How to Golf with One Arm

Learning how to golf with one arm is not about overcoming a limitation, it's about unlocking a new, incredibly efficient way to swing a club. This article provides a supportive, step-by-step guide to help you build a consistent and powerful one-armed golf swing. We will cover everything from the grip and setup to the full swing mechanics and short game, giving you the tools to play with confidence.

Embracing the Challenge: A New Mindset

Before we touch a club, let's reframe the goal. A two-handed swing has many moving parts that can go wrong. A one-armed swing, by its very nature, simplifies things. There is one less arm to coordinate, making it much easier to keep the club on a consistent plane. Success isn't about brute strength, it’s about mastering three things: balance, tempo, and body rotation. Many golfers with two hands struggle their whole lives to feel the "body-led" swing that you are about to master a little bit faster. See this as an advantage. You are forced to use your body's big muscles as the engine, which is the foundation of every great golf swing.

The One-Arm Grip: Your Connection to the Club

Your grip is your only link to the club, so getting it right is fundamental. Most one-armed golfers find it more natural to swing with their leading arm (the left arm for a right-handed player, or the right arm for a left-handed player). This promotes a swing that pulls the club through impact rather than pushes it, which is generally more stable. We will proceed assuming you're a right-handed player using your left arm.

Here’s how to establish a solid grip:

• Find a Strong Position: Unlike a standard two-handed grip that strives for "neutral," a one-armed swinger benefits from a slightly "stronger" grip. This means rotating your hand a little more to the right so you can see two to three knuckles when you look down. This position helps prevent the clubface from opening during the swing, which is a common tendency.
• Hold it in the Fingers: Rest the club diagonally across the fingers of your left hand, from the base of your little finger to the middle knuckle of your index finger. Avoid placing the club too much in your palm, as this restricts movement and feel.
• Apply Light, Firm Pressure: Secure the club primarily with your last three fingers (the middle, ring, and pinky). Your thumb and index finger should act more for stability than pressure. You want the hold to be secure enough so the club doesn't slip, but relaxed enough that you don't have tension running up your forearm. Tension is the enemy of tempo.

Building a Solid Foundation: The Setup

With only one point of contact a to the club, an athletic and stable setup is non-negotiable. Your setup is where you build the foundation for power and balance - it prepares your body to be the engine of the swing.

Stance and Balance

Your base needs to be rock-solid to support a rotational swing. Take a stance that is slightly wider than your shoulders. A wider base lowers your center of gravity and prevents you from swaying, which is a common fault when trying to generate force. Feel the ground beneath your feet and distribute your weight evenly, 50/50 between your left and right sides. You want to feel athletic and springy, not rigid.

Posture: Creating the Right Angles

A good swing happens around your spine. Stand with your feet set, and then hinge forward from your hips, not your waist. Imagine pushing your bottom backward as if you were about to sit on a tall stool. Your back should remain relatively straight, and your arm should hang down naturally from your shoulder socket. How do you know if you are leaned over enough? Your arm should hang straight down. If it feels jammed against your thighs, you are too upright. If it is reaching way out in front of you, you are too bent over. Find that athletic middle ground where your arm just hangs comfortably.

Ball Position

To begin, keep it simple. For all of your irons, from a wedge up to a 7-iron, place the ball in the absolute center of your stance. As you move to longer clubs like hybrids and fairway woods, you can move the ball one or two inches forward (toward your left foot for a righty). For the driver, the ball should be positioned off the inside of your lead heel. Starting with a centered ball position for most shots, however, will make it easier to find a consistent bottom to your swing arc.

The One-Arm Swing: It's All in the Body

This is where the magic happens. The one-armed swing is not an "arm swing" at all - it's a body swing. Your arm is just along for the ride. The power comes from coiling and uncoiling your torso.

1. The Takeaway

The first move away from the ball sets the tone for the entire swing. Start the movement by turning your shoulders and chest away from the target as one single unit. The clubhead, your hand, arm, and shoulder should all move together for the first few feet. Avoid any temptation to lift the club with just your arm or to manipulate it with your hand and wrist. The feeling is a wide, connected sweeping motion powered by your core.

2. The Backswing

Continue that coiling motion. The primary goal is a full shoulder turn. As you rotate your torso, your arm will naturally lift and the club will hinge. Don’t force a certain position at the top. Your backswing should feel compact and controlled - it’s about the quality of the turn, not the length of the swing. The main checkpoint is to feel a stretch or "load" in your back and oblique muscles. You want to feel coiled like a spring, ready to release.

3. The Downswing: Unwinding the Engine

The downswing is where power is released. It starts from the ground up.

• Initiate with the Lower Body: Your very first move should be a small lateral shift of your hips toward the target. Think of "bumping" your front hip a couple of inches forward. This simple move shifts your weight correctly and drops the club into the right slot to attack the ball from the inside.
• Unwind the Torso: Immediately after the hip bump, let your core take over. The feeling should be one of unraveling or unwinding the turn you created in the backswing. Your chest and stomach should rotate toward the target, aggressively pulling your arm and the club through the hitting zone. The arm is passive here - it’s being pulled, not pushing.
• Release Through Impact: Let the momentum of your body's rotation carry the club through the ball. Don't try to "hit" the ball with your arm. Trust that the speed generated by your body's rotation is more than enough. You want to hit the ball first and then the turf, taking a small divot in front of where the ball was. This is the hallmark of a great strike.

4. The Finish

Don't stop the swing after impact. Let the rotation of your body continue all the way to a full, balanced finish. Your chest and hips should be facing the target, and most of your weight (about 90%) should be on your front foot. Hold that finish for a second or two. A balanced finish is a sign of a good, efficient swing.

Mastering the Finesse Shots

The short game is where one-armed golfers can truly excel, as it is all about feel and tempo.

• Putting: The putting stroke is a perfect pendulum motion. The one-armed stroke is almost cheating, because it eliminates the temptation for the other hand to get "wristy" or twitchy. Just let your arm hang from your shoulder and rock your shoulders back and forth. You can even place your other hand on your front leg or forearm to further stabilize the body.
• Chipping: Think of a chip as a slightly larger putting stroke. Use the same technique: firm wrist, and rock the shoulders. The motion is small and controlled. You are turning your shoulders through the shot, not flicking at the ball with your arm.
• Bunker Shots: This is arguably the most difficult shot with one arm, but it's very doable. Open your stance and open the clubface wide. Your goal is to swing with speed and splash the sand out about an inch behind the ball. The power and speed must come from your body rotation - don’t try to dig the ball out with arm strength. Use the bounce, or the wide sole, of the sand wedge to skid through the sand.

Adapting Your Equipment

You can make the game easier with the right gear. Consider getting clubs with lighter, more flexible graphite shafts. This will help you generate more clubhead speed without having to swing out of your shoes. Additionally, game-improvement irons with wider soles and more perimeter weighting will be far more forgiving on off-center hits. There's no shame in playing from forward tees, either. Golf is about enjoyment, so set yourself up for success.

Final Thoughts

Playing excellent golf with one arm comes down to focusing on the right things. A solid, stable setup gives you the platform, and a body-driven swing provides the power. It requires patience and a commitment to let go of any notion that you need brute force, trusting instead in the effortless power of rotation and tempo.

Learning these new mechanics requires smart feedback, but a coach can’t always be there with you on the course. That’s where our tool, Caddie AI, comes in handy. If you’re faced with a tough lie and aren't sure how to adapt your one-armed swing, you can just ask it for immediate advice. You can even send a picture of your ball's lie to get a clear, simple play. Having that kind of expert insight in your pocket gives you the confidence to focus on your swing and enjoy your round.