Flat Left Wrist

[Strandly]

It just seems to me that the right wrist cups but the left does not, correct? When I do that, I feel like I'm barely doing anything with my left hand and all the pressure in on my right hand. That is a very foreign feeling to me and I was just wondering if you remember feeling like that too or if that's not the feeling I should be feeling.

Correct.

Yep, the feeling is pretty normal, it's just a result of having your right arm dominate everything your whole life.  Once you get used to it you'll wonder how you did it any other way.

[Duff McGee]

Correct. Yep, the feeling is pretty normal, it's just a result of having your right arm dominate everything your whole life.  Once you get used to it you'll wonder how you did it any other way.

Great then I am on the right path. Thanks. :)

[JonMA1]

I've been looking at TST instructional video and reading through this thread. I don't know how badly I'm failing at this key because my iron play is a bit better lately. But now that I have a camera that takes better video, I can see the club and wrist position at impact. I think this is something that needs work. 

As for flat left wrist at impact. As long as your hands are ahead of the ball, mostly keeping the clubhead inline with hands and your left shoulder (or the hands slightly bowed forward), your doing ok. You can control the clubface to do what you want with the ball under those conditions easily as making a few set up adjustments.

As for drills, check out the 5 keys thread. For me, I like to get into the impact position and just work slowly from the inside and focus on keeping my hands forward and really work that movement in slow methodical motions. The first three keys will help you get your left wrist forward, it will clean up a lot of the compensation stuff. But, just work on slow movements, mimicking the impact conditions you want. Preset weight forward, rotate your body back a bit, and work on really moving your hands slowly through the impact zone. Its all about developing that feel unique to you that works.

The part in bold is what I've thought all along but I didn't realize my lead wrist wasn't straight. By keeping my hands low and forward during impact, I thought all was well. I've always had to close the face at slightly at address to control direction, and the photo above confirms that was a bandaid fix to another issue. My wrist isn't just bent, it's also not facing toward the target. Hence the compensation at address. The fact that I come up out of posture slightly in my downswing probably doesn't help.

I've just started working on this by making slow, half to 3/4 swings, extending both arms after contact, but the follow-through seems awkward. At some point doesn't the left wrist eventually bend?

Thanks.

[metbid]

Something that seemed to really help get the 'feeling' of a flat wrist was a golf smash bag ($18 - $20), hitting it with a fairly slow tempo.  At impact with the bag, if you flip your wrists, you know it immediately, even if its just a little. Hitting the bag actually encourages you to not flip to get that solid whack into the bag.

Edited October 17, 2015 by metbid

[JonMA1]

Something that seemed to really help get the 'feeling' of a flat wrist was a golf smash bag ($18 - $20), hitting it with a fairly slow tempo.  At impact with the bag, if you flip your wrists, you know it immediately, even if its just a little. Hitting the bag actually encourages you to not flip to get that solid whack into the bag.

I've thought about getting one. Especially for the winter when I'll use a pile of laundry, dog bed... whatever will provide some resistance without messing up my clubs, lol. Should probably get the right tool for the job.

[metbid]

I've thought about getting one. Especially for the winter when I'll use a pile of laundry, dog bed... whatever will provide some resistance without messing up my clubs, lol. Should probably get the right tool for the job.

The picture is just one I took off the web, but there are dozens of different ones out there.  It just seems if you try one, you want to slap it with a flat wrist naturally.    :)

 

[iacas]

The picture is just one I took off the web, but there are dozens of different ones out there.  It just seems if you try one, you want to slap it with a flat wrist naturally.    :)

While true, it does not always translate to hitting a ball. Hitting an impact bag and hitting a ball aren't quite the same, unfortunately. I like impact bags, but they're far from a cure-all or anything: put a ball down and a lot of people will swing differently.

@JonMA1: Fred Couples has a strong grip and so has a natural slight bit of cupping at impact, too. Flat is not necessarily the goal: inline is.

[JonMA1]

Thank you @iacas.

[Vinsk]

While true, it does not always translate to hitting a ball. Hitting an impact bag and hitting a ball aren't quite the same, unfortunately. I like impact bags, but they're far from a cure-all or anything: put a ball down and a lot of people will swing differently.

@JonMA1: Fred Couples has a strong grip and so has a natural slight bit of cupping at impact, too. Flat is not necessarily the goal: inline is.

Erik, your opinion on this please. A quick tip from Bobby Clampett regarding left wrist at address he states: " We have a straight wrist for chip shots because we lean the shaft well forward because we don't have the lag force/power created in a full swing to arrive with a flat wrist so we start with flat to finish flat. However, in a full swing it's best to start with a bent left wrist as it helps get the club in the proper position at the top and generate power on the downswing. Do you agree with this? I know the flat left wrist at  impact is important and Bobby agrees with that I'm just curious if this concept makes any sense biomechanically speaking. Thanks.

[iacas]

Erik, your opinion on this please. A quick tip from Bobby Clampett regarding left wrist at address he states: " We have a straight wrist for chip shots because we lean the shaft well forward because we don't have the lag force/power created in a full swing to arrive with a flat wrist so we start with flat to finish flat. However, in a full swing it's best to start with a bent left wrist as it helps get the club in the proper position at the top and generate power on the downswing. Do you agree with this? I know the flat left wrist at  impact is important and Bobby agrees with that I'm just curious if this concept makes any sense biomechanically speaking. Thanks.

I don't really have an opinion on that. Whether you have a "flat left wrist" at setup is often a matter of how strong your grip is, for example. We changed "Key #3" to "Inline Impact" for a reason, as well: Lee Westwood, Fred Couples, etc. And left-handed golfers. :)

[Dave325]

I don't really have an opinion on that. Whether you have a "flat left wrist" at setup is often a matter of how strong your grip is, for example. We changed "Key #3" to "Inline Impact" for a reason, as well: Lee Westwood, Fred Couples, etc. And left-handed golfers. :)

Is there a video example for the new Key#3?

[iacas]

Is there a video example for the new Key#3?

It's the same thing. We just changed the name. We didn't even change the definition, and the first version of the manual said that we didn't care if the wrist was actually, literally flat.

[Vinsk]

On August 30, 2015 at 8:28:05 PM, Strandly said:

 

Correct.

 

Yep, the feeling is pretty normal, it's just a result of having your right arm dominate everything your whole life.  Once you get used to it you'll wonder how you did it any other way.

This is where I think I struggle. I play golf left handed but do many other things right handed. Unfortunately "feel" is even more of a cluster #### for me. I golf, throw a ball, bowl and bat left handed, but I write, throw a frisbee and played tennis/ping pong right handed. I have no passive arms in my swing. Each arm, hand and wrist fights to control the swing with equal force.

[mvmac]

7 hours ago, Vinsk said:

This is where I think I struggle. I play golf left handed but do many other things right handed. Unfortunately "feel" is even more of a cluster #### for me. I golf, throw a ball, bowl and bat left handed, but I write, throw a frisbee and played tennis/ping pong right handed. I have no passive arms in my swing. Each arm, hand and wrist fights to control the swing with equal force.

I don't think that contributes as much as you think it might. Achieving Key #3 is typically a result of good stuff that happens well before A7. The problem isn't whether or not the hands are too "active", it's about what's causing them to be "active". The arms/hands are just reacting to what's going on with the motion. For example, someone that moves their lower body forward and has good sequencing with their arms and body is going to have much more "passive" arms/hands than someone who moves their head forward and stalls their hips on the downswing.