rotation
To improve forearm rotation in golf, you must first understand the role of the forearm in the golf swing. The forearms play a significant role in influencing the wrists and hands, which are responsible for holding the club and controlling the clubface. The movement of the forearms directly correlates with the wrists and hands.
Poor forearm rotation can lead to either too much or too little rotation, which can cause an inconsistent swing. Therefore, it is important to find the perfect range of correct forearm rotation.
To improve forearm rotation, you can try the following:
- Use a golf glove or headcover under the right armpit to help you feel more connected to your body during the swing.
- Ensure your lead wrist is in a flat or slightly flexed position at the top of the backswing. This will help keep the elbow tucked in and closer to your body.
- Stretch and strengthen the chest and shoulder muscles to improve flexibility and range of motion. This can be done with exercises like the Standing Arm Slide or by using a device like the HackMotion, which measures forearm rotation and helps balance pronation and supination.
- Practice the Dynamic Transition Drill to master rotation from P6 to P7.
- Try the feet together drill to isolate forearm rotation and improve timing and control.
By focusing on these exercises and drills, you can improve your forearm rotation, leading to a more consistent and powerful golf swing.
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Practice with ArmAlarm
The ArmAlarm is a golf swing training aid that provides real-time feedback on the structure of your swing. It is designed to help with a number of "death moves", including flying elbows, which can be caused by poor posture, tightness in the chest and shoulders, and incorrect wrist position.
To begin using the ArmAlarm, set it up on or near your wrists. As you get more comfortable, you can move the device up your forearms. The ArmAlarm features a tether that is widely adjustable in length, allowing you to shorten it as you progress. This means you can start with the tether at full length and gradually bring it closer to your body as your form improves.
The ArmAlarm can be used in conjunction with regular golf shots without removing the device from your wrists. This allows you to practice your swing and receive feedback at the same time. You can also use the ArmAlarm with custom training videos and in-depth instruction to further improve your technique.
In addition to the ArmAlarm, there are other drills and exercises you can practice to help cure your flying elbow. These include the "Standing Arm Slide", which involves standing with your back against a wall and sliding your arms upwards until they are as high as possible without losing contact with the wall. Hold this position for 2-3 minutes or until you feel a relaxation in your chest and shoulders.
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Frequently asked questions
A flying elbow in golf is caused by a lack of rotation in the shoulders, which results in the elbow lifting instead of rotating. This can be caused by a forward bent or rounded middle spine, which is often due to tight chest and frontal shoulder muscles.
A flying elbow can cause shoulder injuries due to the excessive pressure placed on the rotator cuff and surrounding structures. It can also make it difficult to bring the club back on plane, which can result in slices, hooks, loss of power, and poor trajectory control.
To fix a flying elbow, you need to increase chest and shoulder flexibility. You can do this by performing stretching exercises such as the Standing Arm Slide. You can also try simple drills, such as placing a golf glove under your right armpit to help you feel the correct position.
Yes, there are tools such as the ArmAlarm that can provide real-time feedback when your arms separate during your golf swing. This can help you quickly identify and correct problems with your arm structure.
