Stretch Your Golf Swing

How Moving Forward While the Arm Goes Back Generates Power in Your Golf Swing

In golf, tennis, baseball, and even throwing sports — the most explosive athletes know how to create and release tension. One of the most overlooked keys to rotational power is the contrast between the body moving forward and the arm staying back.

This isn’t just stylistic. It’s biomechanics. And understanding how to use this contrast is what separates smooth from stuck, and powerful from passive.

The Kinetic Chain: Rotation Built on Separation

In any rotational sport, force is built from the ground up. Power moves from the legs → hips → torso → shoulders → arms → implement (club, bat, ball).

But peak speed and energy transfer require dissociation — the ability for one part of the body to move independently of the others. This is most obvious during transition: the lower body starts moving toward the target while the upper body — and arm — are still coiling or resisting.

This stretch creates elastic tension across the torso and shoulder girdle, similar to a rubber band. The stored energy then unwinds through impact or release.

The Physics of “Arm Back, Body Forward”

When the pelvis begins rotating toward the target and the trail arm is still loaded behind the torso, the body is putting the arm under stretch. This sequence:

• Stores rotational energy across the chest and shoulder capsule

• Builds stretch in the latissimus dorsi, obliques, and pecs

• Enhances the stretch-shortening cycle for explosive release

According to Dr. Sasho MacKenzie, the arm-lag relative to the torso is a key contributor to clubhead speed in elite golfers. The same has been observed in baseball pitchers — the lead leg braces and drives forward while the throwing arm trails, storing energy until release.

"The best players delay the arm while the body rotates, creating maximal tension they can unload into the ball." — Dr. Greg Rose, TPI

Signs You’re Losing This Separation

• Arms fire too early in transition

• Club casting or early release

• Over-the-top downswing path

• Lack of power despite strong effort

All of these symptoms can come from poor kinematic sequence, where the body and arms move together instead of in coordinated contrast.

How to Train This Separation

Rotation First Drills

• Pump Drill: Pause at the top, then start the lower body while keeping the arms back. Feel the stretch, then swing.

• Step-Through Swings: Step forward with your lead foot as your torso rotates, keeping the arms soft and lagging.

Stretch + Strength Training

• Rotational Med Ball Throws: Emphasize loading the arm back while stepping into the throw.

• Split Stance Cable Rotations: Keep the trail arm back as the lead hip rotates forward under load.

Mobility & Dissociation Work

• Half Kneeling Windmills: Improve thoracic rotation without moving the hips.

• Wall Slides with Arm Lag: Keep hips square while reaching trail arm behind.

What the Research Says

• Studies on kinematic sequencing in elite athletes show delayed arm movement relative to torso rotation is a predictor of clubhead and throwing velocity (Cheetham et al., 2008; Fleisig et al., 1999).

• The stretch-shortening cycle of the lat and pec muscles is amplified by this dissociation and linked to higher speed and force output (Kibler & Chandler, 2003).

• Golfers who train lower body-initiated transitions see more consistent face angles and better ball speed (TPI, 2022).

Final Thoughts

Power in the swing isn’t just about how fast you can move — it’s about how well you can delay. When your body moves forward and your arm stays back, you’re building tension. The goal is not to release early, but to hold stretch and then unleash it at the right moment.

If your swing feels stuck, flat, or underpowered — check your sequence. You might be missing that moment of separation that makes all the difference.

At ATX Golf Performance, We Coach the Sequence

At ATX Golf Performance, we don’t just coach arms or legs — we coach the relationship between them. Our training integrates:

• Movement screening to assess your dissociation ability

• Rotational strength and sequencing drills

• Slow-motion feedback and video to retrain transition timing

We help players build the kind of tension-and-release swing that holds up under pressure and generates effortless speed.

Come train with us — and feel what real separation can do.