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The Modern Golf Swing Explained: Shallow Arms, Steep Body (Finally Makes Sense)

Cordie Walker GolfWell

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Want a modern golf swing that gives you more speed and more control? In this lesson, coach Justin Kraft - ‪@kraftygolf_‬ breaks down the modern pattern he teaches: shallow arm mechanics + steep body mechanics. You’ll learn how to control the clubface, shallow the club in transition, and stay in posture while you rotate through the ball.

Whether you’re a competitive player chasing speed or a mid-handicap trying to stop early extension and over-the-top moves, this video gives you a full blueprint plus on-range drills you can start using today.

In this video you’ll learn:
-What the modern golf swing actually is (and what changed in teaching)
-Why clubface control is the #1 priority in your swing
-How to build a setup that “earns the right” to rotate and stay in posture
-The perfect backswing to avoid getting too shallow too early
-How to shallow the club with your arms (trail arm external rotation + bowed lead wrist)
-How to keep your chest down and pelvis back instead of early extending
-Simple, repeatable drills you can use indoors or on the range

Chapters
00:00 – What is the “modern golf swing”?
01:06 – Lesson roadmap (6 parts of the video)
01:26 – Shallow arms, steep body: core idea
03:10 – Pro model: Michael Lassaso on Sportsbox
06:28 – Setup fundamentals: “earn the right” to rotate
10:28 – Backswing basics: don’t get shallow too early
13:18 – Backswing drills with alignment stick & feels
16:28 – Transition & downswing: arm shallowing (GG-style)
23:33 – Steep body mechanics: chest down & pelvis back drill
28:23 – Rotation & preset impact position drill
31:34 – Drill library: setup, backswing, downswing, over–under plane
42:18 – Who the modern swing is for & realistic expectations
43:59 – Final swing, recap & wrap-up

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20 Comments

@golfwelltv Creator 10 months ago Pinned

Was great to learn from @kraftygolf_ 🙌 Give him a follow and say thank you for sharing!! If you want a lesson from him check it out here.

@emitting 8 months ago

I must send this to all of my golf buddies. This is going to screw them up for a long time. 😈

@raymanwithaplan 10 months ago

I enjoyed his roasting during the drills

@ayotollaofrockandrolla7219 1 day ago

Good luck maintaining that

@Chris_Traynor 10 months ago

I repped this so hard for the longest time, but never found a way to reliably not lay it off too soon, and instead get backswing steep with the thumbs in that cross-the-line look. It worked for a while and I gained like 20-30 yards with most clubs, but then started shanking/ thinning/ topping. I found it ironic that such a clubface control-orientated swing could make contact so difficult, as in this video. When I got this working in backswing and transition it was bliss, but if even a little bit of early laid-offness crept back in I literaly couldn't hit the ball or even get round the course. Went from a 5hcp back up to like 10-12. In addition when I achieved the correct shaft pitch dynamically at speed in takeaway and backswing my wrist started cupping so much that even if I felt bowed again, the whip of the club cranked lead wrist into extension/ opened the face. Result? - I have gone from a compact swing and decent ball striker to looking like John Daley, but with none of the talent. Strike and clubface control are a complete gambleand I am only just starting to get my game back and shoot closer to par. Be careful with this method people. There's a fine line between it either making or breaking you. It is easyish with just the rotation on half shots, bbut once you swing at speed and the club wants to whip-crack and release golf can become unneccesarrily difficult. In my opinion, the coach who can come up with how to achieve and feel this dynamically for the majority will be the next big thing.

I am not against swinging like this, but want people to know what can happen. ps.- it is also quite hard to translate this to your sort game feels and half swings.

@SA-ks9vz 8 months ago (edited)

This "modern" golf swing was my golf swing from the 1990s, which coaches would try to teach me out of. Nice to see I was just ahead of my time.

@chazbo2672 10 months ago

Thx for being so generous in sharing your knowledge! Lots of great stuff. The pleasant irony in this generosity for golf teachers is that there are so many ways for a learner to have small but serious kinks in their swing, even as they think they are doing everything right, that live personal instruction will never become obsolete.

@Rd-bi7vr 10 months ago

Great topic guys ! Much needed

@user-kl2no3yd8u 10 months ago

This was a great lesson

@stevesmith7675 6 months ago

Thanks for sharing, Cordie. So much to learn there even for a seventy year old who DEFINITELY can't swing it like Lassoso. I'm a flat back and steep down, early extender. Running an alignment stick down the trail leg and the choking down the grip to encourage bending down more to hit the ball will help me switch to steep back and shallow down and reduce my early extension. New to the channel and really enjoying your content.

@Dr.DylanGriswold 5 months ago

Been working on it for 6 years.... Just finally making strong progress

@nicklewis4934 10 months ago

I think a stop at TPI should happen next. Would love to see if body restrictions play a part in actually being able to swing like this.

@JamesFehrenbach 10 months ago

Justin Kraft is a rising star in golf instruction. His teaching is clear, easy to understand and his drills produce results. His methods aren't trendy, they're grounded in getting to the right match-ups for each individuals swing.

@BasKryptic 10 months ago

So good! This universe is amazing as this is exactly what i've been working on for the last few weeks. Getting more steep with my backswing, not laid off. This is the plan for winter+

@AssistantProAD 10 months ago

Shouldn’t every teacher who is this good be the perfect golfer since they know the precise exact way to swing the club every single time lol

@MrAznperswayzn 5 months ago

This was so enlightening. Just realized my posture is too stiff

@Zephyr1968 10 months ago

Choked up swing with new technique 42:00 went as far as his full swing 177yards earlier. Modern golf swing is opposites attract, or every action is a reaction especially for more upright and weight forward at start and club more vertical/across the line, at the finish of the takeaway.

@Triis31113 10 months ago

Great video and swing looks nice

@williamcoulson4636 8 months ago

I just turned 40 and this video has helped tremendously with face control and strike location. I can't bend like the pros but moving closer to these positions by a few degrees has really helped.

@JoseLukasLegazpi 9 months ago

Awesome teachings-- more vertical shoulder turn and low arms are awesome. But...you have to have a left hand grip that is perpendicular to the left hand (parallel to the knuckles). Reason is a more vertical shoulder turn and lower L arm will get the hands both lower and closer through impact. So you need to get the radius (length from L shoulder to clubhead) shorter. The perpendicular L hand grip shortens it. Cheers