Help with wrists at contact

[kehanra99]

I have read and seen over and over again that to make solid consistant contact the wrists should pass the contact area before the clubhead. I don't know for certain whether or not I do this naturally with the swing I already have, but given that my ball flight is a bit loftier that most people I play with I would determine that mine don't.

The problem is, whenever I follow someones advice and try to work on drills that put my wrists ahead of the contact area, I end up shanking the ball pretty badly. Does anyone have some good tips on getting this done? The one I've been trying and failing at is just basically to set your wrists ahead of the ball with the club head at address. Then aim for your wrists to cross that area as your club comes into contact. I haven't been able to make good contact doing that, everything just shoots off low and to the right.

Any help is appreciated.

[lolzzlolzz]

In Hogan's 5 fundamentals, he mentions that on the downswing he thinks about two things: turning the hips back and then hitting the ball with his upper body. He mentions that there shouldn't be conscious manipulation of the hands. He doesn't worry about any of that because "everything is taken care of previously in the waggle."

So try this:
-once you reach the top of the downswing, start the downswing with the hips. Turn them back to the left (similar to where they are at address), and make sure you have enough lateral motion to transfer weight to the left foot.
-Feel as if your left hand is constantly driving . You do this to ensure you are hitting through the ball in one cohesive movement from start to finish.
-Think about two things, starting the hips back then swinging your hands and arms at the ball. Just swing at the ball.
-learn to waggle. You need to learn to waggle but it should be natural. Do not groove the waggle. Visualize the shot you want to hit, and let the waggle happen naturally. Your right elbow should hit your right hip every time you waggle the club back. The waggle is simply a shorted version of your back swing.

Remember that any conscious manipulation of the hands and arms will not help you in being consistent on a day to day basis. The golf swing should feel like you are swinging with the body.

[kehanra99]

I read that book a while ago and it really helped but I forgot about that section. Thanks!

[DavidFehertysBike]

I used to have a similar issue, i still do from time to time. What i did was shift my weight to the left ever so slightly before i went back, then bowing my wrist away from target to start my backswing. It seemed to set it for the swing and i didnt have to worry about it any more. From there i just turn my left hip slightly and drop my hands on the way down. If i just manage to stay on plane, its a really maintainance free stroke for me.

[itzzzberny]

-once you reach the top of the downswing, start the downswing with the hips. Turn them back to the left (similar to where they are at address), and make sure you have enough lateral motion to transfer weight to the left foot.

for me i just flip my wrists over but keeping the target-side wrist flat at impact. if i were to put a wrist watch on my target side wrist, at address it would be pointing at the target. at impact the watch face should be facing the target but also it is turning over to face the ball. if i were to put a wrist watch on my opposite wrist (wrist away from the target side), facing away from the target. at impact it is turning over to face sky . i read in tiger wood's book. its like shaking hands with your target. so when you flip your wrist over during impact, during the follow-through your right wrist is crossed over your left wrist. if you freeze frame half way up your folow-through. your right hand looks and feels like its shanking hands. i don't fully agree with both these comments. -i don't think its the hips that should move first, i think its the weight moving to the target side foot is the first move. i've see a lot of people who try to use the hips first and i've see a lot of unbalanced swinging from it. - the waggle doesn't have to hit your right hip.... i have no idea where you got that thought. the waggle is to loosen up before you swing. it doesn't have to hit your right hip. that might be your waggle but i believe its different for each person.

[lolzzlolzz]

I suggest you get a copy of Hogan's 5 fundamentals for more info on waggle and hip turn (I'm not saying this in a bad or insulting way at all. I just think Hogan can explain it a lot better than I can).

Hogan says the hips initiate the downswing. The hips turn back to where they started. As the turn back, they also need to move laterally, which makes the "arch" of the hips bigger on the downswing than on the back swing. This movement brings your weight more on the left foot. From here, the hands will be nearly at hip level. ^^^^ All this happens with no direct arm movement. The movement of the hips takes your hands all the way from above your head to next to your hips. As for being unbalanced due to hip movement, I suspect two reasons for this. One is an incorrect posture and/or back swing. Another is that they may be moving their head too much to the left on the downswing (I had this problem and was unbalanced). Hogan also explains how powerful a correct waggle is and how it isn't just to "loosen you up." He says the waggle is essentially a mini back swing. To quote directly:

The rhythm of the waggle varies with each shot you play. DON'T GROOVE YOUR WAGGLE. IT TAKES INSTINCT TO PLAN AND PLAY A GOLF SHOT, AND YOUR PREPARATIONS FOR EACH SHOT MUST BE DONE INSTINCTIVELY. Let's say, for example, that you're 130 yards out from a semi plateau green. You've decided that you want to get the ball well up in a steep trajectory, and that you'll be playing a seven-iron. You want to strike the shot firmly, as goes without saying, but you want to hit a soft, feathery kind of shot that will float down on the green. Well, you'll waggle somewhat slowly, somewhat softly. This is the tempo you will also be using on the stroke, of course. Say, on the other hand, that you've got to bang a drive low into the wind on a hole where it's important to be out a good distance from the tee to get in two. For this shot, you'll move the club back and forth with much more briskness, more conviction, more speed. And you'll swing that way. The waggle, in other words, fits the shot.

Imagine that, being able to shape the ball without thinking about how you're swinging. It works!

Rules for waggle: -arms stay rooted firmly against the sides of the chest -left arm rotates and left hand passes ball with each waggle -right elbow hits right hip -don't groove it Also, I agree with your wrist watch analogy. Hogan mentions this in the book. He says the left wrist is not only facing the target, but bent towards the target at impact.