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club release - automatic or not??


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is the release of a golf club a conscious act or does it happen automatically through a good swing?

In the bag:

R11s Driver

R9 3 Wood

R9 5 Wood

TM 2009 Hybrid

MP59 5 - PW

Vokey SM 4 50

Vokey Sm 4 60

Vokey SM 4 54

Ping D66 Putter

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Personally, I feel that it's an automatic action. When I first started taking lessons, I was always told to "roll" my wrists through impact to square the club face and release. I know it can help some people to have that feeling, I just never liked it. I'd say that it comes from proper mechanics and almost instinct rather than a conscious action.

In the Bag 2013:

Driver:  FT-9 Draw i-Mix 10.5*

3 Wood:  R11s 15.5*

3 Hybrid:  Idea Tech V3 19*

Irons (4-PW):  ZB Forged

Wedges:  Tom Watson PVD; 52.07*, 56.13*, 60.07*

Putter:  White Ice #1 33"

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That was my thinking too until earlier. Was browsing golf channel instruction videos, one from Martin hall?? He was promoting it as an active thought or action Confused!!

In the bag:

R11s Driver

R9 3 Wood

R9 5 Wood

TM 2009 Hybrid

MP59 5 - PW

Vokey SM 4 50

Vokey Sm 4 60

Vokey SM 4 54

Ping D66 Putter

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Originally Posted by davieboy1872

is the release of a golf club a conscious act or does it happen automatically through a good swing?

For many. Some will have to feel a little twisting of the club.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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Like skimming a stone?? I've never done any active release of club, normally let gravity do the work, but suppose I should give it a go

In the bag:

R11s Driver

R9 3 Wood

R9 5 Wood

TM 2009 Hybrid

MP59 5 - PW

Vokey SM 4 50

Vokey Sm 4 60

Vokey SM 4 54

Ping D66 Putter

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I think it is automatic to a degree.  If you do all the right things in the right sequence it will happen.

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I'm working on this now. I know some will say the release is a product of a good swing, but for me, it's absolutely a conscious thought, especially with longer clubs. If I don't feel like I'm actively squaring the face with my right hand when swinging my driver, I will hit a wicked banana slice.
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Originally Posted by SoundandFury

I'm working on this now. I know some will say the release is a product of a good swing, but for me, it's absolutely a conscious thought, especially with longer clubs. If I don't feel like I'm actively squaring the face with my right hand when swinging my driver, I will hit a wicked banana slice.

Are you lefty? I always think of squaring the club with the left hand.  The back of your hand needs to be facing the target.

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Automatic.  The kind of reaction time that it takes to do it consistently is almost impossible because you are trying to time something down to the millisecond.

Whats in my :sunmountain: C-130 cart bag?

Woods: :mizuno: JPX 850 9.5*, :mizuno: JPX 850 15*, :mizuno: JPX-850 19*, :mizuno: JPX Fli-Hi #4, :mizuno: JPX 800 Pro 5-PW, :mizuno: MP T-4 50-06, 54-09 58-10, :cleveland: Smart Square Blade and :bridgestone: B330-S

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"is the release of a golf club a conscious act or does it happen automatically through a good swing?"

I think the first question you need to ask yourself is what is the release in the golf swing?  To answer that we must first define the term release.  Assuming Merriam-Webster is a reliable source, the phrase "to let go" is the most applicable portion of the definition when referring to the golf swing.  Okay, so what are we letting go of?  Certainly not the club...  I don't know about you but I try not to let go of my club. I'm sure we could release the club and still hit the ball, but I don't think it would be very efficient or repeatable.  I would say we let go of energy.  In my opinion there are many releases in the golf swing, only one of which resembles the traditional understanding of a release.

The ultimate release in the golf swing is impact.  We strive to let go of as much energy as needed from the club head to the ball while being able to project it to a target.  Other releases in the swing involve letting go of the energy in specific components such as the wrist angles or shoulder rotation.  When we form those angles or rotate those components and move the club we generate potential energy, reconciling those angles or the rotation converts our potential energy to kinetic energy.  Releases can be termed in groups such as releasing ground forces (the potential energy created by downloading multiple components) or Homer Kelley's power package (the four power accumulators and four pressure points).  Sorry to get so uber scientific on you but this topic is a big pet peeve of mine.

Now about that traditional release.  I like to call that the rapid turning of the forearms and changing of the wrist angles(both up and down as well as side to side).  Understand this, if these components change at an excessively high rate coming into impact the face to path relationship becomes very unpredictable making it harder to generate a repetitive ball flight.  As the forearms rollover the face de-lofts and closes, the toe of the club turns down, the heel moves out and the toe in, the handle of the golf club actually goes backward, and the path of the center of gravity turns aggressively out to in.  That is a lot of things happening at once so I like to call the traditional release chaotic.

If you're looking for advice for what to do with the arms and wrists on the through swing I would say work on getting the arms extended and the lead wrist close to flat at impact.  The longer they remain in this position just before and after impact the more predictable the face to path relationship should be.

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Just realized I accidentally cut out the portion regarding whether or not releases are natural or conscious.  To keep it simple since I have already gone way too in depth for your one sentence question.  Some happen naturally and there is not a whole lot we can do to alter them and some can be consciously altered to achieve certain things in our swing.  Among the ones we can consciously alter we do some appropriately for what we are trying to accomplish and don't need to think about them, but with some we may need to change how and when we perform them to make changes in our swing.

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Originally Posted by truthseeker

Just realized I accidentally cut out the portion regarding whether or not releases are natural or conscious.  To keep it simple since I have already gone way too in depth for your one sentence question.  Some happen naturally and there is not a whole lot we can do to alter them and some can be consciously altered to achieve certain things in our swing.  Among the ones we can consciously alter we do some appropriately for what we are trying to accomplish and don't need to think about them, but with some we may need to change how and when we perform them to make changes in our swing.

Originally Posted by truthseeker

"is the release of a golf club a conscious act or does it happen automatically through a good swing?"

I think the first question you need to ask yourself is what is the release in the golf swing?  To answer that we must first define the term release.  Assuming Merriam-Webster is a reliable source, the phrase "to let go" is the most applicable portion of the definition when referring to the golf swing.  Okay, so what are we letting go of?  Certainly not the club...  I don't know about you but I try not to let go of my club. I'm sure we could release the club and still hit the ball, but I don't think it would be very efficient or repeatable.  I would say we let go of energy.  In my opinion there are many releases in the golf swing, only one of which resembles the traditional understanding of a release.

The ultimate release in the golf swing is impact.  We strive to let go of as much energy as needed from the club head to the ball while being able to project it to a target.  Other releases in the swing involve letting go of the energy in specific components such as the wrist angles or shoulder rotation.  When we form those angles or rotate those components and move the club we generate potential energy, reconciling those angles or the rotation converts our potential energy to kinetic energy.  Releases can be termed in groups such as releasing ground forces (the potential energy created by downloading multiple components) or Homer Kelley's power package (the four power accumulators and four pressure points).  Sorry to get so uber scientific on you but this topic is a big pet peeve of mine.

Now about that traditional release.  I like to call that the rapid turning of the forearms and changing of the wrist angles(both up and down as well as side to side).  Understand this, if these components change at an excessively high rate coming into impact the face to path relationship becomes very unpredictable making it harder to generate a repetitive ball flight.  As the forearms rollover the face de-lofts and closes, the toe of the club turns down, the heel moves out and the toe in, the handle of the golf club actually goes backward, and the path of the center of gravity turns aggressively out to in.  That is a lot of things happening at once so I like to call the traditional release chaotic.

If you're looking for advice for what to do with the arms and wrists on the through swing I would say work on getting the arms extended and the lead wrist close to flat at impact.  The longer they remain in this position just before and after impact the more predictable the face to path relationship should be.

could you be a little more specific?

Driver: 10.5* callaway Razr Hawk Tour - 350 yards(usually into the wind, it can be windy here. at least 400 with a little wind behind me)

Hybrids: 2 and 3 callaway Hybrid razr tour (312 and 287 respectively)

Irons: 3i-10i callaway forged standard length(278, 263, 250, 235, 221, 213, 201, 190)

Wedges: callaway jaws cc 52* 12 approach, 56* 16 sand, 60* 13 lob (0-185)

Odyssey Black tour #9 putter(5 ft, i'm always at least within 5 feet on my approach shot)

I wonder who on this forum is a PGA tour pro, disguised as a normal player.. 

2013: play in the US amateur qualifier

 

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Its a bit of both. Its automatic in the fact that the clubhead will pretty much stay on its dictated path from the top of the swing. For example, lets say you start your downswing with an over the top move, its nearly impossible to change that to an inside out swing path during the downswing. That's why teachers sometimes teach loops in the backswing, because it re-orrients the swing before the downswing. Once your in the downswing, the clubhead will have vary little change in swing path.

As for the release, you do have some leeway here. Sometimes you can save a shot, but i believe this is more subconcious. For one the downswing only last about as fast as your reaction speed. Meaning before your mind can tell you somethings wrong, the club has already past the point were you can't control it. What they say about saving a shot, is that you have muscle memory of good shots, and what happens is, if something goes wrong, lets say improper weight shift. Your mind already has a plan for the swing, and it will try to fix this, you wont control it, its just automatic. Like when tiger was blocking driver's right. His mind knew what swing he wanted, and how the type of swing got the results. Yet, his swing wasn't right, so his smaller muscles, wrist & Hands, would come in during the downswing to save the shot. He didn't go in his head, "CRAP, my club is stuck behind me, i need to flip". It was already set up there.

The reason its both is, you also conciously set up feels that get the club through the ball the way you want. For me, i have to feel certain finish positions, like a stretch in a muscle, or my left arm collapsing in the follow through. I do not feel positions during impact. So i know, and execute certain feels in the swing to get the hands to do what i want.

so for me, its both.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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for a definition...On the backswing, at some point, the wrists allow the club and forearms to go from something pretty much in line, to an acute angle.  I consider the 'release' to be the point on the downswing (or period) when we allow the acute angle between the club shaft and forearms to let go so it's back to aligned at impact.  The later this happens (all other things equal), likely the more head speed we get (because that 'whip' has to be faster so that straight line intercepts the contact moment)..

It should be automatic and I have a good automatic release most of the time - it happens with a good swing.

But, on occasion, I find I'm a bit lazy and the release happens early on the downswing - thus it's a but slow.

Frequently, I'll spend some time holding that wrist cock MUCH later - trying to find the edge - so that the release is later and swifter.  For head speed.

It's a good reset.

Bill - 

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  • 1 month later...

Another good video to watch on the swinging release phenomenon is the Shaun Clement "Hitting the golf ball is not your job - Part 1 & Part 2".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4inEPRySvo4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mQBJUbH1Tc

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I think it is about as automatic as throwing a baseball. If you are throwing strikes, it is automatic. If you are throwing it into the dugout, you should probably consiously do something different.

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