when to "cock your wrists" in your swing?

I don't think I'm using my wrists enough in my swing and it may be causing me to miss out on some power/distance. I've searched the forums here (didn't turn up much- probably not searching the right wording), as well as some online articles but I'm getting various info and most stuff google turns up are just webpages trying to sell a training aid or something...

Really, all I've gotten out of it is that your wrists should cock in a motion like tacking a nail with a hammer and that it shouldn't happen too late in your swing. So when should I be doing it?

Thanks for any help.

Well I was taught that when your left arm is parallel to the ground (at about 9 o'clock), your club should be perpendicular to the ground (at 12 o'clock).

Typically you should begin cocking your wrist right at your takeaway. How fast you cock depends...I know Tiger cocks a little slower than he used to and some people cock pretty quickly and right away.

The way I have always cocked my wrists is that I cock them immediately after my takeaway. Once the shaft is parallel to the ground in my takeaway, my club head should, at the same time, be perpendicular to the ground. This is an indicator for me that my club head is completely square after the beginning of my takeaway.

Wrist cock is something that should happing pretty naturally with a good takeaway and grip. I used to consciously cock my wrists but after working on my takeaway and grip it happens pretty much all by itself now.

Make sure you don't cup your wrist much(or at all) when your wrists cock. That's the slicer's death move, along with coming over the top.

this is probably the BEST response thus far... it should happen pretty naturally. That being said... some people do it a little earlier, some a little later... doesn't really matter as long as it DOES happen, and that the release is proper... no flipping, casting, etc.

Yeah i dont think about it either. Though i do cup my lead wrist a little at the top. Its a defensive mechanism to stave off a hook, which is my most common bad shot.

I agree with shortstop20 here. But what do you mean by not cupping the wrists? What is the difference of cupping and cocking them?

The way I see it, you have three ways to turn or cock the wrists. It's to the right, up and left. By turning the to the right you open the clubface and might end up with a slice. If you turn them to the left you shut the clubface and might end up with a hook. By cocking or cupping them straight up you don't alter the clubface, but get more angle.

I used to cock my wrists and turn them to the right. Today I don't even think about them. From adress to the shaft is perpendicular to the ground the angle stays the same, my wrists do not move, only the torso turn and arms raise. With an iron I don't want the club to go farther than slightly further than perpendicular normally. At that point the wrists may have cocked a bit due to the weight of the club, but I don't do the move consciously. With the driver, my turn is bigger and the arms turn the wrists further. With this, the wrists will cock from the weight of the club to where the shaft is parallell to the ground. At least that is what I'm trying to do.

Look at this swing by Tiger:



Until the club is perpendicular to the ground, the angle made by the arms and shaft are not changed. At the top, the club will by gravity be pulled down even more when he initiates the downswing with his hips. The initial angle is already there at adress. Try to take your grip and adress the ball. Then stand up, raise your arms straight up, don't change the wrists, keep the angle of arms and shaft. Then turn the shoulders. That's where you want to be.

You already have an angle at adress, when you reach the top it will naturally make the angle to somewhere around 90º. I've struggled with too much wrist action, these changes have made a big difference in my ball striking. Same goes with the downswing. If I keep the arms in front of my torso, rotate the hips properly and let the arms fall into the slot, the weight of the club takes care of releasing the wrists at the right time.

Here is another example with the driver:



The wrists only cock at the top because of the weight of the club.

The wrist cock will happen naturally, don't force it or think about it...your wrist will cock naturally in your backswing...remember, maintaining a cupped wrist will allow you to be square at impact(back of your left hand at your target) and the release through impact is more important.

If you cock your wrist intentionally and early, make sure you maintain the cupped wrist through the entire swing and have someone focus on your position through and to the top of your backswing, both swing plane and face angle. Cocking early can promote casting over the top, a change in swing plane and opening and closing the clubface.

Start your swing with your shoulders, maintain the triangle to the natural top of your backswing and your wrist cock should happen naturally

Scroll down to the bottom of this page: http://www.golftoday.co.uk/proshop/tuition/lesson8.htm

There are some drawings and explanations which helps you visualize this. Doing something intentionally can make you open or shut the clubface. If you let it go naturally, it will fall into the right spot. That is if your arms are at the right angle.

Thanks guys. I actually hit the ball straight fairly consistently for my level of experience. So I'm usually coming through square, so it might not be a good idea to start messing with this.

But I think I'm not really cocking my wrists at all right now and it's costing me distance. I still get okay lenght out of my clubs, but my drives aren't traveling as far as they were, even last season. Right now a good drive for me is 240-250 last year it was more like 280.

Learn to waggle and incorporate the waggle in your pre shot routine. It is the wrist cock and releases tension so you can hinge back. Also, buy a Swingglyde, about 30 bucks off line or in a golf store. It really helps you learn to feel a good wrist hinge and teaches you to swing to a on plane position at the top. You can also just swing back slowly so that the butt end of the club faces an extension of the target line behind the ball near the top of the backswing to get a good feel for this well hinged position. You will also see in this position, to be correctly on plane, the right arm has folded so the right hand is under the club and the elbow is pointing down. Work on folding the right arm correctly in the backswing and the hinge will happen more naturally.

[QUOTE=wachesawgolfer;282982. Also, buy a Swingglyde, about 30 bucks off line or in a golf store. [/QUOTE]

No way! I remember seeing these a long time ago, on some golf channel infomercial my dad was watching. I was young, but I have always thought that was a good traning aid to burn the proper swing plane into your muscle memory- didn't think they were still around. Thanks man.

Cupped and cocked are two different things. A cupped wrist through impact would leave the face open.

The difference is hard to explain. Imagine holding a golf club out directly in front of you parallel to the ground in your normal grip. The cocking motion is the one which would move the golf club towards the vertical so that it is perpendicular to the ground. A cupped wrist is even harder to describe. Imagine holding your left arm out in front of you with the palm open and faced down. If you bend your wrist back, that is a cupped wrist. To compare this to a cocked wrist, from the horizontal position, move your hand to the right without moving your arm. There is probably a much better way of describing this.

Hold your hand out directly in front of you with your wrist flat along your arm. Now tip your hand up so you can see the whole backside of your hand. This is a cupped wrist.

Hold your hand out directly in front of you with your wrist flat again, now bend your wrist so that you can see your palm, now your wrist is in a bowed position.

I can't add to the good comments already made. If you do a search for "Early Wrist Cock" or "Early Wrist Hinge" you will find some other discussion on this issue. I've tried the early wrist hinge and it doesn't work for me but you might find it interesting.

I am working on swing plane and wrsit hinge and have been trying to do as wachesawgolfer suggest and that is incorporating a waggle and relaxing wrists and grip as I take it away. Unless you are going to try an early wrist hinge a relaxed grip and wrists helps to get the hinge done. Too early to really say how well it will work in the long run for me. This is only swing change #300 for me.

Don't drills like the 'Y and L' drill promote a conscious effort to hinge the wrists far before they'd naturally hinge at the top of the back swing?

That's what confuses me. Normally I don't think about hinging my wrists but in 'Tour Tempo' they suggest these drills that seem to promote a relatively early, deliberate wrist hinge.

Any ideas? Thanks.