Improve Your Backswing with the Right Arm Jazzy Jeff Move

The right arm Jazzy Jeff move is a simple drill for finishing your backswing correctly after the takeaway. It teaches you how your trail arm should hinge and rotate as the club moves from the early backswing to the top. When you get this motion right, you can improve your clubface control, keep the club on a better plane, and avoid the collapsed or overly disconnected top position that creates compensations on the way down.

How the Drill Works

This drill starts from a good one-piece takeaway. From there, your job is to complete the backswing with the correct action of the right arm. Instead of lifting the club with your hands or letting the right elbow fly behind you, you want the trail arm to fold upward while adding a small amount of rotation.

A helpful image is the old “high-five” style motion: your right arm bends, the forearm rotates slightly, and the hand works upward in front of you. Another useful image is like you are tossing salt over your trail shoulder. Both pictures encourage the same pattern—an arm that folds and sets the club without getting trapped behind the body.

As the right arm works correctly, the club can move into a better top-of-swing position. The hand may move somewhat outside your body’s frame, and that is fine. The important part is that the right elbow stays more in front of the shoulder rather than disappearing behind your ribcage. The depth of the backswing should come more from your body turn than from dragging the arms too far around you.

This matters because a poor trail-arm action often leads to several common backswing issues:

An overly shut or open clubface
A club that gets too far behind you, affecting club path
A collapsed top position with too much arm fold and not enough structure
A difficult transition that requires timing and compensation

Step-by-Step

Set up in your normal posture and make your takeaway. Move the club, arms, and chest together until the club reaches the early backswing position.
Pause there and focus on your right arm. Keep your left arm relatively straight while allowing the right arm to begin folding.
Let the right elbow hinge upward. Think of the forearm working up, not just around behind you.
Add a slight rotation of the right forearm. At the top, the palm should feel more like it is facing somewhat back toward you rather than pointing straight toward your head.
Allow the hand to move naturally as the arm folds, but keep the right elbow roughly in front of the shoulder. Do not let it get pinned or thrown behind your body.
Turn your torso to complete the backswing. Let your body turn create depth instead of over-pulling the arms inward.
Repeat the motion without a club first. Then add the club and rehearse: takeaway, pause, Jazzy Jeff move to the top.

What You Should Feel

When you do this drill well, the backswing should feel more organized and less forced. You are not trying to manufacture a top position with your hands. You are letting the right arm complete the backswing in a way that supports the rest of the swing.

Key sensations

Right arm folding up rather than wrapping behind you
A slight forearm rotation, not a violent roll
The left arm staying relatively structured instead of collapsing
The right elbow staying in front of your torso
Your body turn creating the depth of the backswing

Checkpoints at the top

The club feels more set than dragged inside
Your trail arm is bent, but not jammed behind you
The clubface is easier to manage because the arm structure is better
You feel ready to start down without rerouting the club

If you tend to get stuck in transition or feel like the club is too far behind you, this drill should make the top of the swing feel much cleaner and more playable.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Letting the right elbow get behind the body. This is the big one. It often causes the club to get too deep and makes the downswing harder to organize.
Over-rotating the forearm. You only need a slight rotation. Too much can distort the clubface and create inconsistency.
Lifting only with the hands. The drill is not just a hand pickup. The right arm folds while the body continues turning.
Collapsing the left arm. Keep it relatively straight so the swing maintains width and structure.
Trying to create depth with the arms. Your torso turn should provide most of the depth, not a runaway arm swing.
Rushing past the drill position. Pause and rehearse it slowly at first so you can feel the proper arm action.

How This Fits Your Swing

This drill is best viewed as the second piece of the backswing. First, you make a solid one-piece takeaway. Then you use the right arm Jazzy Jeff move to complete the backswing into a strong top position.

That sequence is important because the top of the swing should not be a random collection of positions. It should be the natural result of a good takeaway followed by a correct trail-arm action. When those pieces work together, the club is more likely to arrive at the top on a usable plane with a manageable face angle.

That makes the next phase of the swing much easier. In transition, you do not have to make as many last-second compensations to recover from a club that is too laid off, too steep, too shut, or too far behind you. Instead, you can begin the downswing from a position that is already organized.

If you struggle with clubface control, a poor backswing path, or a collapsed top position, this drill gives you a practical way to clean up the source of those problems. Rehearse it slowly, blend it with your takeaway, and use it to build a backswing that sets up a simpler, more repeatable transition.