Beginning players give away most of their power potential in the first few feet of the swing.

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They bend the right arm too much and pull the club behind them (left), which starts a chain reaction that robs the swing of speed.

Basically, the right arm gets trapped behind the body with no extension or width, so the player has to re-route the golf club dramatically to get it back to the ball. The result is a weak, arms-only swing that doesn’t take advantage of the leverage available from the rest of the body.

If you can start your takeaway the right way – with more extension or width in your arms – the rest of your backswing will unfold correctly, and the club will stay on a good plane (above). To get a feel for this, grab a shaft and a headcover and try the drill described above.

First, make a backswing and have a friend stick a shaft in the ground (headcover on top) as shown, so your hands just reach the headcover with your right arm extended. Then make slow practice swings, brushing the headcover with your knuckles. If you pull the club inside, you’ll hit the shaft with your club.

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