when to "cock your wrists" in your swing?

[TN94z]

Maybe that is exxagerated just like the impact. For instance, I have always heard that you are (in your mind) trying to hit the ball with the toe of your club. This promotes squaring the clubface at impact. Now you don't actually hit the ball with the toe in real time because of your swing speed etc....I don't kow, but this is just an idea.

[JimmyDoesGolf]

In my opinion, wrist cock isn't something you should consciously worry about. In the correct backswing, the wrist cock will come naturally and at the correct time.

[jambalaya]

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?

Yep, some people suggest an almost immediate wrist hinge and since you are working against gravity it has to be conscious and deliberate. As you can see some disagree with that method.

[Zeph]

If you don't want to cup or bow the wrists, an early wrist movement would lift the club straight up towards your head. Like I mentioned earlier, hold the club straight out in front of you, cock the wrists, moving the club towards your head, then turn the torso. That's the position you want. If you do an early wrist movement it is doomed to be cupping of the left and bowing of the right (for righties) to get the club on plane.

[wachesawgolfer]

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?

Please remember if the right arm folds correctly down and under the shaft, the left wrist hinge is automatic. You folks who are struggling with the wrist hinge are probably lifting the club as a first move back. This adds tension to the wrists and gets the right arm folding incorrectly up and locking out the proper hinge. Work on the initial takeaway of the first inches to make sure it is a level swingback and not a microscopic lift. The lifting comes from grounding the club under its full weight, a lift is then necessary to clear the turf. Once in this wrong motion the arms continue folding wrong. Set up with the club grounded, but the full weight still in your hands so the club swings back freely.

[Zeph]

I agree there. I would say you start to lift when the shaft is halfway to parallell to the ground. The torso turning will raise the right shoulder up and push the left shoulder down. Since the arms are connected to the shoulders, they will follow. This will raise the club those first inches. You will take the club slightly on the inside of the target line, which is a good thing, helps you prevent the move from over the top.

What I've struggled with is the wrists turning when I start raising my arms. I turn them away from my body and get in an awkward position at the top. Which also will get the club very much pointing way outside the swing plane, which is an initial move for swinging over the top.

Turn the torso, when the club is halfway to parallell, start raising the arms and do not make any move with the wrists . When the club reach the perpendicular position and further it will start to drop and the wrists will cock because of the weight. Another factor is where you position your arms. If you take them way back, the weight of the clubhead will pull the wrists sideways. Another of my moves I'm working to get rid of. A good indication is where your right arm aims. It should aim about two feet in front of the ball. When looking at my swing I see that I aim 8 feet in front of the ball. From there it is easy to come over the top. If you don't have someone to watch you or a mirror, go outside on a sunny day and use the windows as a mirror. I do this and it really helps when I work on shortening my backswing and swing plane. You can't see the downswing of course, but the downswing is simply a result of a good backswing and position at the top. I've watched many swign analysis on TV, but not until recently understood how important many of the things they mention really are, like angles throughout the swing, and most important, at the top. If you look at 10 different swings, you will see 10 different club paths on the way to the top. But, if these were professionals, I'll bet you they are very close to the same position on the top of the backswing. I like to think that my hands move on the same plane and in the same place when I go up and when I come down. Some players go outside, some inside, some go both sides, but they end up pretty much on the same place and after the hips pulling through, the hands fall back at the same place for all of them. Small variations will of course occur if someone have a natural draw or fade.

I experimented some yesterday and found that if I position myself at a somewhat perfect position at the top, holding it for a second or two, I can just forget everything from the waist and up, only turning my hips, and everything will fall into place. That's where you get the "effortless swing" from. There will of course always be tension in a golf swing, but if you manage to get the angles and positions right, it takes very little effort to get the ball high and far. It's a big problem in golf that people want to hit the crap out of the ball, I've done it myself. I was amazed at how little effort it took once I got the positions right. Like I said, pretend the upper body is incapasitated and just turn the hips.

The swing wont lie, if you do this, and end up slicing or hooking the ball, something is most likely wrong.

[jambalaya]

Please remember if the right arm folds correctly down and under the shaft, the left wrist hinge is automatic. You folks who are struggling with the wrist hinge are probably lifting the club as a first move back. This adds tension to the wrists and gets the right arm folding incorrectly up and locking out the proper hinge. Work on the initial takeaway of the first inches to make sure it is a level swingback and not a microscopic lift. The lifting comes from grounding the club under its full weight, a lift is then necessary to clear the turf. Once in this wrong motion the arms continue folding wrong. Set up with the club grounded, but the full weight still in your hands so the club swings back freely.

I know for me as I work on this aspect of the swing that tension or lack of it is key. If you look at the "Four Magic Moves" and the way they explain it, or maybe my lack of understanding of what they are trying to say, it seems they want you to do this deliberate move with your wrists at the beginning that for me just created tension. Trying to get that hinge started and the knuckles point in the correct position just stopped the flow of my swing. Maybe that is how they should look ideally but one cannot be thinking of it in the backswing. Now I just waggle and during the waggle loosen my wrists and grip so that when take away the wrist hinges. And as wachesaw suggests, try to feel the full weight of the club. If you can't feel the weight of the club you have too much tension somewhere.

[wachesawgolfer]

I know for me as I work on this aspect of the swing that tension or lack of it is key. If you look at the "Four Magic Moves" and the way they explain it, or maybe my lack of understanding of what they are trying to say, it seems they want you to do this deliberate move with your wrists at the beginning that for me just created tension. Trying to get that hinge started and the knuckles point in the correct position just stopped the flow of my swing. Maybe that is how they should look ideally but one cannot be thinking of it in the backswing. Now I just waggle and during the waggle loosen my wrists and grip so that when take away the wrist hinges. And as wachesaw suggests, try to feel the full weight of the club. If you can't feel the weight of the club you have too much tension somewhere.

Exactly why I could not do the Dante moves. The early wrist cock he teaches threw off the timing of the swing and added tension to the wrists. But, that is what he wanted when he says hold the club real tight. Feeling the weight of the club at address is key to the correct pressure and early swing back and correct hinging.

[tm22721]

My wrists are automatically cocked at the end of the backswing through 'float loading'.

Which means that my back swing ends with a weight shift to the target dropping my right shoulder and the clubhead onto a lower plane generating maximum wrist cock and clubhead lag.

[miami8miami]

Ideally i think the wrists should be cocked 90 degress by p3. A little more or less isn't a big deal. From p3 to p4 the shoulder turn accounts or the remaining up, back, and in dimensions of the backswing. Everything goes to p4 connected, without any arm run-on

[aleski]

Recently, I get the feeling I'm cocking my wrists too early, particularly with long irons and woods, but have yet to investigate whether that's really the case. Overall, I have to go with what most of the lads have been saying: I doubt there's a particular moment in swing when you should cock your wrists. That's not to say, however, that the club does not have any bearing on the issue. I bet to many it comes down to aesthetics, some like the spacious look of a late wrist cock, while others don't.

[AmazingWhacker]

I do cock my wrists early and consciously.  However that is because I used to not cock my wrists enough at all and the only way I can currently get it done is to think about it.  I start to cock my wrists immediately and I do a concious pause at the top of the backswing as well.  When I don't do this, I top the ball a lot.