early wrist set

[hfhjr]

I'm wondering how most of you feel about an early wrist cock. I read that an early wrist cock is helpful in getting the club on plane, particularly in avoiding taking the club too inside on the backswing. Some, like Haney, say do it early and it is more of a cocking than a hinging. Others say do it early but more of a hinging. Others,like Steve Stricker's swing, seem to use very little wrist setting at all. Some say don't do anything intentionally but let the weight of the clubhead set the wrists, mostly at the top. Thoughts?

[Fatphil]

I compare it to the kids game of rubbing your stomach and tapping your head...to make a proper wrist hinge upward while your body is turning in a circular motion ain't easy. Most whip it inside like you say....to me this is one of the hardest "fundamentals"

But yeh, I agree with your comments.

[The Recreational Golfer]

I don't bother too much with this detail. If you think "early' or"late," then the move gets deliberate and it can go wrong. I just let my wrists cock when they want to. It feels to me like I don't bend them until very late, but when I look, I have 90 degrees of bend by the time my hands are shoulder height, and there'a a lot of backswing left to do. It might be a personal matter. If "early" means cocking them immediately after taking the club away, and "late" means waiting until the absolute top, I might avoid those things.

[Fatphil]

I don't bother too much with this detail. If you think "early' or"late," then the move gets deliberate and it can go wrong. I just let my wrists cock when they want to. It feels to me like I don't bend them until very late, but when I look, I have 90 degrees of bend by the time my hands are shoulder height, and there'a a lot of backswing left to do. It might be a personal matter. If "early" means cocking them immediately after taking the club away, and "late" means waiting until the absolute top, I might avoid those things.

I think the wrist hinge is a bit harder to actually do than "just let it happen"..there is an interesting thread running here in "Playing Tips" called "my ugly swing" by shanks a million..one of the pros named David Wedzik address' this question in a swing analysis much better than I can do...check it out.

[Deryck Griffith]

I would say that wrist hinge is solely based on the individual. For me, I like to hinge my wrists gradually during the back swing with them being fully hindged at 3/4's. From that point, I feel most comfortable to maintain my lag during the downswing.

Find whatever feels most comfortable and run with it!

[Fatphil]

I would say that wrist hinge is solely based on the individual. For me, I like to hinge my wrists gradually during the back swing with them being fully hindged at 3/4's. From that point, I feel most comfortable to maintain my lag during the downswing.

The point is not the moment you choose to hinge the wrists it's knowing how do do it properly.

[Rexx]

Are there not two different wrist hinges in the golf swing? If you started from address position, you have the vertical hinge upward of the clubhead and the horizontal (to the right for a right handed player) hinge where the club head moves to the right on an inside arc. There's a general consensus in the golf community of the first one being enough to form a 90* angle between left arm and club shaft. However, the second one has more varying opinions. It's this second hinging that flattens the left wrist when done. But how much hinge should happen seems up for debate -- moderate cupping (little/no hinging), slightly cupped, flat, or even bowed left wrist.

Now, when to do each and how much... I don't know. It seems to vary from person to person and instructor to instructor.

[Fatphil]

Are there not two different wrist hinges in the golf swing? If you started from address position, you have the vertical hinge upward of the clubhead and the horizontal (to the right for a right handed player) hinge where the club head moves to the right on an inside arc. There's a general consensus in the golf community of the first one being enough to form a 90* angle between left arm and club shaft. However, the second one has more varying opinions. It's this second hinging that flattens the left wrist when done. But how much hinge should happen seems up for debate -- moderate cupping (little/no hinging), slightly cupped, flat, or even bowed left wrist.

you da man! I totally agree with you. For me however the "first" hinge is the part most of us f...up. What you are talking about in the second is over the heads of anyone over a 5..I'll worry about what you're talking about next year.

[Shanks A Million]

I think the wrist hinge is a bit harder to actually do than "just let it happen"..there is an interesting thread running here in "Playing Tips" called "my ugly swing" by shanks a million..one of the pros named David Wedzik address' this question in a swing analysis much better than I can do...check it out.

Yeah, I have a very unusual move in which my wrists don't even begin to cock until the club is up above my shoulder. It makes my backswing look very flat, as the club comes to the inside. I briefly fixed it, and the club looked much better, but it was causing my arms to raise too much. I'm working on getting the club shaft steep instead, and keeping the late wrist hinge.

My swing has gotten way out of shape though, and it looks awful. I need to fix a lot, despite having a good position at impact. When I hurt my leg, I started hanging back, and now my hips aren't clearing properly. I am scared, however, of hurting my leg again. I've gotten some advice from a pro and am going to begin working on getting the club coming back above the plane without using my wrists, which is possible and many do it (Daly, Stadler, etc.)

[Phil McGleno]

Are there not two different wrist hinges in the golf swing?

No. Wrist hinge means one thing... You can't call everything the wrist does "wrist hinging."

You're talking about palmar flexion, btw. That's a bowed left wrist. First imperative to good golf - a flat left wrist through impact.

[nike_golf]

I've gotten some advice from a pro and am going to begin working on getting the club coming back above the plane without using my wrists, which is possible and many do it (Daly, Stadler, etc.)

I think your pro is subtly telling you that you're a bit on the heavy side. "Hey, since you're about the size of Daly and Stadler, I'll teach you to swing like them."

(Sorry, sometimes I like to amuse myself)

[Shanks A Million]

I think your pro is subtly telling you that you're a bit on the heavy side. "Hey, since you're about the size of Daly and Stadler, I'll teach you to swing like them."

It's not about weight here, it's the fact that they both come to the inside. Daly was 170 lbs when he won his first major, still had the same swing.