A good golf swing is the sum of many moving parts. However the initial movement, called the takeaway, actually needs to be one, solid movement. This is commonly referred to in golf as the one-piece takeaway and this tip, more than any of the others, will make a tremendous difference in the accuracy of your golf swing.
Think of the golfer as a grandfather clock. The head and body are the body of the clock. The shoulders, the arms, and the club are the pendulum that swings from
the center of the clock.
The shoulders, arms and club together form a triangle. This triangle is the onepiece. So when you do a one-piece takeaway, the triangle should move as one unit.
What will help you is to think of the shoulders, arms, and club as a unit that cannot make separate actions but can only move together or not at all. In other words, the arms don’t start moving back at the beginning of the swing. The arms wait for the shoulders to pull them back along with the club, while the wrists stay intact (meaning they do not yet start to hinge).
A good way to get used to this motion is to take a club and hold it across your chest. Fold your arms over the club. Rotate your body towards the target, then away from the target. This motion is the sensation of the one-piece takeaway. If your arms move independently of the shoulders, your swing results in an inaccurate shot. One simple movement ensures good form.
An additional note for right-handed golfers: In the one-piece takeaway the left elbow does not bend. By keeping your elbow straight, you keep the distance between the ball and your body consistent at impact. The left elbow should not bend until after impact when the club follows through around the body.