If you're a right-handed golfer, your left arm leaving your side at the beginning of your backswing is often a sign you're trying to hit the ball too hard. When you try to hit the ball as hard as you can, you often grip the club too tightly and end up relying on your arms, rather than your legs and torso, for power generation.
Rely on Large Muscles
You generate most of the power during a sports swing with your larger muscles, such as your legs, hips, thighs, butt and torso. Trying to hit the ball relying primarily on your arms causes the club misalignment many golfers experience. Practice your backward and forward movements without a club to feel how your legs press down, then up. Imagine that you are pushing your club backward with your shoulders, rather than dragging your shoulders and torso back with your arms. Practice your takeback with your club, trying to rely on your large muscles to move your arms backward, letting the club "go along for the ride."
Relax Grip
A tight grip is a sign you are trying to kill the ball using your arms. Practice your backswing with your pinkie fingers off the club. This will give you a feel for how loose your grip should be. Don't practice swinging forward with this grip, or you may lose your club.
Initial Move Backward
To keep your arms relaxed, make your first move backward a slight wrist cock, breaking your wrists backward. This will release tension in your forearms help you let your torso do more of the work. This movement should occur just slightly before you begin your shoulder and core turn. It should not be an independent movement followed by a pause, then your backward core turn. It should begin the upper body turn and be part of it, not separate from it.
Corrective Tip
Place a golf ball between your left elbow and your side. Begin your take back and let the ball fall naturally to the ground as your arms separate from your body during the backswing. Practice your backward turn without taking your arms back, just to get the feeling of making your initial turn backward with your core and shoulders, not with your left elbow coming out and your right elbow tucking in.
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