lack of lag

[curtis]

trying to gain lag in my swing by trying to hold on for a late release with no luck. i can go back to my old swing but no distance. im not hitting up on it but the ball still goes a lack luster distance. Can anyone help!

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by curtis

trying to gain lag in my swing by trying to hold on for a late release with no luck. i can go back to my old swing but no distance. im not hitting up on it but the ball still goes a lack luster distance. Can anyone help!

John Jacobs in his very old timey book "Practical Golf" described in detail exactly what you're trying to do. It didn't work in 1972 and it doesn't work now. You have to swing your arms faster to hit harder, not delay them. That only leads to a relatively weak tap on the ball. Start your downswing in the reverse order you started the backswing (lead with your hips, then torso, then arms, hands and clubhead) but once the process begins, feel like you're swinging your arms as fast as you can. I don't think the following could possibly be said enough times loud enough: "do not actively try to hold on for a late release"!!

[curtis]

WILL DO!!!!!!! THANKS ALOT!

[awesome1975]

The more i concentrate on maintaining lag the more focus i put on my arms then when i do that i lose the focus on my lower body movement. Its seems to me that as has been mentioned, if you move the body correctly at the beginning of downswing the lag takes care of itself.

[EverythingGolf]

Check these drills out they may help.

[steventimothy]

Speaking from personal experience, I think most poorer players have bad (terrible) hand action. That is to say, the hands are much too active in the swing (and in chipping, and putting). If you tell most amateurs to swing the arms faster, they'll probably cast the club even more at the top of the swing with their hands, trying to get speed.

For me, what turned it around was thinking of the first part of the swing as being a "gravity move" as Johnny Miller puts it. That is, the hands, arm and club just drop as a result of gravity during the beginning of the downswing.

Then, I try to think about just pulling the handle, the butt of the club, towards the ball on the downswing for as long as I can, in sync with the lower body. The release then takes care of itself at the correct time, as the weight and the inertia of the club build clubhead speed and force the hands into a good release.

[Danattherock]

Check out the Pure Ball Striker. When I tried learning more about lag, this helped me more than anything. I spent a day with Jeff Evans, the inventor. He is a great instructor and my time with him helped me tremendously. There is a review here of the PBS and it has some 250 replies. Reading Bobby Clampett's "The Impact Zone" book, especially chapter 4, along with using the PBS helped me learn more about lag than ever before. This book is exceptional for many of us and I would suggest reading it irregardless of using the PBS. The two go very well together though. Also, the Tour Striker training club is a vital training aid in my opinion. These are perhaps the best three things I ever bought as it relates to improving my golf swing. The caution with lag is making it artificially. Some folks will try to force lag into their swing and it is a bad move. If you are learning about lag, what it is, how to maintain it, it can help you hit the ball more solidly and longer. For me personally, it also taught me to lighten up my grip pressure. That was one of the main issues I had in my swing and with too firm grip pressure, I could never feel anything. A worth while pursuit, lag, but do it carefully and read up on the subject beforehand.

Check out the PBS thread....

http://thesandtrap.com/t/41747/pure-ball-striker-great-training-aid

-Dan

[Zeph]

A video would help here. There can be various factors causing your problems. I have made some improvement myself in this area. The biggest factors being: Swinging the arms faster, weight forward, steady head, not spinning out my hips too soon.

[MiniBlueDragon]

'Lag' is often manufactured by amateur players by holding on to the wrist cock angle rather than allowing it to be created naturally with grip pressure and loose wrists.

The best lag drill I've ever seen:

There's also some info on grip pressure and loose wrists in this thread - http://thesandtrap.com/t/54965/grip-pressure#post_669953

[westcyderydin]

I don't really like messing with "lag".  Like others have said it comes naturally when you swing correctly.

Make sure your weight is forward enough in your downswing going into impact (while your head stays still.)

And if you are flipping then a drill you can do is take slow 3/4 swings with no ball and hit the clubhead into the ground (kind of like swinging a sledge hammer or using an axe) while holding the angle in your wrists.  Its not like you want to over do it that much with your normal swing but it can give you the feeling of hitting down on the ball and holding the angle in your wrists.  Like i said though this is just a drill...don't over do it.

But if you are already swinging correctly i wouldn't put more lag as a priority.

[steventimothy]

Originally Posted by westcyderydin

I don't really like messing with "lag".  Like others have said it comes naturally when you swing correctly.

On the other hand, since most high-handicappers flip the club and lose the correct right-wrist angle, it might not hurt them to think about lag, and then work backwards to see how to swing in order to avoid casting and have the shaft leaning toward the target at impact. They might then realize the impact that overactive hand action has on the club position at impact, and try to take steps to get rid of it.

I think a lot of players would be amazed to make one-half or three-quarter swings, absolutely as stiff-wristed as they can, with no wrist cock at all. If they can manage it, they might be surprised to find that they are hitting the ball as far as they do with their normal full swing, because they're making solid contact with the ball, while compressing and flighting it better, and not adding loft to the clubface and making terrible contact with their flippy full-swing. Feeling what proper contact is like, that's a good way to start making the journey towards proper hand action.

[tshapiro]

Holding on creates many undesirable side effects and lack of power as the arm tension kills the kinetic snap of the swing. Learn to lead the downswing with your hips and let your club head lag behind with relaxed hands. Your club will lag andsnap to release by itself if you stay out of it.

[Jwat381]

That's so important to think about. Holding on for lag will ruin whatever you're trying to do.

Originally Posted by tshapiro

Holding on creates many undesirable side effects and lack of power as the arm tension kills the kinetic snap of the swing. Learn to lead the downswing with your hips and let your club head lag behind with relaxed hands. Your club will lag andsnap to release by itself if you stay out of it.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Quote:

Originally Posted by curtis

trying to gain lag in my swing by trying to hold on for a late release with no luck. i can go back to my old swing but no distance. im not hitting up on it but the ball still goes a lack luster distance. Can anyone help!

John Jacobs in his very old timey book "Practical Golf" described in detail exactly what you're trying to do. It didn't work in 1972 and it doesn't work now. You have to swing your arms faster to hit harder, not delay them. That only leads to a relatively weak tap on the ball. Start your downswing in the reverse order you started the backswing (lead with your hips, then torso, then arms, hands and clubhead) but once the process begins, feel like you're swinging your arms as fast as you can. I don't think the following could possibly be said enough times loud enough: "do not actively try to hold on for a late release"!!

A couple pics of what it looks like when as soon as my downswing is initiated (hips first) I try to swing my arms as fast as possible through the ball. In case someone has a different picture in their head.

[Tomboys]

Great pics Sean.  Man, if I had a swing like that, I sure the hell wouldn't be sitting at my desk typing.  I'd be on the course playing against my buds getting back all that money I donated to them over the years.

[nobackswing]

Originally Posted by MiniBlueDragon

'Lag' is often manufactured by amateur players by holding on to the wrist cock angle rather than allowing it to be created naturally with grip pressure and loose wrists.

The best lag drill I've ever seen:

There's also some info on grip pressure and loose wrists in this thread - http://thesandtrap.com/t/54965/grip-pressure#post_669953

great video!