When you watch the Masters this year, you’ll notice a few things. The emerald green fairways. The old school scoreboards. The azaleas.
And maybe, even, the differing positions of players’ right forearm at the top of their backswing.
You’ve probably noticed it to some extent before, and maybe even wondered why there’s such a vast difference in this part of the golf swing. Of the 96 players in the 2025 Masters field, you’ll see 96 different right arm positions. No one position is best. It all depends on what fits your swing best.
Think of your right arm position at the top of the backswing as a spectrum. On one side of the spectrum are golfers whose right arm faces up towards the sky. On the other end, are golfers whose right arm faces towards the ground. Where each golfer falls on that spectrum—from pros to amateurs alike—depends on a few different factors, from arm length to shoulder flexibility, and of course, whether you can actually hit the ball consistently that way.
Let’s run through some of the different positions you’ll see taming the fairways at Augusta National this year using some examples from Masters participants of the past and present.
The two-man team over at Athletic Motion Golf, Golf Digest Top 50 Teacher Shaun Webb and Best in State Teacher Mike Granato, who have studied this position extensively, have some advice to help you for your own game.
Note: The pictures below are designed to be illustrative examples, not technical drawings.
Shane Harris
More external What it is
Technically every golfer’s right arm is in external rotation at the top of the backswing, but some golfers are more externally rotated than others.
If we define neutral as the top of the backswing as the right forearm pointing straight up and down, players who have more external rotation have their arm further behind this line, so the inner part of their forearm pointed up towards the sky.
Shane Harris
Why it happens
It requires a lot of shoulder flexibility to get more externally rotated at the top of your backswing, especially the higher your hands get on the backswing. That’s why players who get more externally rotated often swing their arms more flat around their body, with a shorter swing and their right elbow tucked into their side—because it’s easier to get more external rotation that way. They also tend to have stronger right hand grips, which can increase that shoulder range of motion.
Who to watch for this year
There aren’t as many players now as in the past, but Min Woo Lee and Nicolai Hojgaard have more external rotation than most.
Andrew Redington
What you need to know
“This position can limit power for a lot of golfers. It’s why you don’t see any long drive guys do it, and I wouldn’t recommend it for a lot of golfers,” Webb says.
“If you tried to throw a ball with your right arm tucked down by your side you could throw it a little straighter, maybe, but you certainly couldn’t throw it as far.”
Neutral What it is
Teachers tend to define a neutral right arm position as one that runs somewhere between straight up and down and matching the angle of your body, at the top of the backswing.
Shane Harris
Why it happens
This is the prototypical textbook position that many teachers like to move players towards. The middle of the bell curve. It doesn’t require an extreme amount of shoulder flexibility or major adjustments in the downswing to make work.
Who to watch for this year
Most players in the field land fairly close to neutral, but Ludvig Aberg and Rory McIlroy are the two most notable.
Andrew Redington
What you need to know
“If your right arm matches your spine angle, with your right tricep level to the ground, you’re in a pretty neutral spot. That’s our preference. A good way to check is to draw a circle around your head and a circle around your hands. I want those two circles to touch each other,” Webb says.
Some width in your right arm helps you get a full-body turn and blends power and accuracy…it’s what we see most of the best players do,” Granato says.
More Internal What it is
The more the inner part of right arm is pointing towards the ground, the closer your right arm is to internal rotation.
No golfers that I can think of actually get fully internally rotated at the top of their backswing, but four-time Ryder Cupper Eamonn Darcy came about as close as you can.
Shane Harris
Why it happens
The more you lift your arms up towards the sky or closer to your head, the more your shoulder is naturally pulled into a more internally rotated position. Often, golfers with limited shoulder mobility or rounded posture will see their shoulder pulled into a more internally rotated position at the top of their backswing, and it can be a precursor to an over-the-top downswing.
Who to watch for this year
Fred Couples is a classic extreme example. Shane Lowry has more than most, too.
Andrew Redington
What you need to know
“You’ll see long drive guys get their arm way up there, because they can get more power that way, but you have to be so much more patient coming out of the top of the backswing that way. It’s why you see guys who get up there have to have such slow and smooth tempos,” Granato says.
“When you get your arm all the way up there, you just have to put an extra move in to get it back down and make it work. It’s not easy, but some guys are able to do it,” Webb says.
Right arm ‘non-negotiables’ to remember
Ultimately, where you land on this spectrum depends on what you can physically do, and repeat with consistency. But when you’re watching this natural variation among pros at the Masters, Granato and Webb says their data shows that there are two non-negotiables that all these players have.
1. Right arm goes from narrow to wide
“A 90 degree or wider angle between your right bicep and right forearm at the top is our preference,” Webb says. “Pros start with their right arm more bent and get wider as they swing. Amateurs tend to start with it straight and then bend it more as they go.”
2. Arms lift and then lower
“Your right arm is allowed to lift in the backswing, and it has to lower in the downswing,” Granato says. “A lot of amateurs do the opposite. They lower on the backswing then lift on the downswing.”
So keep an eye out at Augusta National this year. Once you spot it, you won’t be able to unsee it. And now, you’ll know what it means.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
