How to Implement Effective Arm Shallowing Like Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm’s swing can look unusual at first glance. The backswing appears short, the shaft looks flat, and the lead wrist is noticeably bowed at the top. But when you study it closely, you see something very useful for everyday golfers: he organizes several important pieces early, then relies on strong body motion and excellent timing to deliver the club.

If you want to improve arm shallowing without feeling like you have to manufacture a complicated transition, Rahm is a great model. His swing shows that you can preset some of the delivery conditions before the downswing even begins, then let sequencing do much of the work.

Why Jon Rahm’s swing is more conventional than it looks

Rahm does not fit the textbook visual that many golfers expect. His swing is compact, and the top position can look extreme because of the bowed lead wrist. Yet underneath that style are several classic fundamentals:

• Efficient sequencing from the ground up
• Shallowed arm and shaft conditions early in the transition
• Body-driven downswing rather than a hand-dominated throw
• Late trail-arm straightening for better delivery and extension
• Excellent follow-through structure, especially for driving the ball

That combination is why his motion works so well. The lesson is not that you need to copy his exact look. The lesson is that if you can simplify the arm motion and pair it with the right body movement, you can make the downswing much easier to repeat.

Presetting the shallowing motion

One of the biggest questions golfers ask is whether they must actively “motorcycle” the club in transition, or whether they can set up some of those conditions by the top of the backswing. Rahm is a strong example of the second approach.

At the top, he already has:

• A bowed lead wrist
• A relatively flat or shallow shaft plane
• A shorter, more compact arm swing

Those pieces matter because they reduce the amount of correction required in transition. Many golfers get to the top with a cupped lead wrist, a steeper shaft, and arms that have run too far. From there, they must make several difficult changes in a fraction of a second just to avoid a steep, across-the-ball delivery.

Rahm avoids that problem by arriving at the top in a position that is already close to what many players are trying to create during the first move down. That means the downswing can be simpler. Instead of making a dramatic reroute with the hands and arms, he can focus more on rotating, maintaining posture, and letting the club fall into place.

What this means for your swing

If you struggle with steepness, you may benefit from feeling as though the club is organized earlier rather than trying to rescue it late. That does not mean forcing an exaggerated bow or making your backswing artificially short. It means understanding that good arm shallowing often starts with a better top-of-backswing structure.

For many golfers, a more effective top position includes:

• A lead wrist that is flatter or slightly bowed rather than heavily cupped
• Arms that stop in sync with the body instead of continuing after the turn has finished
• A shaft that feels less vertical and less “lifted”

How the body makes the preset pieces work

Having a bowed wrist at the top is not enough by itself. In fact, if you simply bow the lead wrist and then throw the arms outward or straighten them too early, you can hit low pull-hooks very quickly. What makes Rahm’s pattern effective is the way his body rotation and side bend support the delivery.

From roughly lead arm parallel in the downswing to just before impact, his motion is largely body-dominated. The lower body and core lead, while the arms remain relatively patient. This is a critical detail.

Because he is not immediately firing the arms at the ball, he preserves:

• Shaft shallowing
• Trail elbow flex later into the downswing
• Clubface control through rotation instead of a frantic hand flip

As he approaches impact, his chest is open, his body is tilted appropriately, and his torso is working in a way that points the motion slightly out in front of the ball rather than collapsing toward it. This allows the club to approach from a strong, functional delivery position.

Why side bend matters

One reason Rahm’s bowed lead wrist does not automatically shut the face too much is that his body is not simply spinning flat. He has the right amount of side bend as he rotates. That helps keep the club traveling on a useful path and delays the rate at which the face closes.

This is important for amateur golfers to understand. A bowed lead wrist can be helpful, but only if the pivot supports it. If you stand up, lose posture, or spin the shoulders level without proper tilt, the same wrist condition can become very difficult to manage.

Late trail-arm straightening and why it helps

Another excellent feature in Rahm’s swing is how long he keeps flex in the trail arm. Many golfers straighten the trail arm too early in an effort to hit hard from the top. That usually steepens the shaft, narrows the arc too soon, and throws away the sequence.

Rahm does the opposite. He maintains trail-arm bend deep into the downswing, which gives him several advantages:

• The club stays behind him longer
• The shaft approaches impact from a better angle
• His body can continue to rotate without being interrupted by an early arm throw
• He can extend the arms through the strike instead of at the ball

This is a major difference. Good players tend to create width after impact, not lose it before impact. Rahm’s arms straighten on the way through, when the pivot has already delivered the club into a strong position.

The follow-through tells the story

If you want to know whether the release was efficient, look at the follow-through. Rahm’s arms extend beautifully after impact, creating a wide, balanced look. That width is not forced. It is the result of sequencing.

His body braces and rotates, while the arms remain free of excess tension. That allows them to lengthen naturally through the strike. For you, this is a useful checkpoint: if your follow-through looks cramped, bent, or jammed across your body too early, there is a good chance you are using too much arm effort too soon.

Why the bowed lead wrist does not automatically close the face

At first, Rahm’s lead wrist position can be alarming. Many golfers assume that much bow must produce a shut clubface. But the clubface is not controlled by the lead wrist alone. It is influenced by how the entire system is moving.

Rahm combines the bowed wrist with:

• Body rotation
• Side bend
• Arm motion working across the body correctly
• Delayed release timing

Because of that, the face is not wildly closed in the delivery phase. Instead, the bowed wrist helps stabilize the face and supports a powerful strike pattern. It also helps keep the low point and wide point of the swing moving forward, which is especially useful with the driver.

The key takeaway is simple: a wrist position only works if the rest of the motion matches it. Copying the wrist without copying the sequencing is where many golfers get into trouble.

A subtle release trait most golfers miss

One particularly interesting detail in Rahm’s release is how little the trail hand appears to dominate through impact. In high-level ball strikers, the trail hand often supports the club without overpowering it. Rahm shows this very clearly.

Through the release, the right hand appears to come slightly off the grip or at least lose some of its pressure influence. That matters because too much trail-hand pressure tends to throw the clubhead outward and left too early. When that happens, the club path can become overly left, and the release becomes more of a shove than a swing.

Rahm’s release looks different because the lead side is controlling the motion more effectively. The club can travel on a better path, and the face does not get over-manipulated by the trail hand.

What excessive right-hand pressure does

If you grip too hard with the trail hand or try to “hit” with it aggressively, you may notice these patterns:

• The club exits too far left too early
• You lose width through the strike
• The face flips closed or stays open depending on timing
• Contact becomes inconsistent because the release is hand-dominated

Rahm’s motion suggests a better model: let the pivot and lead side organize the strike, and let the trail side assist without taking over.

How to apply this to your own swing

You do not need to swing exactly like Jon Rahm to benefit from what he does. The practical goal is to build a motion that asks less of your hands in transition and more of your structure and sequence.

Focus on these priorities

1. Improve your top position
   Work toward a lead wrist that is flatter, a shaft that is less steep, and arms that do not overrun your turn.
2. Let the lower body and torso start down
   Feel that your downswing begins with rotation and pressure shift, not an immediate throw of the arms.
3. Keep trail-arm flex longer
   Avoid straightening the trail arm early. Let it stay bent while your body delivers the club.
4. Extend after impact
   Feel that the arms lengthen through the strike rather than trying to reach the ball too early.
5. Reduce trail-hand dominance
   Soften your right-hand pressure enough that the club can release naturally instead of being shoved by the trail side.

A useful practice idea

If you tend to overuse the trail hand, one of the best ways to train a better release is with lead-arm-only half swings. This type of drill can help you feel how the lead side controls the clubface and how the body supports the strike without a last-second slap from the trail hand.

When you do these correctly, you will usually notice:

• A cleaner sense of how the club should shallow and fall
• Better awareness of the lead wrist and forearm
• Less urge to throw the clubhead from the top
• A more natural, wider release through the ball

You can also rehearse slow-motion downswings where you pause at the top, feel a slightly bowed or flatter lead wrist, then rotate into delivery while keeping the trail arm bent. The goal is not speed. The goal is to train the sequence that makes arm shallowing happen without forcing it.

The real lesson from Rahm’s swing

Rahm’s swing is a great reminder that effective mechanics do not always look traditional. What matters is not whether your swing appears short or unusual. What matters is whether the pieces work together.

His pattern shows that arm shallowing becomes much easier when the club is organized early, the body leads the downswing, and the arms do not fire too soon. Add in a stable lead wrist, proper side bend, and a release that is not dominated by the trail hand, and you have a blueprint for more consistent ball striking.

If you want to use Rahm as a model, focus less on the appearance of his swing and more on the function. Preset better conditions at the top, sequence the body correctly, and let the arms extend through the shot. That is the part of his motion that can help your game most.