The Benefits of One-Handed Golf Drills

Since the new U.S. Open champion, Martin Kaymer, was shown on the Golf Channel practicing one-handed drills – and because we at Gravity Golf use them as a fundamental exercise, I thought it would be an appropriate time to discuss them in further detail.

Weakening the system by removing one or the other arm from the golf swing, awakens the brain to the impropriety of adding muscle as the club starts down.  Path integrity in a golf swing is a fragile thing – and much more so when swinging with one arm only, due to the fact that the stabilizing support of the other arm is missing.  The brain picks up on this very quickly and figures out that the arm and club need to be “riders,” not “hunters” in the swing.  In a single arm mode, if the player tries to “strike” the ball, instead of allowing it to be picked up incidentally by the swing, energy will backflow into the body and the swing-path will be easily violated (causing a miss-hit shot).  This happens in a normal two-armed mode as well, but to a much less magnified degree.  The proper sensation is that at the top of the back-swing, the ball is on the face of the club and not on the ground.  You should feel as if you are “slinging” the ball “from” the club-face, not trying to make a “union” between it and the ball at the actual point of contact.  Remember that in a proper swing, contact with the ball is made when you take your stance and posture, not in the down-swing.

When you are practicing with each arm alone, it is important to change modes with each swing.  Hit a right-hander, then a left-hander, then a two-hander – then start over. This is important because it discourages the brain from compensating for the use of excessive muscle in any of the three modes.  Understanding how “sneaky” the brain can be in its capacity to compensate is a subject for many articles – but for now, trust me, and change modes with each swing.

A player who is trained to the highest level, can not only hit any club in the bag “flush” with either arm, he can work draws and fades as well.  Doing this requires a little faith and some considerable practice, but it is well worth the effort because it causes the development of perfect swing technique.  Check out the one-arm golf drills on our website.

by: David Lee