Wrists, should they stay loose or be controlled?

[Zeph]

I've been working a bit on lag lately and how to get rid of my casting. I know there are other factors which indirectly cause it, but even when I get those right, I've learned my hands to cast.

So, what should you feel the wrists doing in the swing? I've been cupping the left wrist also, so I have to force myself to prevent that from happening. If I do this, I feel like I control the club and end up casting and hitting the ball very high.

I've experimented some with keeping the wrists loose and just letting them trail my body. At the same time I must make the effort to keep me from cupping that left wrist. I feel like I lose control completely, but it's probably what it should feel like after casting for some years. Especially in the down swing. If I'm all loose, the wrists will cock even more as a result of the arms being pulled down, lag is created and I'm hoping the club will come down square and actually hit the ball.

Any tips on this?

[iacas]

Buy an impact bag and learn how to use one. Aren't those often recommended for golfers to learn lag and a good impact position?

I'm of the opinion that if you're thinking about lag, you're doing something else wrong. Lag should happen automatically.

[Zeph]

I agree that it should happen naturally, but if I've been flipping with the wrists for ten thousand swings, chances are I'll keep doing it if I don't put some focus on it. I've made other changes, but I can tell that if I swing without thinking about anything, I will overuse the wrists and flip them like I've done before. If I let the wrists just go, feeling very loose, I get way more lag, the club trails behind.

I'll give the impact bag a try. Thanks.

[bogeyhitter25]

I think I might have heard this before. If you want more lag, your backswing should have barely any wrist cock. Then on the downswing you cock your wrists more. But I don't really think you should care about lag.

[TN94z]

In my experience, because I am going through a similar situation, when you start the downswing with your hips, this should naturally pull your arms down in the "slot." With your hips leading the swing, as long as you don't conciously do something with your hands, the lag will come on its own. I am sure you already understand all of this, so here is what I am working on with my hands.

There are a few ways to think about it. 1) You want to rotate the knuckles on your lead hand down through impact. This closes the clubface and creates the "bow" in the lead hand. It also makes the back of the lead hand face the target. Remember, whatever your lead hand is doing, your clubface is doing. 2) One other thing to help work on this is, imagine you are thumbing a ride with your hand through impact. 3) Imagine hitting a backhand with a tennis racket. Basically anything that gets the back of your lead hand facing the target with the all important bow.

I would use the impact bag as suggested and I have also found that the power swing fan helps with the lag feeling as well!

[iacas]

I agree that it should happen naturally, but if I've been flipping with the wrists for ten thousand swings, chances are I'll keep doing it if I don't put some focus on it. I've made other changes, but I can tell that if I swing without thinking about anything, I will overuse the wrists and flip them like I've done before. If I let the wrists just go, feeling very loose, I get way more lag, the club trails behind.

I get what you're saying, but at the same time, I'm not sure you get what I'm saying. If you arrive at impact in the proper position you can't possibly flip. You'll either hit a foot behind the ball or top it so badly you'd almost whiff.

With the proper impact position, your left wrist is flat, your left arm and club shaft form a straight line (within reason), etc. You can't "flip" at the ball. I suspect something else in your swing is letting you flip at the ball - or even requiring you to flip at the ball. I've never heard of anybody "fixing their lag" by working on their lag. They all fix it by working on other things, and most of the time that's their impact position. I've never seen anyone flip or cast and get into a good impact position.

[wannabe]

In my experience, because I am going through a similar situation, when you start the downswing with your hips, this should naturally pull your arms down in the "slot." With your hips leading the swing, as long as you don't conciously do something with your hands, the lag will come on its own. I am sure you already understand all of this, so here is what I am working on with my hands.

Finally understanding this concept and understanding and incorporating this feel into my swing was the single most important aha moment in my entire lessons saga this year.

[shortstop20]

Work on keeping your wrist bowed at impact. Don't worry about lag, it will come later with swing fundamentals. Lag comes from everything else leading the wrists. When you start your downswing from the ground up, the other parts of the body are moving while the hands and clubhead are still. From my understanding, this is what causes lag.

Watch Hogan's swing in slow motion. He is loading the whip at the top of the backswing and continues to load it at the beginning of the downswing(he increases lag). This is not done consciously, it's an effect caused by his fundamentals.