The right arm in a golf swing can feel like a complete mystery. For many golfers, it’s the source of that dreaded slice, the cause of weak contact, and the main culprit behind an inconsistent swing. You get told to use your body, but your right arm seems to have a mind of its own, lunging at the ball and ruining an otherwise good motion. The truth is, your right arm has a simple but powerful job. This guide will walk you through exactly what your right arm should be doing from address to finish, helping you turn it from a liability into one of your greatest assets for speed, consistency, and accuracy.
Everything good in the golf swing starts with a good setup, and the position of your right arm at address is no exception. Most of the swing’s problems are baked in before the club even moves. Many amateurs create tension right away by actively positioning their right arm, setting it up in a stiff, dominant posture. Instead, think of your right arm as a relaxed, supportive player in a bigger athletic motion.
When you take your grip, your left hand and arm should be positioned first. Then, as you bring your right hand to the club, allow it to approach from the side, with the palm facing your target line. As the source material highlights, you want the hand to go on in "the most neutral manner as possible." The middle of your right palm should cover your left thumb. This natural position ensures your right shoulder sits slightly lower than your left shoulder, an essential setup characteristic for tilting your spine properly and encouraging the club to approach the ball from the inside.
The goal is to eliminate any desire for the right arm to "take charge" from the get-go. It’s a passenger at this stage, ready to respond to the bigger an d more powerful movements of your torso.
One of the most common faults for high-handicappers is an independent arm movement to start the swing. Many golfers initiate the backswing by picking the club up solely with their hands and arms, immediately disconnecting from the body's rotation. This robs you of power and throws the club off plane.
The role of the right arm in the first part of the takeaway is to do almost nothing. It needs to stay connected to your torso's rotation. The feeling you are searching for is a 'one-piece takeaway,' where your shoulders, chest, arms, and hands all move away from the ball together as a single unit. Your right arm maintains its initial angle and spacing from your body for the first few feet of the backswing.
Thinking "passive right arm" during the takeaway is a powerful thought. It prevents you from yanking the club inside or lifting it too steeply, two of the main causes for an over-the-top downswing.
As your backswing continues past the takeaway and the club head rises towards your hip level, the right arm finally gets a more active role: it begins to fold. This folding action is what sets the club on the correct plane and stores a tremendous amount of leverage and potential energy.
Think about how you’d throw a football. You don't keep your throwing arm straight. You let it fold back into a powerful, coiled position. The golf swing is similar. As your torso continues to rotate away from the target, your right elbow will naturally start to bend. This is the wrist hinge and arm fold that the source philosophy mentions as essential for setting the club.
The key here is how it folds. You want the right elbow to point generally down towards the ground. A common amateur mistake is to let the right elbow flare out and point behind them, a move known as the "flying right elbow." This causes the club to get disconnected from your body and lift too vertically, forcing an steep, "over-the-top" move on the downswing.
This is where most golf swings are made or broken, and the right arm is often the prime suspect when things go wrong. If your instinct is to throw or "cast" the club from the top of the swing with your right hand and arm, you are killing your speed and consistency. Power does not come from consciously trying to smash the ball with your right arm from the top.
The power in a golf swing comes from the proper sequence. As the source material explains, the downswing starts from the ground up. Weight shifts to your lead side, and your hips and torso begin to powerfully unwind. Your right arm's first job in the downswing is to respond to this unwind, not to initiate it.
The feeling you want is for your right elbow to “drop” down towards your right hip. This move, often called "getting the club in the slot," is what allows the club to approach the ball from the inside, promoting a powerful draw shape and solid contact. Forcing the club outwards with the right arm from the top is what causes that steep slice move.
As your body continues to rotate hard towards the target and your right elbow is "in the slot" near your right hip, it's finally time for the right arm to straighten and deliver its stored energy. However, it doesn't "flip" or try to overpower your leading left arm. It works in partnership.
Think of your left arm as the radius of the swing circle, providing structure and width. The right arm acts like a piston, delivering force and speed along that structure. Through the impact zone, the right arm straightens powerfully, but it’s still being pulled by your body’s rotation. A great feeling is to imagine you are skipping a stone, where you let your arm release its energy through the target.
After impact, allow the right arm to fully extend down the target line as your body continues to turn. This creates a feeling of width and ensures you've released all your power into the golf ball instead of holding back. Then, as your momentum carries you into the follow-through, the right arm will naturally re-fold as it comes up and around your left shoulder.
Your finish position is a fantastic indicator of what your right arm did during the swing. As explained in the full swing philosophy, a balanced finish shows everything worked in the a proper sequence. When you've rotated fully, your right shoulder will be angled towards the target, and most of your weight (around 90%) will be on your lead foot.
In this balanced position, your right arm should be completely relaxed, folded comfortably across your chest or around your neck. There should be zero tension. If you finish your swing and your right arm is still tight and your weight is stuck on your back foot, it's a clear sign that you tried to muscle the ball with your upper body and right side instead of allowing your body's rotation to power the motion.
Treating your right arm as a supporting actor rather than the star of the show is a major shift in thinking. Its role is to transport, fold, drop, and release - all in response to the rotation of your body. By focusing on getting your right arm into the correct positions at setup, the top of the swing, and in the downswing, you can transform it from an engine of inconsistency into a reliable source of effortless power.
We know that taking swing thoughts from an article to the course is a challenge. That’s why we created Caddie AI. If you're on the range struggling to feel your right elbow drop, you can ask for a specific drill. If you start slicing the ball badly on the back nine, you can get a simple, actionable thought to help get your arm and body back in sync. It’s like having an expert coach in your pocket, ready to provide clear advice and cut through the confusion right when you need it most.
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