Wrist Cock at address

[patbrost]

I am struggling with having wrist cock at address of the golf ball.  I had a lesson and the instructor set my wrists straight and it feels very awkward.  Any drills to get used to this?

[livendie4golf]

By set them straight do you mean, correctly? or straight with your arm?

If you mean correctly (with your hands in front of the ball) I would say that the best thing to do is hit balls at the range.  Especially your wedges.  Get the feel with them set like that with half swings, and gradually move up.  It's all about your impact zone; if you can hit it comfortably and cleanly with a half swing then you can move up to a full swing.  However it rarely works the other way around.

Hope this helps.

[patbrost]

When I would setup to the ball I was cocking my wrists up and not straight with my arm.  I am trying to keep my wrists straight with my arms but now it seems that i am digging the toe of the club at impact

[livendie4golf]

I would just try to keep your hands in front of the ball at address.  A little wrist cock is what a lot of pro's suggest.  It helps you hit down and through the ball which allows for a stronger swing through the ball at impact.

Technically speaking you want to hit the ball on a 4 degree downswing.

If your wrists are perfectly straight (most people) tend to pop the ball up, which then results in a very weak ball flight.

I hope that this wasn't too off topic.  I also apologize if it doesn't make sense.

[MiniBlueDragon]

Confusing. It sounds as though what you're trying to achieve with "I am trying to keep my wrists straight with my arms" is something similar to Moe Norman's setup:

That's a very strange starting position if you ask me. Most pros have a certain amount of wrist cock at address. e.g.:

If I've mis-read your posts I apologise. The term 'wrist cock' to me is relating to the angle between your club and forearm. As the backswing progresses, this increases until at the top it's around 90 degrees and then just prior to impact the angle decreases again back to more or less the same as you had at address.

[rcelano]

The reason you might be digging the toe in to the ground is that the lie of your iron may be off.  The way to check this is to go to a golf store or Pro Shop and have them check the lies for you.

[MiniBlueDragon]

Also further to rcelano's suggestion you may want to check how far from the ball you're addressing. If you're standing too close the toe may be hitting the ground first at impact.