The left elbow position at address and throughout the swing.

[Anthony Rivers]

I recently came upon a swing thought while practicing at the range that I just had to share with everyone. After many years of constant change, I am at a point in my golf swing where with each infinitesimal evolution of positive change, I find myself fist pumping knowing that I'm getting closer to Golf Swing Nirvana. With the help of websites like mygolfspy, youtube and others, my golf swing, and control of the ball, has finally reached a point where I can almost taste the fruits of my labor.

The swing thought that's made my day in this 2020 annus horrebilis is something that I had recognized in the past but never gave it my full attention, and so never connected the dots as to cause and effect. The point I'm referring to is the Pronation of my left forearm at address and throughout the back swing. I'm referring to where the fold in the elbow is pointing.

My goal of having a quality swing with more power brought me to study Dustin Johnson and other's who share a similar wrist position at the top of their swing. Two years ago I attempted to forced my left arm to be more in control of my swing in an attempt to emulate DJ's wrist position at the top. In doing so my left hand's third finger suffered Trigger Finger; a painful swollen tendon caused from over use and strong tension to my left hand. After recovery... I went back to my previous swing and right hand control.

What I have just discovered is that with the simple change of pronating my left forearm which "looks" like a stiff left arm, I find that my left wrist naturally falls into a Palmar Flexion position at the top, and my down swing follows my One-Plane golf swing naturally down the line. This is one of those moments in my life where a major light bulb has come on. To finish up, my left forearm is not stressed or strained while the pointy elbow bone (Olecranon) is pointing towards my left hip bone. It does take practice for it to feel natural and create "muscle memory". While making my swing, I don't have to think about where my wrist is at the top anymore and pulling the trigger feels easy, with no fear or anxious moment. Consistency is what I'm striving for and I think I have taken a big leap forward. Feel free to comment. I wish you all the best in playing the game we love.