Right Hand/Wrist Hinge?

[imgoinhungry]

Hi All,

I've only been playing for about a year and think I finally have a proper inside to outside swing.  However, for the last month ive been battling weak hooks with my irons.  My instructor said my clubface is too closed on the takeaway.

On the simulator today I started to hinge my right wrist as I began the takeaway and saw immediate results.  Much straighter and more power.

Is this hinge supposed to occur?  Prior, I had no hinge and all arms, hence the closed face.

Thanks for the help!

[Cantankerish]

Hey mate.  Welcome to The Sand Trap.  Can you post a video in the swing section?  You will get the best help that way.

[imgoinhungry]

Just now, Cantankerish said:

Hey mate.  Welcome to The Sand Trap.  Can you post a video in the swing section?  You will get the best help that way.

Yes, I will try to get someone to film me per the guidelines.

[iacas]

Yeah… it's pretty tough to say specifically Feel ain't real, and yet… it feels very real to the person doing it.

Getting a video would be helpful.

[Piz]

Thinking about what my wrists are doing has never helped my game.  They can only function in they way they do.  If I ask them to compensate for an out-of-shape pass...they don't understand what I'm on about.  The best thing to ask your wrists to do, during the golf swing, is nothing.  

[imgoinhungry]

Found a video that shows exactly what Im talking about.  Glad to see it is actually a thing.  Hinging my wrists early was a huge help.  Im going to continue to work on this.

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by imgoinhungry

[Buckeyebowman]

OK, because your OP was just a little bit confusing. Part of it alluded to hinging the wrists early in the backswing, another part of it made it sound like you swung with no wrist hinge at all! That would be an extremely weird looking swing! 

You have to have wrist hinge, otherwise you can't develop any lag, and you won't hit the ball very far. Back in the day, many instructors advocated the "one piece takeaway". I haven't heard that phrase in quite a while, yet some players still do that. I don't know what they call it these days.  Other players do differently. If you look at a super slo-mo vid of Dustin Johnson, his hands aren't 6 inches behind the ball in the takeaway, and the back of his left hand is looking right at the camera! Of course, he starts out with a very strong grip, so he doesn't have far to go. 

If it works for you, go with it. But, I'd still advise you to post some vids to the "My Swing" page if possible. Let @iacas and others have a look at it. There can be invaluable advice imparted. 

[imgoinhungry]

As crazy as it sounds, I dont think I had any hinge.  Clubface was closed the entire swing.  Shots were hooks with no power.  I suppose I had minimal hinge at top of backswing.  Hinging early allows me to square the clubface and I definitely felt the lag/power.  Was easily gaining 20+ yards per club.  

 

Appreciate the comments.  Will try to get some video this weekend.

[Patch]

Never really thought about what my wrists did in my back/up swing. I just focused on my one piece take away to to the top of my swing. What ever my wrists did, they did. 

Now I have an old friend who cocks his wrist at the start of his take away from the ball. He plays pretty good golf for a guy in his 70s. That move works for him. 

What ever works well for the golfer, as long as it consistently works well, is not a bad thing. 

[Groucho Valentine]

If your instructor says youre closing the club face on takeaway it probably means your twisting your hands, so making another conscious movement with your hands on top of that by hinging early seems like an odd compensation to make. But you probably were hinging in some way before, just weren't aware of it. Either though your wrists or collapsing your arms to complete the backswing. 

One of the best players i know makes a very pronounced early wrist set in his takeaway, and it works for him. Its actually the first move he makes. So its not wrong, per sea. I don't consciously hinge or release. Just make sure you own whatever youre doing while you work with the instructor. 

Edited January 10, 2020 by Groucho Valentine

[imgoinhungry]

17 minutes ago, Patch said:

Never really thought about what my wrists did in my back/up swing. I just focused on my one piece take away to to the top of my swing. What ever my wrists did, they did. 

Now I have an old friend who cocks his wrist at the start of his take away from the ball. He plays pretty good golf for a guy in his 70s. That move works for him. 

What ever works well for the golfer, as long as it consistently works well, is not a bad thing. 

Yea, thats what I am going to start doing.  I heared Azinger refer to it as "loading the hands early" while watching the Sony Open last night.  For me, it gets the clubface square instead of open at contact, which is something I was struggling with.

[ncates00]

24 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Just make sure you own whatever youre doing while you work with the instructor. 

@imgoinhungry, this.  I can't stress this enough.  Don't go rogue by looking at swing tip magazines, videos, and listening to well-meaning golfing buddies/range pro know-it-all's.  Stick with what you are working on with your pro.  Do not deviate.  2 reasons: 1) you won't see any progress and will make things worse; and 2) how will you know if you'e getting quality instruction because after all, you're not exclusive and are trying out other things.  Stick with what you're working on and you should see results.  If not, check yourself first and see if you're actually doing what you're supposed to do--or, similarly, perhaps you've now overdone the drill or whatever you're working on.  A good pro will see these things.

If you go around jumping from one tip to the next, you will only dig your grave deeper.  Resist this temptation.

[imgoinhungry]

Just now, ncates00 said:

@imgoinhungry, this.  I can't stress this enough.  Don't go rogue by looking at swing tip magazines, videos, and listening to well-meaning golfing buddies/range pro know-it-all's.  Stick with what you are working on with your pro.  Do not deviate.  2 reasons: 1) you won't see any progress and will make things worse; and 2) how will you know if you'e getting quality instruction because after all, you're not exclusive and are trying out other things.  Stick with what you're working on and you should see results.  If not, check yourself first and see if you're actually doing what you're supposed to do--or, similarly, perhaps you've now overdone the drill or whatever you're working on.  A good pro will see these things.

If you go around jumping from one tip to the next, you will only dig your grave deeper.  Resist this temptation.

got it!  appreciate the feedback.

[ncates00]

27 minutes ago, imgoinhungry said:

I heared Azinger refer to it as "loading the hands early" while watching the Sony Open last night.

Be careful of stuff like this.  Don't even pay attention to your golf buddies or the range pro.  You're paying for the services of a pro you're already working with.  Stay with that and get better.

[Darkfrog]

1 hour ago, ncates00 said:

Be careful of stuff like this.  Don't even pay attention to your golf buddies or the range pro.  You're paying for the services of a pro you're already working with.  Stay with that and get better.

As a mid/high handicap, I'm not qualified to give swing advice, but I think @ncates00 input is the way to go. I have been working with an instructor for over a year now, and I have monthly lessons. This has worked well to maintain steady improvement in my game. However, whenever I have a sudden dip in ballstriking, or I feel my swing getting out of sync, the first thing I do is review videos and drills from previous lessons. If this doesn't help, I immediately schedule a lesson to get her feedback on what's going wrong, rather than trying to self correct with tips and tricks from the internet/friends/playing partners, etc.