“1 arm golf is possibly the most enlightening thing you could ever witness in the world of golf” – David Lee
“It’s truly remarkable how well someone can play with only one hand on the golf club if they know how to move properly.” – Daniel Lee
1 arm golf can be played at a very high level, just ask some of the NAOAGA players who have broken par and shoot regularly in the 70’s & 80’s. Right-handed drills require the ultimate in timing and coordination between the upper and lower body, but can be executed so that they produce perfectly struck shots when done correctly. Right-handed drills can be done from a normal stance, with the feet crossed, or in a transfer mode with the feet in full motion to allow the player to feel the importance of proper footwork in the swing.
Training The Body From A Challenged Mode
Since the body is in a “weakened” condition of having only one arm on the club, it’s imperative that the arm be in its “perfect” plane for the shots to be properly executed. Remember that the ideal swing-plane is different for every person depending on how their individual bones are curved and how their mass is distributed on their frame. No one on earth can tell you exactly where your ideal plane is, but right arm only drills will let you feel exactly where it is because you can’t execute quality shots from the drill unless you’re in that ideal plane. 1 arm golf is going to be the key to teaching a 2 armed world what is has been missing in mechanics.
To start a right handed drill, the club should be gripped with the right hand only, at the same place on the grip that it would be if both hands were on the club for a normal swing. The grip should be secure and the right shoulder, arm, and wrist should be flexed and firmed up to a degree that when the heave is made to set the swing into motion, the core, the arm, and the club start back exactly together.
Setting A 1 Arm Golf Swing Into Motion
The heave that sets the arm into motion is powerful but brief, and is complete by the time the arm and club reach 8 o’clock when viewing the player from a facing position. The momentum from the heave alone carries the arm and club to the completion of the backswing with the elbow leading until approximately the 10 o’clock position. At this point, the elbow begins to roll over and lay into the “slot” as the shoulders complete their back-turn. It’s very important that throughout the backswing and the change of direction there is as much width in the shoulder joint as possible so that “slack” does not develop between the core of the body and the arm.
Once the elbow and arm have fallen a couple of inches as the shoulders reach their full turn, the counter-fall is complete and the forward turn of the body slings the arm and club through impact to the finish of the swing. The arm is simply going along for the ride and the power to move it in the delivery should be coming only from the centrifugal force created by the turn. If the arm interjects its own strength in the downswing, energy will flow back into the body, the swing-plane will change, and the shot will in all likelihood be miss-hit.
Right-handed drills can be done with any club, and when the ball is hit properly with a weight shift, the ball will travel about 75+% of the distance of a normal two-handed swing. They are great for making you super-sensitive to proper power application in the golf swing.
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