This is by far my favorite video of yours. Getting the left arm off my chest is exactly what I need to work on. The difference is astronomical in my ball striking when I do. Thank you for ALL of your videos.
I've been teaching golf for 40 years I know who can teach and who cannot. RU-vid is littered with wannabe self proclaimed look at me golf teachers. I've been watching Monte for several years he's undeniably a GREAT golf teacher not an average teacher but a great golf teacher. What ever you do in life strive to be the best you can be. Monte not only has met that requirement he's exceeded X 10000 ... Consider yourself fortunate to study and learn under this superb golfing mind ( i do not personally know Monte so you can forget that) ...
Monte, Please keep the tips coming. This is fantastic. As a former 5 handicap who took 8-10 years off to raise my sons, this is making both my playing and explaining to my three sons much much easier. It is hell to get old and fat :) Thank you!! Jeff
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! This helped me so much. Discovering your videos has saved my golf sanity. Been playing 20 years and had hacked my way down to a 12. The way you described the double miss and the importance of getting my left arm off my chest, finally allowed me to fix the problem. I now focus on the 90 degree turn, getting my right shoulder toward the ball at impact, and getting my left arm off my chest. Hitting them straight and long with an easy swing now. Also, my new pre-swing mantra is 'Wasted motion is wasted energy'...a lesson I learned from another video of yours! Just wanted you to know that you helped another golfer out. Thanks!
The bloc and snapper have been blighting my game for too long. This is a great tip, excellently delivered and I feel incredibly relevant to me. Thank you
Here's something that has helped me get my left arm off of my chest... I used to stick my left arm into my chest to start my backswing. This brings the club back way too much inside. I started beginning my backswing with my hip turn, and just loosely slinging the club UP with my arms. My wrists now automatically set, and I'm not over swinging at the top(bending left arm). It also makes me focus more on my hip turn, and shoulder turn, instead of powering the club back with my arms. Your arms don't actually do a whole lot to get the club into position, as long as you turn properly. Try Monte's 90* up, then 90* flat, then turn. This will give you a perfect "feel" of where the club needs to be at the top. Incase you haven't seen it... Hold the club out in front of you around chest high. Now, hinge it straight up 90*. Then, lay it to the right 90*. Now, turn. There ya go!!!! Brilliant stuff.
Thanks Monte!!! I'm a single digit handicap and have never heard this before. When the left arm stays on the chest, you usually get a push or a snap hook. This has been my problem for years and could never figure it out. Played a points game today while concentrating on getting my left arm off of my chest helped me hit some long lazar shots at the green as long as I kept pulling with the left arm and turned to the left & under (inside the ball). I did win BTW!!! Love all your videos!! Super helpful!!
This is by far the best tip ever. I went to the range today and don't allow left arm to stick to the chest, and it works. My shots were so much better. I wish I had this tip when I started golfing. Thanks a bunch!
Wow.... inmediate improvement!! I made a quick search on youtube to find out why my left pectoral hurts when Im swinging & it's exactly because of that!!! I was not releasing my left arm. Like I said, inmediate improvement within the first 3 swings after trying this. Thank you thank you thank you
7 yrs ago, but still relevant today. This just gives me another thing to think about(sigh), but love the teaching style and how you communicate the swing theory. 👍How I wish I lived in Cali. I would love a lesson.
I discovered my issue of being stuck a while ago and watched dozens of videos on it but this is by far the best, simple and easy to understand and fits my issue exactly, I’m now getting the arm away from the body and the results are amazing, many thanks for a brilliant video.
Absolutely brilliant! Just what I needed to reinforce my own thoughts on this. Been struggling for years with the "stick the club to the torso" idiom. Just the recent weeks I've been figuring it out , after tons of work and trial and error, that the left arm (right arm in my case being a lefty) must release earlier in the downswing. And it works like magic!
finally, this swing lesson has stopped me from being trapped where I would either push the ball to the right or hit a smothering hook. thank you. !!!! Ben Rust
This is by far the single greatest golf tip I've ever come across. I suffered from pull hooks and pull slices with the occasional straight shot with the driver. I went to the range today and tried this tip of getting my left arm off my chest and I was immediately hitting straight drives 260-270 yards with what seemed like less effort than ever before. I would be lucky to hit 3 out of 10 that well before, and today I hit 9/10 like that easily. I'm blown away. Amazing, amazing tip that I've never heard from anyone else, and I've read/seen a great many golf tips.
Hello Monte, I've been golfing for a long time and down to 4 handicap. Watching this video and having not played for 2 years pretty much I went out and shot 3 over with a rake of missed putts. What I'm trying to say is now that my arm is correct its easy to start the ball on target and making it easier than it has ever been. Thank you so much! Will
really like your simple explanations Monte, your videos never fail to provide good tips and you are very good at explaining everything without making it confusing. Keep up the good work!
its early days, so i don't want to get to excited, but unsticking my right arm off my chest, ( leftie ) i am not entirely eliminating my slice. but hitting a lot straighter. finding lots more fairways. and consequently hitting much better scores. in my last 3 rounds, doing this drill. thankyou very much, for all your help monty. great coaching.
7 handicap here, who struggles with the occasional blow up round due to pour ball striking. I always come back to this video and the no-turn & cast when I need a reset. I've probably saved thousands of dollars in lessons just by keeping these things in mind during my range sessions.
"Pin the arm to the chest" . "Stuck" . This has been me for 20+ years. Monte has helped me more than I can explain. I could block it to the right, and I had a great snap hook .. most of the time. Some of the conventional golf swing theories don't work for every person, and Monte made that easy for me to understand. It is hard to have the same swing mechanics of a person who is 5'7 170 when I am 6'2 230. This video definitely applies to me. . maybe the best thing I have found about a golf swing.
Monte I stumbled onto your videos when looking for early extension help. I have a tendency to get the club stuck behind me on the backswing which I believe leads to this. I feel like this video would help with that issue as well. Subscribed!!! Cant wait to try it out!
At long last I have shallow divots that go straight, not deep ones that go left!. Monte has a good teaching style I am working his teachings into my swing. It makes so much sense to start the arms as fast as possible from the top of the backswing, for me it gets you into the slot easier than trying to drop the arms first.
I watch a lot of Be Better Golf and have seen your stuff with Brandon so I decided to subscribe to your channel. I really like how you keep the advice for only certain people. "This may not work for you" is what turns me on to this channel.
+2 handicap but inconsistent ball striker. I've never heard this at all. I tried it and the improvement was incredible. The ball flight was so much better. If anything I was taught the opposite (stay connected with a head cover under the left armpit). It leads to what you did at 3:40. Thanks for posting this video!
I am one of the thumbs up re this video. Very helpful; will work on it today; you nailed my dilemma for getting stuck. I am going to see if I can still rotate the torso as fast as I want in getting the left arm off chest; maybe u have a tip to go along with the excellent video in how to keep that left arm off the chest but also keeping it ahead of the turning chest (which creates my patented big block). My usual fix is to think of hitting a fade to get left arm off chest; works once in a while. I am saving up to travel to the left coast to get a lesson from you.
Good grief! You just described me to a T! I fight a low screaming pull hook, especially with mid or long irons. When I try to correct for it, I often hit long straight blocks to the right of my intended target. Ironically, the one key I’ve been focusing on is... you guessed it... keeping my arm pinned to my chest. 🙄 You explained this better than anyone watched so far. I’m definitely trying this out today. Thank you!
+Very well explained this is a problem I fight all the time. Blocks and duck hooks creeps up sometimes during a round of golf. Thank you for your advice.
Thanks so much for this excellent tip. I had a lesson a few years ago advocating the same basic concept from a dear friend and teacher who just passed away, and you reminded me of his advice. Your clear explanation and helpful caveats show that you are also a great teacher. Isn't this concept one that has also been used by some of the great swingers of the golf club, including Sam Snead and Bruce Lietzke?
Years ago I watched this video and it solved my problem. Today it was all the way around: I couldnt hit a decent shot with the driver until I started pinning my left arm to my chest as long as possible in the downswing, and then all shots went straight. Today the tip that works for me is just the opossite than the one on this video...
Hi Monte, thanks great tip. a few swing on the range and it certainly applied to me. Much straighter shots and was able to start getting a draw. I will certainly continue getting the left arm of my chest.
This is correct. From the top of my backswing I make sure the left shoulder goes to the same point as it was at address. This pulls the left arm through as described in this video. By using the shoulder like this you dont need to shove the hips around, as you instinctively have your weight on the left foot in order to move the left shoulder through. The club speed will make you rotate through. The only thing you have to do is make sure your head does not slide left with the shoulder, it (the head) must stay where it was at the top of the backswing. You do not use the arms or hands to hit the ball as the shoulder move has the power to zing the club through. If you do this then all shots will be available to you.
Cf. what John Jacobs always said about the biggest issue any player had to solve to make a good swing: the coordination of the body turn (absolutely essential) with the free arm swing (also essential), with an appropriate amount of resistance and stability by the lower body. He insisted that anybody who thought "turn only" or "arm swing only" was bound to fail. It's not one or the other. You swing your arms and club while the upper body turns. It's a balanced view of the swing that Scheinblum teaches consistently.
Hi Monte; I know you put this video up quite a while ago, but do you have any drills to help get that left arm forward? I've been doing the no turn-cast and it's been working great for me! Anything else?
Monte , love your video instruction. it looks like you are , how do they say, dropping in the slot. I am a very upright swing player and tend to get stuck exactly like you show in this video. If I drop my left arm off my chest or in the slot, my shot is powerful and straight. If I don't get my left arm off my chest, it goes off line and right. thanks for the tip, now time to practice.
Monte - Great video. I suffer from years of being told drop from the top and keep everything connected (clubhead covers under both arm pits drills!!!!). are we looking for more of a check swing/taking a pitch for a ball where we start to pivot and push the hands out towards target line extended behind the ball. And if you take the pitch for an intended "ball" sometimes we'd watch it into the catcher's mitt ... freeze that point at the end of the check swing -- hands still at shoulder height or higher (have not dropped); pivot started with pressure moving into the left heel and ... KEY: hands have moved out away from the back shoulder towards that target line (imaginary line extended back away from the ball). The hands would be as far out towards that line as possible and still at shoulder height. The bat would shallow from vertical to horizontal drastically (like an old Gary Sheffield move) Any other drills? I was thinking this check swing move (with some of these deliberate positions for feel).
I'll tell you what. This dude is a golf genius. He has the 1 thing that makes a genius a genius. He looks at the trends and when they suck, he looks in the opposite direction. Golfers are no better now than they were when they were playing with terrible technology. In fact, many times they are worse now because when they get instruction they aren't making progress. There is way more access to instruction than ever before and players still aren't getting better. The first thing that he does is looks in the other direction. Problems casting, try to cast more...etc. It is actually the same in health care. When the trends are bad see what the normal trend of teaching/learning is and look in the other direction.
Hi Monte! When you say feel a freedom and club head speed and efficiency, I think I got this finally last night - posted to twitter. It felt like my body was quite still though which was a little weird to say the least having been told to use the"big muscles" for years. It was almost like my arms/shoulders were spinning freely around my spine. Feels aren't real I know but, does it sound like I'm on the right track? If you have time to reply thanks in advance, if not, love your videos and thank you for sharing your knowledge and outlook :) Hopefully next time you come to the UK I'll make it :)
In the past I did online lesson at athlete nation, but they are closing down in a month. You can squeeze one lesson in for now and I will have a new platform I will announce on my blog at montescheinblum.com
This is something I work at, but in a different fashion. When I begin the downswing I try to separate my lead shoulder from my chin and the arm follows. I will try your way as it my be easier to repeat. Thanks
Defo me. I got to 2.8 hcap in 3 years of golf, I've been stuck between 2.6-3.3hcap 2 years since, because someone said "You can't hit the golf ball too late!" So I've had it pinned across my chest "connected!" If you like, it's put me off golf, I've not played for a month due to shanks and nowhere near my ability. It's defo due to this, I know before even practicing it
Hey Monte I have been playing golf for around 29 years and have played to a 3 handicap at one stage. My scores I have drastically gone downhill over the years as I have got mixed up with my swing mechanics due to all the misinformation out there! I came across Jim Hardy's One plane truth video and realized that there are two different fundamentals out there for a one plane and a two plane. Long story short forgot about the video and went back to it the other day. Went to the driving range and immediately started hitting the ball straighter and further than ever before using a one plane baseball style swing. My question is what are your thoughts relating to the two different plane swings?
Great video Monte. When getting the arm off the chest, is this an active move of the arms/hands or is it "blasted" or bounced off the chest like some of the books talk about? Thanks in advance.
The best shots I hit I feel like I go back to an L position and swing the club down while rotating my body. The ball balloons off the clubface and I can hit the ball 160 with an 8 iron. Your videos have shown me how to do this but I'd like to make sure I'm on the right track. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks,
This film helped me hitting the iron shots long and straight! HOWEVER, it led to SHANKS in pitch and chi shots!!! I realize left arm off the chest is the reason for SHANKS in pitch and chip shots. What should I do to solve the shanks? Appreciate your advice on this. Thanks!
Despite all the different interpretations out there regarding 5 lessons, this is precisely what I believe Hogan tried to say in that book! Can't you achieve similar results trying to cut and close the ball at the same time?
8 handicap. I get club to good spot at top. Suffer from stuck elbow..steep..over, rotating hips that get club stuck behind me. Would the feel like swinging out to the left result in getting left arm off the torso.
Its very tempting to pull with the right arm/hand in the backswing (some teachers call it the lawn mower cord pull). This is what can get me stuck. Then instead of casting ill come over with my shoulder and pull the ball.
The left arm should be connected in the BACKSWING...in order to position the club on plane...in the downswing the left arm will come away slightly to free up the swing.
Left arm off the chest is the key to my golf swing. Question- Monte, how does this video work with your other video about keeping your elbows close to each other like Hogan did?
I used this tip yesterday. I am typically a scratch golfer to 5 over par. However, I pured everything and shot 4 under. I gained 10 yards on irons and they were like lasers. My only complaint was i lost about 30-40 yards on my driver lol. Typically around 300 but was only getting 260-270. I did have one at 315. But maybe the more i get used to it, distance will come back.
Monte thank you for the great tip! I will play a round of golf and have one or two holes that all of sudden start doing this block move hitting the ball at 45 degrees to the target line. This very frustrating please can you help me by pointing me to drill/video that will help me stop doing this? How do you stop it!!!
People go from casting the club (ball focus) to learning the release then they get stuck because history has told them that the correct angle of attack is wrong. So then you sort your release out and the correct angle of attack seems 'way out there' until you trust it. That is why it is so hard for 8-12 hcp golfers to keep arms out in front. They still remember the bad old days of the over the top early release and 25 yard slices.
If by "extremely athletic and difficult move to perform" you mean "pretty much impossible, and just about nobody who says they do it and who thinks they do it _actually_ does it," then yeah. It's one thing to have that feel (that the left arm stays on the chest and doesn't swing from the shoulder joint at all, while "the whole downswing is just rotation"), and depending on what's going on with somebody's swing and what needs to be corrected, maybe it could help somebody at some time. But factually, it's just not what happens. You're _so_ right.
Also dead right on speed. If your left arm is pinned to the chest while you try to swing the club forward, you're not going to be able to swing the club any faster than the torso can rotate, which is not very damned fast. You're just not taking advantage of the natural speed producers in the body and how the supporting mechanisms can support that motion, rather than take it over entirely or try to substitute for it.
My go to video along with a similar one from Bradley Hughes. Freedom and club head speed return straight away. I feel like I need to get disconnected to hit the ball great ironically.
True, it should come off the chest through the ball. But from the top, initially, there should be some pressure there, right? That's one of the TGM principles--a power accumulator.
So how should the left srm coming off tne chest feel? Would "dropping onto the slot" be a good way to feel it? Not sure what i should be feeling when trying this?
I kinda understand the backswing fundamentals. The eight position at the top I get...the problem is the downswing. Too keep from hitting the ground first on downswing, when should the rotation start? Or, am I missing something? I have a 3/4 backswing. Thanks
Thanks Monte!! Came back to this video after a while... I think you're spot on... So Dustin Jonhson, for example, appears to be "sticking his left arm" to his chest... but only to throw it away from it as fast as he can right ?. That works for me. I stick the left arm to my chest so that I can use the chest to help throw it away as fast as I can. My swing was horrible when I tried to leave the left arm stuck to my body during the whole swing. Lot's of over the tops and shanks... I even knew it was going to happen before starting downswing... Thanks again man!!
This is what I’ve been doing for years. Lower body turning so fast my arms get lost behind. While doing this o can swing the driver 110-115. But also hook the ball a lot and irons big draws. I can always make the “perfect impact “ look in a slow motion swing but full speed my arms and hands are always stuck back causing my arms to chicken wing and flip
Sorry but once again what somebody teaches and actually does are different. The lead arm in the downswing has to be connected to the chest and you should feel a pressure point there. This ensures that the body and arms don't disconnect because disconnection can cause massive inconsistency and a great loss of power. See Jim Maclean's video on the subject 'Left arm Connection -Video 5'.
Can you explain maybe a bit more on the how to get your left arm unstuck? As a hooker and blocker I feel like I may fall into this and assume the rest of the swing is somewhat normal.
He's right that a passive left arm-rotation swing requires some athleticism, but you don't have be Ricky or Rory to do it. But what it requires just as much if not more, is commitment and trust. It's really difficult if you've been releasing your arms forever, to let go of that and realize you will square it up. It's also critical you stop goat humping. That is a death move for the rotation player. So commit to one or the other, release the arms or rotate, but mixing it up is wish city. You'll spray it everywhere.
+MrLuigiFercotti man, you're so right... however... is not easy to really understand it... i needed 3 years to find that out by myself... i think more swings would become more repeatable if more people would understand that....
+Klaus Klaus It's a tough one to get. The clue is to look at someone like Rory and note their impact position. If the body is rotated through, the arms have to lag far behind verses what you see at address. You can't get that if you actively release your arms, if you do, then the body as be more square to ball to achieve a workable impact position.
This is the one thing I struggle with most in my swing. Do you have a drill for this? Its always on my mind in my swing but the last thing I think about when I am on the course.
The AMG guys are posting IG's right now that address this as well. It's a huge issue because, for some reason, ams like me feel like we shouldn't be swinging our arms "independent" of the pivot
in my quest to turn better and stop chicken winging I've become a "spinout over the top" guy. I tried this last night and had some success but pinning my left arm to my chest is completely ingrained. is there a drill or some sort of training aid (ie. the opposite of putting a head cover in my armpit to stop the chicken wing)? this is killing me. I shot better scores when I had half the distance and didn't follow through.
