How to increase lag in swing?

[clonewars222]

Are there any specific drills that can help with increasing lag?

[RIduffer]

Have you tried lagging the club on your takeaway? Watch some of the old hickory shaft players and how they sort of drag the club back with the hands and body. The handle of the club moves back before the clubhead. Some people find this helpful as the sequencing gives the feeling of lag.

[Zeph]

Lag is a result of doing other things right. A key move is to not swing the club, but rather swing the hands, so the club will trail behind.

[jamo]

While I agree that lag is usually a result, I think a lot of people (myself included sometimes) have a hard time maintaining lag, usually because they haven't had the swing elements that contribute to lag. One way to really get used to the feeling of lag is to have someone hold onto the clubhrad after you have just started the downswing. This puts the hands way in front of the clubhead, and it gives you the feeling of lag.

[Zeph]

To me, lag feels like losing control of the club. I'm very handsy and tend to guide the club too much. When I practice quiet hands, trying not to swing the club, it feels like I lose control of the club. From the top of the backswing to past impact it doesn't feel like the club is present, and I've no idea how the ball will start. What's cool is that when I manage to keep the wrists loose and not swing the club, I'm hitting it really straight.

[TravisP]

Have you tried lagging the club on your takeaway? Watch some of the old hickory shaft players and how they sort of drag the club back with the hands and body. The handle of the club moves back before the clubhead. Some people find this helpful as the sequencing gives the feeling of lag.

Yeah, this is a good idea to try. I tried this last year when I wanted to increase lag, and it helped me a lot. Before, I had been trying to intentionally hold the lag with my wrists and that led to a ton of mis-hits. Now I can get a lot more lag without thinking about it, and it also improved my ball striking.

[Rexx]

IMO... you have all the lag you need with the hinged wrist at the top of the backswing... you don't need to increase it. The issue is how to maintain it. I believe you can't actively hold it and be consistent. You need to develop a swing that naturally unhinges the wrists at the right moment. IMO, the wrists unhinge naturally when the clubhead moves outside the hands (from the front view) and gravity has a chance to pull down on it and force them open. For me, I delay that by dropping the hands vertically from the top of the backswing into the "slot". From there, the arcing swing path to the ball will move the clubhead outside the hands and cause wrists to unhinge fully at the right moment (when my hands are approximately directly above the ball). I like this approach because I can then relax my hands/wrists once the downswing starts (there is definitely tension in the wrists during the backswing to hinge the club and to keep it from flopping around). I get a fair amount of effortless power out of it as long as I can keep the body and arms in sync (which is a problem regardless).

But, I'm sure there are other ways of achieving this same effect. Maybe the good golfers actively increase or hold the lag... it's just never worked for me. Good luck.

[Robato]

To me, lag feels like losing control of the club. I'm very handsy and tend to guide the club too much. When I practice quiet hands, trying not to swing the club, it feels like I lose control of the club. From the top of the backswing to past impact it doesn't feel like the club is present, and I've no idea how the ball will start. What's cool is that when I manage to keep the wrists loose and not swing the club, I'm hitting it really straight.

Thats exactly how I feel it these days.

My drives are getting more consistently straight as a result. There is a great punch drill video by Chuck Cook on Youtube that is PERFECT for getting the right lag feel, IMO.

[Andrew Rice]

Lag occurs as a result of good positioning and cannot be 'inserted' into the swing. Get your grip strong and your body in a sound position on the way down and you have no choice but to lag the club into impact. Youtube has tons of drills for impact and hip drive - check it out.

[tm22721]

http://www.golflagtips.com/drag-the-wet-mop/

http://www.golflagtips.com/what-is-c...ove-your-golf/

[Rexx]

Whoa... the double pendulum video is exactly what I've been trying to explain in some of my posts (including the one above). Thanks for the link, I'll have to bookmark it!

[Fatphil]

From there, the arcing swing path to the ball will move the clubhead outside the hands and cause wrists to unhinge fully at the right moment (when my hands are approximately directly above the ball). I like this approach because I can then relax my hands/wrists once the downswing starts (there is definitely tension in the wrists during the backswing to hinge the club and to keep it from flopping around). k.

Rexx...that is one of the better comments I've read in a while...however, if a golfer has never experienced the feeling of "moving the clubhead OUTSIDE the hands" at impact your comment will go over their head. Like you say its a feeling. It's difficult to describe..but when you do it, ya know it.

[9iron]

Ben Hogan says (for right handed golfer) to grip the club with the three fingers (excluding index finger) of the left hand and two middle fingers of right hand. When you start your downswing you do so with a hip bump. From there all of the larger muscles take over. I have found that if I can just make the pull with the three fingers on the left hand and not allow the left thumb to get too involved (it will try to cast if I use it for grip pressure, and this is a secondary consideration relative the primary concern of swinging the club with the large muscles of the body) and just do as Hogan says "let the big muscles do the work", I find that the lag happens naturally.

Pulling with the hip bump and keeping the large muscles connected forces the arms and hands along the correct path and with the proper lag.

[9iron]

This Canadian instructor gives a good drill and good explanation of how to use the big muscles to promote lag.

[clonewars222]

This Canadian instructor gives a good drill and good explanation of how to use the big muscles to promote lag.

Thanks everyone! Helped a lot! By the way, I watch this guy all the time!

[bunkerputt]

Lag starts with lagging shoulders on the downswing. If the shoulders don't open up early, the club just stays where it is, almost like it's connected to them by some means ;) Don't start the swing with an early rotation of the shoulders and you'll have no problem getting lots of lag.

[kennay92]

i actually practice/follow the rotary swing and have never seen that third video, but definatly glad i have now, thanks for the post.