Creating Lag

[ASUslacker14]

I finally got fit for clubs and the PGA guy used the mizuno shaft optimizer thing.

Luckily all my clubs fit me really well but it showed that I release the club very early in the downswing.

So I wondering if creating lag in my swing was something that is learned by doing specific drills or if it's more of a by product of other things in a good golf swing?

And if you have tips or drills let me know.

(I searched the thread for lag but it didn't show anything, so sorry if this gets talked about a lot if the forum)

[saevel25]

12 minutes ago, ASUslacker14 said:

So I wondering if creating lag in my swing was something that is learned by doing specific drills or if it's more of a by product of other things in a good golf swing?

The amount of lag depends on the golfer. It also depends on if the golfer has a good athletic motion as well. If the golfer fails to get the proper amount of weight forward at impact, fails to maintain a steady head, they will struggle with a flip or casting the club. 

As for actively thinking about lag, I would say it is not needed for most people. Maybe more important is the angle formed with the trail hand to forearm at impact. I would not classify that as maintaining lag (the angle of the club relative to the arm in the downswing). There is a wide range of lag on the PGA Tour and they produce this the angle described in the thread below consistently. 

 

[DaveP043]

28 minutes ago, ASUslacker14 said:

So I wondering if creating lag in my swing was something that is learned by doing specific drills or if it's more of a by product of other things in a good golf swing?

I agree with @saevel25, I think lag is a by-product of a good swing sequence, not something you specifically DO.  You might consider lessons with a good instructor, or posting video of your swing in the Member Swing thread here.  

[ASUslacker14]

@saevel25 yeah that thread makes a lot of sense. I'll try to think about impact more then holding lag.

@DaveP043 I do have a post in there if you search. My last post was about a year ago since I can usually only play in the summer lol. I should post an updated swing but it's tougher now that I have 4 kids under 6 since it was my wife that usually was my camera guy at the range.

I guess my biggest concern was the Pro said that I wasn't getting the carry from my irons that I should from my swing speed.

My swing speed was around 80-85 with a 7 iron but only carrying around 140.

He said my two biggest faults were coming over the top and releasing way too early.  I feel like it's because I rotate my shoulders too fast and don't have the arm strength to hold that angle.

 

[mvmac]

1 hour ago, ASUslacker14 said:

@saevel25 yeah that thread makes a lot of sense. I'll try to think about impact more then holding lag.

Or focus on improving the priority piece that will help clean up impact as a result. You don't want to waste time working on impact if you're already "too far gone" by that point because of something that is off in your setup, backswing, early transition, etc.

[JonMA1]

I remember a topic or post from Mike that contained the phrase "lag happens" which supports what has been mentioned above - that lag is the result of a lot of other things happening correctly.

@saevel25 and @DaveP043 in your opinion is it possible though that thinking about lag can also create some positives with the other things?

In other words, I have a tendency to fail on key #3 at times (don't know if that's called casting or flipping) resulting in poor contact. I believe the root cause is from staying back, or failing on key #2.

How I often fix the root cause is to think about maintaining my wrist angle a little longer. The only way to make good contact while maintaining the wrist angle is to do a better job at getting my weight forward. It's not like I'm trying to hold the angle while trying to keep my weight back. Does that make sense?

Of course, all of these things are feels but they result in improved contact.

[saevel25]

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

@saevel25 and @DaveP043 in your opinion is it possible though that thinking about lag can also create some positives with the other things?

I am sure for "someone" the feel of holding onto lag will help with lets say key 3. I will say that this golfer will probably need to be good at key #1 and key #2 to do so. 

 

 

[iacas]

On 7/22/2017 at 2:33 PM, JonMA1 said:

I remember a topic or post from Mike that contained the phrase "lag happens" which supports what has been mentioned above - that lag is the result of a lot of other things happening correctly.

That's my bumper sticker idea, actually.

[Kalnoky]

@ASUslacker14 I worked on the exact same thing w/ my instructor last Thursday (combating early release, creating lag, etc.) We were eventually able to make some really good swings. The first thing we did was immobilize my arms so I was forced to make a backswing w/ my body. The next thing was starting the downswing with my hips and letting the club follow. For me the feeling is of my right knee working inward, which "whips" the club around. The body turns to face the target before the club reaches the ball. 

if you have a strong upper body like I do there is tendency to use our arms too much. My instructor described this as a "trust issue" whereby we try to guide the club into the ball with our hands. The result is always an early release and loss of power.

I was practicing this today at the range and I instantly gained about 10% distance with all my clubs. However, the amount of effort expended in each swing is probably half. Long story short, I am still not ready for the back tees, but I was told over time as your hips get faster you start hitting farther. We'll see.

FWIW I agree w/ the guys here who said "lag" is a sequencing issue.