There is plenty about the golf swing that is confusing.

Especially for the beginning player, trying to understand the swing and all of its moving parts can quickly become overwhelming. The best way to learn the game is to attempt to break the swing down into various components. When you understand what each part of your swing is supposed to do individually, it will be far easier to bring everything together into a cohesive package.

In this article, we are going to talk about one very specific part of the swing – the role of your left elbow. To be clear, we are talking about the left elbow in the context of a right-handed golfer. If you play the game left-handed, the elbow in question would be your right. This part of the body has a very basic, but important, job to do as the swing develops. If you can make sure that your left elbow is doing its job properly from start to finish in the swing, one more piece of the overall puzzle will be in place.

Is your swing sure to work properly when your left elbow does its job? Of course not. There are plenty of other things to get right before you can come away with a successful shot. For instance, you need to have good balance, you need to rotate your body properly, and you need to keep your head relatively steady. If any one of those three points goes missing, even a perfect performance from your left elbow is unlikely to save the day. It’s a great idea to work on small things like the way your left elbow should behave during the swing, but always remember that you need a coordinated effort from your entire body to hit quality shots.

Again, this article has been written from the perspective of a right-handed golfer. If you play left-handed, please reverse all of the instructions so they apply properly to your game.

How It Should Look

To successfully improve on the way your left elbow works in the swing, or simply to confirm that you are doing it right already, it’s important to understand the goal. What should the left elbow be doing throughout the swing? In this section, we are going to walk through the entire swing from start to finish, highlighting what it is that the left elbow should be doing at every stage.

Obviously, when you are actually making a swing, you should not be thinking this through piece by piece. Instead, you should just be letting the swing happen, relying on your preparation to carry you through.

• At address. When you are standing over the ball getting ready to hit a shot, your left arm should be straight, meaning your left elbow should be straight. It is a relatively common error for beginners to think that the arms should be bent at address, but that is not the case. You should have your left arm in a straight position, and the right arm should be relatively straight as well (some golfers like to have a little right elbow bend at address). It does need to be noted that keeping your left arm straight does not mean you need to lock it out in a tight, rigid position. It should be relatively relaxed and comfortable, hanging down from your shoulder. Spend some time practicing your address position so you can get your left arm into the right spot without any trouble time after time.
• Halfway back. Most golfers and golf instructors think of the backswing as being halfway completed when the left arm becomes parallel with the ground. At this point, your left arm should still be in a straight position. You don’t want to have any bend in the elbow here, as that is only going to make it more difficult to achieve a clean strike when you return to impact. Yes, it is technically possible to play with a bent left arm at this point in the swing, and some golfers have made it work. However, for most players, the best plan is to keep the left arm straight as the club swings up toward the top of the backswing.
• At the top. We have now arrived at the top of the backswing, and guess what? The left elbow should still be in a straight position. This is where many golfers start to go wrong. In an effort to extend the length of their backswing, some players will allow the left elbow to bend as the backswing transitions into the downswing. Unfortunately, this is going to change the position of the club quite dramatically, and you might find it difficult to hit the ball solidly at the bottom. Rather than carrying on the backswing by bending your elbow, let your shoulder turn determine when the backswing is finished. As soon as your shoulders are done rotating away from the target, whenever that is, your backswing is complete.
• At impact. Yet again, the left elbow should still be in a straight position. Fortunately, this position is pretty easy to manage for most golfers, since the rotational force of the swing will naturally work to keep the arm straight. Most likely, your left arm is already straight when you strike the ball, but you might want to watch a recording of your swing on video just to confirm that is the case.
• Into the follow through. Finally, we reach the point where your left elbow is going to do something other than hold a straight position. As you swing up into the follow through, you can let your left arm fold up while your right arm moves into a straight position. Basically, the follow through is just the mirror image of the backswing. Going back, your right elbow was bent, and your left elbow was straight. As you swing through, the opposite will be true, and your left elbow will be bent at roughly a 90-degree angle when all is said and done.

There is a reason that the title of this article referenced the ‘simple role’ of the left elbow in the golf swing. As you can see from the list above, there isn’t much that the left elbow needs to do in order to get the job done. For the most part, it is just going to stay straight, providing a solid left arm that can swing around your body and propel the club into the ball. Only once the ball is gone does your left arm fold up, and even that movement isn’t one that you need to think about actively – it will just happen as a result of the dynamics of the swing.

Common Mistakes

Despite the fact that the left elbow plays a simple role in the golf swing, some players are still going to run into trouble. For that reason, we want to take some time to highlight some common mistakes. Stay away from these issues and your left elbow should perform nicely during each swing.

• Bend in the takeaway. With a little practice, you shouldn’t have much trouble placing your left arm into a straight position at address. However, you might find that you are tempted to bend the left elbow shortly after the swing begins. Many players struggle to find the right way to move the club back away from the ball, so some resort to bending the elbow to do the job. Needless to say, that move is going to get you in trouble. Rather than letting your elbow bend early on, focus on turning your shoulders away from the target in a smooth, controlled manner. While your shoulders turn, your hands and arms should be doing nothing except going along for the ride. As the backswing progresses, your wrists will eventually need to get involved in order to set the club, but your elbow should remain just as straight as it was at address.
• Forcing the backswing. We already discussed this issue in the previous section, but it deserves a little more attention here. When you get close to the top of your backswing, you may feel the need to force the issue and keep the club moving back as far as possible. Some golfers feel this is necessary in order to maximize their distance potential. Unfortunately, many negative outcomes can result when you are so insistent on pushing the limits of your backswing. Not only that, but forcing the club back farther even after your shoulders have stopped turning is not actually going to help you add speed and distance. When the shoulder turn is over, that should be it for your backswing. It’s just that simple. Let the rotation of your shoulders guide the length of your swing and start your transition down to the ball when the shoulder turn has been completed. This will help you to avoid the issue of letting your left elbow bend at the top of the backswing.
• Locking it tight. On the other end of the spectrum, you can also make a mistake with the left elbow if you force is to lock out straight so tightly that you aren’t able to make a smooth, flowing golf swing. The swing you make back and through should be free and easy, but that won’t be the case if there is too much tension in your body. Striking the right balance between keeping your arm straight and locking it tight can be tough to learn, but keep at it until you get comfortable. The goal is to have a straight left arm throughout the backswing and downswing without feeling any notable tension in that arm.

Unlike some other parts of the swing, you may find that it is actually pretty easy to sort out the way your left elbow works as you swing the club. This isn’t a complicated part of your technique, and just paying attention to it for one or two practice sessions may be enough to get it working properly.

The Value of Rotation

For some golfers, it seems necessary to bend the left elbow because they can’t figure out any other way to get the club to move back and through. To that group of players, the idea of making a golf swing while keeping the left elbow straight feels impossible, so they go ahead and bend the elbow to hit their shots. What’s missing for these golfers? Quality rotation in the swing.

The core of every good golf swing is rotation. Golf is not a lateral game, played by moving your body from side to side. Rather, it is a rotational game, played by turning your body in place while trying to hold your balance. When you feel what it is like to rotate and create speed, it will be like a whole new world has been unlocked. Rather than struggling to generate power through the hitting area, as was the case when you were sliding, you will not have plenty of power available. As far as the left elbow goes, players with proper rotation already present in their swings rarely need to think about it. The left arm will stay straight because it has no reason to bend – the rotation of the golf swing is taking care of most of the swing, so the left arm just goes along for the ride.

Since rotation plays such a big part in your ability to keep the left elbow straight, let’s take a moment to point out a few keys which can lead to good rotation.

• Deep into your knee flex. You might be surprised to learn that good rotation actually starts with your lower body. By flexing your knees significantly at address, you will be creating a solid platform on which you can rotate back and through. You don’t want to be so deep in your knee flex that you are uncomfortable, but make sure to at least flex enough that your lower body is engaged and ready to help you stay balanced. Not only do you need to start your swing with your knees flexed, but you also need to keep them flexed as the swing develops. With your lower body doing its job, you’ll find it much easier to convince your upper body to cooperate.
• Keep your chin up. When you are trying to make a full shoulder turn away from the target, you need to make sure that your chin isn’t providing any interference. If you keep your chin down near your chest at address, your left shoulder is quickly going to run into your chin shortly after the swing begins. Don’t make that mistake. When you settle into your stance, keep your chin up while your eyes are looking down at the ball. That will clear the way for your left shoulder and you’ll be one step closer to making a great turn on the way back.
• Take your time. Perhaps the biggest mistake the average golfer makes when it comes to rotation is simply trying to rush the action. The backswing takes time to develop – don’t rob yourself of that time in a hurry to get the shot over with. Remember, none of the speed in your swing on the way back is going to be carried into the downswing, so hurrying isn’t going to do you a bit of good. Give your upper body all the time it needs to rotate fully away from the target, and only start the downswing when you are sure that you’re ready. This will be easier to do successfully on the range than it will be on the course. During your rounds, you are sure to be a bit nervous and anxious, so do your best to calm yourself down before each swing. Take a deep breath before walking into your stance and focus on the task at hand.
• A right foot adjustment. If you aren’t quite satisfied with the status of your shoulder rotation currently, you can ‘cheat’ a bit in order to add some length to your turn. By turning your right foot out at address – meaning you will rotate it away from the target – you should find it a bit easier to make a good turn. It should be noted that this is only an adjustment worth making if you feel that your current turn is holding you back from reaching your goals on the course. As you get used to this new stance, make sure that your balance does not suffer. Specifically, make sure that you don’t fall into the habit of sliding away from the target in the backswing, which will be a little easier to do when your right foot is in an open position.

Without good rotation, it’s hard to imagine that you will ever be able to reach your potential on the golf course. Fortunately, just like everything else in your game, rotation is something you can improve with consistent effort on the driving range. We hope the tips above help you better your rotation in the weeks and months to come.

Left Elbow in the Short Game

We’ve talked a lot so far about how your left elbow should behave during the full swing, but what about in the short game? As you know, it is extremely important to perform well on and around the greens. Hitting a bunch of good full swing shots is helpful when trying to post a low score, but they won’t mean much if you waste shots in the short game. Take time to dial in your short game properly if you want to reach new heights on the links.

When putting, it doesn’t particularly matter if your left elbow is straight or slightly bent. You can feel free to settle into a position that is comfortable to you. Most players will use a ‘soft’ left elbow, meaning it is just barely bent and the arm is nicely relaxed. What is most important here is that you maintain the same elbow position throughout the entire stroke. If you start with it straight, it needs to stay straight until the putting stroke is finished. Just the same, if you start with it bent slightly, make sure it maintains that same amount of flex all the way through.

As you move off the green and find yourself chipping or pitching the golf ball, you’ll probably want to stick with the same straight left elbow position that you use in the full swing. While the rotation of your body is not such a concern here, you still do need to make clean contact with the ball. If you keep your left elbow straight, you will be able to control the position of the bottom of your swing nicely. The entire chipping and pitching motion can be a simple rock of the shoulders back and through, with just a bit of wrist action to help pop the ball into the air.

One situation where you may want to think about using a softer left elbow for a chip shot is when playing from the deep rough. If you need to lob the ball gently out of the rough, consider softening your left elbow at address and then maintaining that position as your swing. Some players will find that this technique gives them a slightly better feel for the club head, and they are able to control the shot a little better as a result. It’s never easy to control the distance of your chip shots out of the rough, but a soft left elbow may help you manage this task.

It's nice to know that not everything in the golf swing needs to be complicated. As long as you keep your left elbow straight during your swing, without creating too much tension, you should be good to go on this point. There are plenty of other keys in your golf swing to monitor, but getting this one under control is a nice step in the right direction.

So we have now established that we know the role that the elbow plays very important in the golf swing. We can now specifically look at the importance of the left elbow first. So when we set up to the golf ball, we want to make sure that we’re in that good left elbow position to start with. And I should start by saying apologies for this, that this is a sort of a right-handed person’s tip. So the left handed amongst you please just reverse this, I’m sure you’re familiar with that by now. But my front elbow, left elbow, front elbow; maybe I should call it my front elbow; my front elbow is a nice straight position at the start of the swing. So a lot of golfers set up the golf ball here. This might look comfortable and relaxed, but it’s no position for this front elbow to try and get back into the right place as I strike the golf ball. So my left elbow and my front arm start in quite a firm position, at the start position.

Important, I use the word firm and not locked. Locked is where the rotation of the elbow kind of points more inwards. Depending on how double jointed you are or how much flexibility, this will happen to a great or a lesser degree. But it’s important my arm is straight but it is not locked and there’s no tension in the fingers because my arm is straight. Generally when you lock your arm, your fingers might tense up as well. But my arm is firm and straight but not locked. Then during the back swing, the left arm, the front arm is going to maintain in that straight but not locked out position. So it’s extended away, but it’s not locked out and there’s no real tension through the shoulder and through the hand and the arm. So my left arm is going to be straight all the way through. Now a really good key way of helping you establish that position at such a balance in the back swing keep your elbows near to each other. There’s nothing worse in set up than somebody trying to get their elbows a long way apart, trying to create this gap here, this gap.

Then during the swing, they have a gap, hit the ball with a gap; it can never end well for somebody to swing like that. So we want the elbows to be relatively close to each other, feel like your elbows are squeezed in during the back swing, the elbows stay quite close together, and to the top, the elbows don’t part. They are a little bit of way, but they’re definitely not here away, which is a fault we sometimes see. So relatively close together with the left elbow. So elbow starts straight on the left side, squeezed in tight against the chest; elbow stays together in the back swing. Not too far apart from the top, and then again the point of impact, left elbow returns down to a firm, straight but not locked out position. If you can control the specifics of your front arm, left arm for the right handed golfer, you’re on your way to improving your golf swing definitely.