Lag - Too Much of a Good Thing

Here's an image.

On the left, in red , I've drawn dots every few frames to show, effectively, the path my left thumbnail takes through the downswing from about P6 to P8. On the right, in green , I've shown my clubhead (sweet spot) path. I've drawn some other lines and things I'll talk about as well.

Lately, there's been talk by some former Golfing Machine guys that this point (kind of - but I'm not going to get into the details) reaches its low point before the golf club does.

To that, I simply say this: duh. I'm by no means a "Golfing Machine Literalist" (as they derogatorily refer to some people), but in virtually all good golf swings the clubhead reaches low point near to a point "beneath the left shoulder." If The Golfing Machine says that the hands reach low point there, too, then it's wrong.

The hands, common sense will tell you, will reach low point directly beneath their center of rotation. Where's that? The spine, between the shoulder blades. You'll see this marked with a dot in the image above (left). I've drawn an arrow down from there and, go figure, it lines up with the low point of the hands.

If anyone has been taught that the hands actually go down, out, and forward all the way to or even beyond impact , then it strikes me as common sense that they're wrong. If nothing else, consider the fact that the left shoulder is rising throughout the downswing. How could low point of the hands be beneath the left shoulder? It can't.

The club's low point can vary, and does quite dramatically in the swings of duffers. They flip - their left wrist breaks down and begins cupping or dorsiflexing before they've hit the ball or reached low point. They have negative shaft lean at impact - a shaft that leans backwards away from the target. They've prematurely lengthened the left-shoulder-to-clubhead lever. The radius from the shoulder to the clubhead is shortening as the clubhead passes beneath the left shoulder.

Okay, so what's this about?

The recent discussions have centered on how it's possible to have "too much lag." It's "been discovered" (I use that term loosely, since many people already knew this) that the hands reach low point sooner, and that you should not be taught to keep the hands driving down, out, and forward to or through impact.

Great. Perfect advice for someone who has too much shaft lean . Have you seen that guy? I've seen him once or twice. Virtually everyone else needs more shaft lean. They have negative shaft lean or a degree or two. Pros have less than many people think, but it's always roughly the same amount and it's always within a reasonable range. More with the short clubs, less with the long clubs, and virtually always positive (some might have negative shaft lean on teed balls, for example).

The truth is that virtually nobody teaches that the right forearm flying wedge should be maintained or that the flat left wrist should be maintained for long periods. The flat left wrist is a moment in time - ideally right around impact or just afterwards. To keep too much right forearm flying wedge is to fail to take advantage of the fifth power accumulator !

Consider this: when you slap someone across the face, do you hinge your wrist back and then just try to move your forearm as fast as possible, or do you quickly unhinge your wrist as your forearm approaches the cheek of the smackee? If you have any instincts at all, it's to do the latter. The right wrist is unhinging as you come into impact. The left wrist is going from cocked and rolled (or whatever the terms are - feeling a bit lazy at the moment) to less cocked and less rolled, but it's also possibly going into a more dorsiflexed position - after impact - but it's also adding speed to the clubhead.

Just as you wouldn't slap someone (if your intent is to really leave a good red mark) without unhinging your wrist, you don't hit the golf ball hard by maintaining the same flying wedge in the right forearm. It's coming out continually - it's being "thrown" - which affects the low point of the hands, the low point of the club, and more.

To the 99.6% of golfers who have too little shaft lean, they throw #5 too quickly (among other things - weight might not be far enough forward, etc.). These golfers might need to feel that their hands continue to go down, out, and forward longer. Or, preferably, they need to be taught how to delay the clubhead's low point so that they can get a little shaft lean. Not a lot - but a little goes a long way.

The questions should not be: what are the hands doing? Is the shaft is rotating around a point near the left thumb? The question should be: "can you teach this?" And I believe the answer is no: it's simply an observation, and one that you could have made without looking at 3D data or swing videos, but simply understanding basic geometry. The hands reaching low point somewhere near the right thigh (or beneath the midpoint of the shoulders) is a result of this basic geometry. The clubhead reaching low point afterwards is the result of other things in your swing, and holding just enough lag and properly timing its throw-out .

I've included this video in a few threads here. I like it, and I think 99.6% of golfers can learn from it.

Do you actually want to continue to have driving pressure (#3 PP) through impact? No way. It's not an efficient, optimal swing. Lynn Blake is correct: there are a lot of good "throwers" of the golf club out there. As in virtually everyone on the PGA Tour for a normal, full-swing type shot.

It doesn't take a scientist to tell you that.

Then again, I didn't teach max trigger delay for 20+ years and dig myself a big ol' hole. :-D

- I think Bobby's book is "okay" because, again, 99.6% of golfers have no shaft lean at impact.

- I think Bobby knows darn well the hands (or butt of the club, or #3PP) don't travel in a straight line.

- I don't necessarily like the aiming point idea, because as Richie says, it's "teaching mechanics through feel" rather than the other way around, though it's not quite as much "mechanics through feel" as a lot of other things. That said, the "aiming point" idea has worked for some of our students. They needed to "hold on" a little longer before they "throw" out the wedge a little, and simply looking more forward of the golf ball delays their "throw-out."

I think Bobby's own swing would demonstrate something different from what he truly believes happens, too. But again, for 99.6% of people...

The right forearm flying wedge is a condition, not a drill. It's the bend in the back of the right wrist, basically.

You'll note that even in my "hips forward, hit and stop" video the wedge comes out and the clubhead is "thrown" a little bit:

BUT in that drill there's still a little bit more wedge than in a faster, fuller swing, so it's still effective at training the delay of the throwing or "less" throwing for people who flip.

It's just a little forward press. Some do it in their swings. I do it in pitches and chips, not so much in full swings. Lately I've done more of a wrist cock (clubhead goes up, not handle forward) instead.

Good question, but not quite the topic here. :-)

He still does this. He still uses what we've called PA5. He's just able to do it much later and still line the club up.

Consider what he'd look like if he actually "held" his lag:

I like the way you put that.

The "timing" of the throw is important, and lest people say "but you like to say there's no timing in the golf swing," that's not really true. There's timing all throughout the golf swing, but if you're thinking of it you're doing it wrong. Simply add "more" or "less" of things and the "timing" will shake out.

Here's a picture I think people should find interesting.

Is this a flip? No. The club is inline at impact (red dot, red line). If I were to instead arrive at impact like the image on the right, then I might get the same distance (due to the club de-lofting) but my clubhead will not be moving as quickly as it could if I allowed it to release a bit more "lag."

I'll leave it at that. I think the lines on the left are somewhat self explanatory. :-)