The noted designer of the Tournament Players Club course in Ponte Vedra, Fla. with its famous "Island Green" on No. 17, Pete Dye will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame later this year.At layouts such as Sawgrass, Dye surely took into consideration how a player's swing arc affects distance both on and off the tee.The width of the golf swing arc is the space that the grip end of the club travels in both the backswing and forward swing, which directly affects distance and club speed.At address, the player sets the distance between the grip end of the club and the lead shoulder joint. This distance needs to be maintained to maximize the swing arc. If the elbow of the lead arm bends, the radius of the swing arc is shortened and potential speed is lost.During the backswing, players should strive to push the grip end of the club away from their lead shoulder, as they keep the lead arm straight. When the lead arm elbow bends, a golfer is past his or her personal flexibility level -- or what often is the case, has a backswing with too much speed. In order to help keep the lead arm extended, be sure that you feel your trail arm push out from the center during your backswing.As the club travels past impact, your trail arm now acts as the radius and stays straight, while the lead elbow bends. This allows your club to maximize its width of travel on both the backswing and forward swing.The bigger the swing arc, the more potential speed that can be produced. Still, the swing center must be maintained so that your swing returns to the correct impact position. The goal is to maintain a full width of arc on the back and forward swings to develop the maximum speed for your golf swing.To work on your swing arc, consider PGA Free Lesson Month throughout May. You can find a PGA Professional near you that offers complimentary 10-minute golf lessons by visiting PlayGolfAmerica.com and using the Zip code search.(Rick Martino is director of instruction at the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Contact him at pgalearningcenter<at>apgahq.com or at (800) 800-GOLF.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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