關於愛，我是個小學生。

Today we're going to talk about the absolutely critical transition move in your golf swing. And in particular, we're going to focus on the role of your arms. Now this is a big deal, so it's worth giving today's lesson a careful read. :)

For this demonstration I have taped a rubber driving range tee onto my lead forearm. The tee serves as a visual aid so you can clearly see the orientation of my forearm. Now with the tee in place, let's take a look at the first move down from the top of my backswing. 

Here are the key things to see:

- The tee has turned up towards the sky. The technical term for this is pronation, but you can think of it as my left palm turning down towards the ground or as my lead forearm turning up to the sky

- My right elbow has rotated down and 'under'

- My club shaft has flattened out very nicely

This is a great position to get into starting your downswing, and it's what I want all of you to work on at home. It's interesting to note that when you do this properly, your lead arm and club are actually moving away from the ball. This can make it feel super awkward as it's the opposite of most people's instincts. You're trying to hit the golf ball after all, so it can be tempting to go right at the ball with your first move down. But you need to resist this instinct!

As I transition into the downswing you can see that my elbows move much closer together. This happens primarily because my right elbow has rotated under. Now as awkward as this right elbow position might feel, it's actually quite similar to other sports. In fact Ben Hogan famously compared it to the sidearm throw in baseball in his book “Five Lesson.”

So don't worry if it feels unnatural at first, that just means you are swinging the club differently, and that's the goal!

Here's a great way to practice this at home:

1. Set up like you're going to hit a shot, and then swing the club 3/4 of the way back and stop.

2. Now practice the transition move from this 3/4 position, really focusing in on the rotation of your lead arm and the movement of your trailing elbow.

Here are a few more pointers to help you out:

- Be sure to maintain a nice light grip pressure

- Feel the weight of the club helping to execute the flattening movement. As that right elbow moves down and under, the weight of the club will naturally encourage the proper rotation of your forearm

- Get used to the feeling of the lead arm and club moving away from the ball as you start the downswing, making sure you resist the urge to swing out at the ball

Talk soon,

Zach