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When in your set up position ready to play a golf shot, your left arm should be straight but your right arm should be relaxed and bent at the elbow, with the elbow tucked in towards your torso (for right handed golfers).

In very simplified terms, the position that you create at address is the position that you want to move back into at impact. The only difference between address and impact is that your hips will have rotated towards the target and your weight will be slightly more on your left side, with your right heel lifting from the ground and the foot rotating towards the target. If you create this position at impact and have a straight left arm positioned down and in front of the left side of your torso, then as the club head strikes the golf ball, the right arm can then explode with power from its relaxed, bent at the elbow position and extend into a straight position across the front of the body, driving the club head through the ball, as it injects speed into the club head through impact.

This action, of using the right arm as a lever through impact, creates powerful golf shots of maximum distance and can only be achieved if the right arm remains relaxed, bent at the elbow and passive from the address position, throughout the back swing and into the beginning of the down swing. The leverage action of the right arm extending and straightening only occurs through impact.

Setting up in the correct position, with a relaxed right arm, is therefore crucial to achieving maximum power with your swing. At address, work on achieving a straight and extended left arm position. The arm should be completely straight from the shoulder all the way down to the hand. However, even though it is straight, it should not be tight and tense, or locked at the elbow. It should be straight and relaxed. Your right arm should be very relaxed and bent at the elbow as it is the left arm that is dominant throughout the back swing in order to maintain the widest possible swing arc. The right arm should be passive and in the address position, it should be positioned so that the elbow is in towards the front right side of the torso.

Making your swing from this address position will give you a great opportunity of achieving maximum power and the longest golf shots that you can hit.

If you lock your right elbow out in your address position then you will not be able to create the correct position with your arms and torso to begin your swing from. Locking your right elbow and straighten your right arm will force your right shoulder into a higher position and make your shoulders become too parallel. This in turn will force your upper body and spine to become too vertical and as a result you will swing the golf club on too vertical a plane, resulting in a loss of power and issues with strike as the club head will connect with the top of the golf ball.

Starting your golf swing from a position that sees your left elbow relaxed and your arm bending will produce two issues in your swing. Initially, you will not swing with the widest swing arc due to the bend in your left arm and as such you will not hit the ball as far. The second issue that it will give you is that you will tend to strike the top of the golf ball as the club head will be lifted up from the ground, due to the shorter distance from your shoulders to the club head.

Locking your right elbow at set up and during the back swing is an incredibly limiting factor in making a good back swing. You will only be able to lift the club to around hip high before you feel that your right elbow needs to bend. Your right elbow should be flexed at set up and allowed to bend freely during the back swing.