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Why you don’t want more lag

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It seems like everyone wants to copy the professional golfers and add more lag and get more forward shaft lean. Hundreds, if not thousands of videos and tips are dedicated to this cause. And yet golfers everywhere are struggling to maintain lag and get the club into a tour-pro position at impact.

Why do you struggle to do this? Because you actually don’t want more lag! Let me explain.

I know what you are thinking: “Of course I want more lag; I have tried for years to battle the affliction of losing lag and having no shaft lean at impact.” Well, you might have been trying this consciously, but your subconscious mind wants you to lose lag.

You lose lag and have the club too upright at impact because this is the way for you to create an optimal ball trajectory and maximize distance at your speed. If you were to actually get into the positions you desired, the ball would fly very low and fall out of the air. It would also have no stopping power when it hit the green.

Two swings

My swing on the left with the purple club shaft (I painted over it for clarity) shows a golfer who is striking the ball solidly, but attempting to lose lag and shaft lean at impact. This swing was recorded around 65 mph, which is typical for slower amateur swingers. My swing on the right (yellow shaft) was at the same speed, but I tried to get into my normal impact positions with forward shaft lean and more lag (through a later release).

Halfway Down

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Impact

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Post Impact

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The swing on the left hit a shot that carried 10 yards farther (green circle in the chart below) and flew twice as high (white circle) due to the application of more loft at impact (red circle). And this lag-losing swing only flew 60 feet high in the air, compared to a tour pro average of 90 feet high. The swing that looked like a tour pro only managed to get the ball 30 feet high, with a ball flight that looks like an exocet missile. That’s not great for stopping shots on the green.

So, essentially, your subconscious mind knows this and is trying to make you lose lag and shaft lean in order to get a more desirable trajectory, spin and distance at your swing speed.

Speed and lag relationship

For years, the golf instruction industry has glorified golfers with high swing speeds and lots of lag. Increasing your lag will increase your speed, they say. Cue hundreds of thousands of golfers everywhere trying to “hold the angle” for as long as possible in the hopes they will hit it as tour players.

But this was a misunderstanding of correlation and causation.

It wasn’t the lag that was causing the speed – it was the fact that players had great speed, which caused the need for lag in order to optimize their trajectory. If a player at tour speed doesn’t come in with forward shaft lean, they produce too much height and spin, so they learn to release the club later to get a more desirable trajectory at their speed.

The more speed you have, the more lag you need to hit the ball at a reasonable height. And the reverse is true too, as well: the less speed you have, the less you want to look like a tour pro at impact, because the trajectory will become unplayable and shorter. And if you ever did manage to get into your desired tour-pro position at impact, the ball would have flown so low that your subconscious mind would say, “Nope, we’re not doing that again.”

Results

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While most people would prefer to have an impact position that looks like a tour pro’s, when we look at the results above, we see that the swing that lost lag (the swing on the left with the purple line) actually hit the ball farther (by more than a club) and higher.

Keen eyes

I know some people will be looking and saying, “Yes, but I don’t swing a 7 iron at 65 mph.” That may be true, but lots of people do. And regardless, the relationship between shaft lean at impact and speed still exists, so unless you are swinging a club at tour speeds (and most people are nowhere near it), you are shooting yourself in the foot by trying to copy a tour pro’s positions.

And this effect gets exaggerated as we go further up the bag. So with a 3 iron or hybrid, the effect is more pronounced, and achieving a tour pro position will cause the ball to drop out of the air.

I am not saying that golfers need to scoop the ball in the air and have the shaft leaning backwards at impact. But I am trying to drive home the message that just because a tour pro does something doesn’t mean that all golfers should all do it, and that too much of anything can be bad.

Take home message

Stop trying to look like a tour pro, especially if you don’t have their club head speed. Remember that our subconscious mind is very powerful, and can help override things that we try. That’s why most golfers are unable to maintain lag and get forward shaft lean in the first place. If you want to improve at golf, tap into your power of the subconscious mind in order to speed up learning and get better.

Editor’s Note: Adam discusses these principles and more in his book, “The Practice Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Golfers,” which is available on Amazon.

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Adam is a golf coach and author of the bestselling book, "The Practice Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Golfers." He currently teaches at Twin Lakes in Santa Barbara, California. Adam has spent many years researching motor learning theory, technique, psychology and skill acquisition. He aims to combine this knowledge he has acquired in order to improve the way golf is learned and potential is achieved. Adam's website is www.adamyounggolf.com Visit his website www.adamyounggolf.com for more information on how to take your game to the next level with the latest research.

123 Comments

123 Comments

  1. MIkegrr

    Jun 1, 2015 at 12:20 pm

    I really like the concept in this article. 95% of all instruction is geared towards forward lean in the club shaft at impact. If what you say is true, that’s a large contradiction. As an 8 handicap player with a moderately slow swing speed, this gives me more confidence to continue with what I’m doing. I do find it hard to get in the shaft lean position and get any distance with my irons. I thought is was me, but it sounds like my swing speed is not high enough to benefit from extreme positions. I also feel that distance with irons is very over-rated. If my 7 iron goes only 130 yards, but does it every time and goes straight, that’s really all that matters. The scorecard does not reflect what club you used. Accuracy trumps distance every time with irons. However, if I can only hit a Driver 225, with a swing speed in the mid 80’s, what’s the relationship relating to lag and forward lean at impact with a driver? Should slower speed players attempt more lag on their drive, or does that cause low hooks or flipping with out sufficient swing speed. Supposedly the key to swing speed is to add more lag. What’s your take on drivers and woods?

  2. Jeff

    Jun 1, 2015 at 7:51 am

    Hi Adam,
    Good article, thanks.
    If creating lag is a pros way of controlling ball flight, does that mean they go for an earlier release when trying to drive a short par 4 for example; you know, to get those extra 20 yards or does this just give them moon balls?

  3. Terry

    May 31, 2015 at 9:13 pm

    You want the greatest amount of lag pressure that you are able to sustain throughout the downswing and past impact, which means you want to have a steady and even buildup of acceleration that naturally has the hands ahead of the lagging clubhead. Do not over-accelerate at any time in the downswing because you will lose the lag and will never be able to get it back in that swing. A steady and even acceleration is all that is needed to create and sustain ample lag that naturally keeps the passive right wrist bent back.

  4. Adam Young

    May 24, 2015 at 3:30 pm

    Yes Billy. A player producing the same dynamic loft as a pro with 65mph clubhead speed is pretty painful. So is the resultant 28 foot high ball flight

  5. Brad B

    May 23, 2015 at 3:54 pm

    Neither swing looks good to me. I don’t recall ever seeing a pro with the positions seen here. Very strange.

    • Adam Young

      May 23, 2015 at 4:11 pm

      Brad – please re-read the article to understand the message. I can summarize it here for you

      Pro Shaft lean + slow swing speed = 28 foot high shot.

      The positions are irrelevant. The ball knows only the impact. The swing positions look intentionally funky in the first pic because I am reproducing the average high handicapper. They look strange in the second pic because I am exaggerating the “weight left, lots of lean” look at a slow speed.

  6. mariner

    May 23, 2015 at 1:49 pm

    Adam, Why is your right elbow not leading deeper into the downswing? Your elbow is pointing well behind you at impact in both the purple and yellow swings which causes left wrist cupping and swatting at the ball (the hands flipping the club horizontally through impact). With the right elbow pointing away from the target like it is and the left wrist cupping at impact it can only mean you are either releasing too early (casting) or trying to throw or push the club head instead of swinging the club. mariner

  7. Thwack!

    May 22, 2015 at 1:44 pm

    Adam – A flipper with good timing can make ball contact with a vertical shaft, but he will not have the designed club loft nor produce decent clubhead speed or the dynamics of a solid strike. The reason why is because the clubhead would be decelerating into impact. When you have an accelerating (constantly increasing speed) clubhead, you have naturally created LAG. And, to have an accelerating clubhead you must have an accelerating handle also. There is your lag. Contrary, if the club is decelerating – you lose the lag you had when accelerating and there is a lack of lag…or flip.

    Whenever the clubhead is no longer increasing in speed (e.g. acceleration) it is slowing down (e.g. deceleration), and when it stops increasing in speed it immediately tips over into deceleration. Most people don’t really get the difference until they think about it for a while) If a handicap golfer can ‘time’ the point of when his clubhead goes from acceleration-to-deceleration so his clubhead aligns vertically with the handle at impact he will have achieved a decent flip and not hit a fat or off-line shot. (Most flippers give it a death grip to prevent the ‘expected’ flip from getting too far out of control, and usually a softer shaft will help by giving the flipper a bit of help from shaft flex.) But, a decent flip is difficult to consistently time and does not produce a solid shot by any means because it (wait for it) lacks acceleration.

    In this article your intent was to manipulate the natural forward shaft lean that a proper ‘accelerating’ club (with natural lag) would produce. You’ve obviously done this manipulation by using added grip pressure and/or muscular effort because a a proper swing would naturally create and sustain lag and naturally produce forward shaft lean. I get what you tried to do…but you cannot duplicate all the multitude of manipulation variances that handicap golfers have in their swings or intentionally use to hit the ball with their clubhead to play this game. Your topic is beyond the wants and needs of golfers that have little clue how to achieve a good swing with first-rate results.

    Anyway, the answer to all the issues about lag and shaft lean and flipping in your article (and many of the comments) is not about slow clubhead speed or manipulating forward shaft lean, but instead it is whether the clubhead is still accelerating at impact versus going into deceleration at the moment of impact (a.k.a. decent flip). You can create lag with any speed swing – even the smallest of chips or even tiny putts…by accelerating the clubhead through impact, which requires that the handle is accelerating too. The greater the acceleration (increasing going faster and faster and faster in speed like a drag car), the greater the lag. If you want to create lag – accelerate, but the acceleration must be very gradual – otherwise you over-accelerate…and over-acceleration is (ta-da) deceleration. If you want to sustain the lag – continue to accelerate…otherwise you will decelerate and flip.

    • Jerry

      May 22, 2015 at 3:01 pm

      Thwack, I like your message. What you say makes good sense. Most of it I’ve never thought about before. Thanks

    • Cliff

      May 22, 2015 at 3:14 pm

      The handle of the club actually slows down as you come into impact. What you are saying is the exact thing Adam is trying to get people not to do. When you try to keep the hands accelerating you are holding on to the release and creating unnatural lag and shaft lean. The hands slow down to allow for the release of the club head. The hands slow down while club head speed increases.

      • Thwack!

        May 22, 2015 at 3:49 pm

        Cliff, when release happens the hands do slow up, but you want that to happen after the hands have passed the ball – thus you get forward shaft lean. It is not something that a golfer thinks about or makes happens or tries to time.

        If a golfer is trying to time the release the golfer is hitting ‘at’ the ball rather than letting the ball get in the way or hitting ‘through’ the ball. That is a flip! If you allow or intentionally try to let the hands slow up you will release the heavy clubhead (which is a cast) and the clubhead will want to fly off the circle on a tangent that would hit a fat shot. That is a decelerating clubhead. Timing the hands to release precisely where the hands start deceleration at the exact moment of impact would be fruitless, but more important it causes a cast and flip, which prevents forward shaft lean. You want the release to happen after your hands are beyond or past the ball – with the handle beyond the ball, which produces forward shaft lean. There is no shot in golf that should be hit with a decelerating clubhead…and to have an accelerating clubhead the handle (hands) must be accelerating too. The hand snap you often hear about is the release happening, but that hand release happens on the target side of the ball, not at or before the ball.

    • Adam Young

      May 22, 2015 at 3:21 pm

      Thwack – regarding acceleration – it actually matters very little to the ball. Whether the clubhead is accelerating or decelerating will make almost not difference to what the ball flight is like – it is more the physics of impact in terms of speed, centredness of strike, 3d path and face plane tilt.

      Also having a vertical shaft at impact does not mean lack of speed – have a look at some of the long drivers – they often have vertical shafts or even leaning backwards at impact – it is far more complicated than you make out here. http://s603.photobucket.com/user/slantdicular/media/preImpct.jpg.html

      If what you said were true, players would have higher swing speeds with an iron than a driver, as they have more shaft lean than a driver. Also,I have seen plenty of players with forward shaft lean and slow speeds and also the reverse. My own swing in the above example managed to produce the same speed with wildly varying amounts of shaft lean and lag.

      I achieved the forward shaft lean simply by feeling a later release of the club, I did not grip it tightly.

      I hate to tell you thwack, but the entire premise about acceleration is incorrect. It matters very little to the ball. Also the statement about needing the handle to accelerate in order for the clubhead to accelerate -I suggest you have a look at some of the kinematic sequence graphs of good players. their hands are actually decelerating at impact.

      you can check out kinematic sequences here if you like http://thedanplan.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/AMMkinematicsequencegraphb.jpg

      • Thwack!

        May 22, 2015 at 3:54 pm

        Adam, acceleration makes very little (nil) difference to the ball because it only knows speed and mass, but it makes ALL the difference in delivering the clubhead to the ball – a stressed shaft, LAG and a stable clubhead through the ball.

    • Joey

      May 23, 2015 at 10:58 am

      Good read. Validated.

  8. Andrew Cooper

    May 22, 2015 at 3:34 am

    Thanks for the article Adam. I do feel however that you’re missing something very important here. Lag just happens in an athletic golf swing, in a similar way to how we’d move to pitch a ball in a side arm throw. It’s simply the result of good dynamic, athletic sequencing. Therefore I think your work here is based on a flimsy premise. Good dynamic movement (which naturally creates shaft lean at impact) will also create faster club head speeds. As you found, it’s hard to swing deliberately slowly if you’re moving athletically.
    So the golfer in the yellow pictures- a young, strong athletic guy with good athletic sense but only carrying a 7 iron 100 yards- doesn’t really exist. And if he did exist, would it be beneficial long term to his golf game to make his swing more like the purple swing? I’d think that the yellow swing data is something you’d see in a good junior golfer who maybe lacks a little strength-but would you really want to take away their innate athletic sense and good swing dynamics for a short term gain of a few more yards? Ranges are full of the purple swingers, hitting thins and tops and chunks-why would you want to encourage people in that direction?

    • Adam Young

      May 22, 2015 at 6:39 am

      Andrew – I am in full agreement with what you said.

      The message of the article is clearly not coming through, which is probably down to my own error in writing here.

      All the article is stating is this;

      Tons of weight forward + shaft lean + slow swing speed = exocet missile trajectory.
      Brain says “no, I don’t like that” and responds with motion.

      At no point in the article did I encourage a purple position – however, it is certainly possible to hit decent shots with that position(all of the ten shots I hit with this were straight and crisp strikes – check out the smash factor).

      • Cliff

        May 22, 2015 at 8:54 am

        You have the ability to time that purple flip at the bottom. Most guys swinging that slow aren’t good enough to do that. The purple post impact picture is just horrible looking. I get the point your trying to make but pictures are worth a thousand words and it’s telling me you want people to flip thru impact, which I know isn’t the case. Need a better post impact picture for the purple and it would be better. No shaft lean with a proper release.

        • Adam Young

          May 22, 2015 at 9:13 am

          Cliff, you seem to have misunderstood the message.

          I did not ask anyone to flip the club through impact, in fact I put a disclaimer in there at the bottom specifically to avoid this whole conversation. The purple pic is horrible because I am imitating what a high handicapper is doing.

          I really don’t know how to explain this simpler – a slow speed player is flipping and achieving horrible positions through impact because (when they get it right, like I did), they get more carry and a normal ball flight.

          Do you deny that if a player swings at 65mph and achieves a professional shaft lean and dynamic loft that they will not like the trajectory?

        • Adam Young

          May 22, 2015 at 9:17 am

          Also, you raise a good point.

          If I am able to strike the ball well with the flipper’s impact position, what is it that I possess which allows me to do this?

          Maybe if you find the answer to that, we can start working on things which allow us to play better golf (other than copying tour pro positions).

          There is more to this game than positions

          • Cliff

            May 22, 2015 at 9:58 am

            I agree with what you said above and I get what you are saying. Anyone trying to create artificial lag and/or hold onto it is doomed to fail period! The swing and the lag generated must be natural. I think trying to create lag is more of a better players issue than a high handicapper who swings over the top. Trying to create lag and hold onto it creates tremendous tension in the arms, wrists, and hands in my opinion. For me I try to keep my arms, wrists, and hands as relaxed as I can during the backswing and the transition which helps create the natural lag on my downswing.

            You’re able to flip consistently because you have a proper swing path, you know where your swing bottoms out at, and you know how to swing a club correctly without flipping.

            • Adam Young

              May 22, 2015 at 10:22 am

              I agree Cliff – Lag should be the result of other things and not consciously manipulated.

              And you are onto something – I have good low point control – which is what my part 2 will be discussing.

      • Andrew Cooper

        May 22, 2015 at 2:08 pm

        Thanks for your reply and clarification. Totally with you on excessive weight shift and shaft lean-and it being attempted in a forced unnatural way.

      • christian

        May 25, 2015 at 10:34 am

        So, this article is mainly aimed ad seniors, ladies and the physically impaired playing golf?

  9. Cliff

    May 21, 2015 at 3:20 pm

    The more I look at the yellow swing the more messed up it looks. Almost looks like a slide towards the target which will smother the ball causing it to come out low and draw/hook or push it to the right. Once you slide your have no choice but to beat down on it or swing over top of it. With that swing I can understand why the number look bad for the yellow. Just my $.02.

    • Cliff

      May 21, 2015 at 3:27 pm

      BTW – I know the yellow swing all too well. Hit down -6* on every club in the bag when I got fitted and guess what my ball flight was, low with a draw/hook or push. Hard for anyone to play golf with the swing in yellow regardless of swing speed.

  10. adam young

    May 20, 2015 at 9:00 am

    DEAR GOLFWRXers

    I appreciate the comments, but feel this article has been widely misinterpreted.

    The article simply states facts – if you get into the shaft lean of a tour pro with a non tour pro swing speed, you will hit an exocet missile trajectory and lose distance, even if you create a more solid strike. Please re-look at the Trackman data.

    The main premise behind the article is that, if your visualized trajectory is not congruent with the reality (a 28 foot high ball flight) then your subconscious will sabotage your attempts at creating lag N lean. Hence the phrase “you don’t want lag”.

    RE the positions – I am a professional swinging the club at an unnaturally slow 65mph (lots of amateurs swing at this speed). I am also trying to create positions of an average 20-28 handicap (purple) and an exaggerated version of what lots of people try to achieve (yellow – lots of shaft lean, lots of weight forwards).

    I hope this clears things up.

    • Curt

      May 20, 2015 at 10:33 pm

      No!

      • adam young

        May 21, 2015 at 11:46 am

        Hi Curt – which part are do you need clearing up? I will be happy to explain further.

        • Walter

          May 21, 2015 at 10:57 pm

          I don’t think it is possible for you to clear up, because it cannot be. The swing you are comparing is admittedly contrived (manipulated/concocted) by you to purposely display inferior results. That is not ‘real’ – it is a made-up swing to fit the purpose of your article. Any number of trumped-up swings can be devised to make a specific point. I’d say people have seen and heard enough about this one.

          • Adam Young

            May 22, 2015 at 10:33 am

            Walter
            Ignore the motions for a second – simply imagine the club and ball impact (this is all that matters to the golf ball). Whether they are contrived or not is irrelevant, if you produce a certain shaft lean which produces a certain dynamic loft and AOA at impact, you will get the ball flights I described. This is the case whether you make a a swing like the above, or whether you have one foot in the air and are only holding the club with one hand.

            Fact is, tons of higher handicap players with slower speeds are chasing more lag and shaft lean at impact – there are plenty of tour players who have the shaft lean of the yellow pic, if not more so. I’m simply pointing out that if you do so, you will hit it 28 feet high.

            Now that I have explained my point, I’m really struggling to understand what YOUR point is. can you clarify further please

  11. Ron

    May 18, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    Adam – I hope you will reconsider doing a part two. Please don’t!

    Quote:
    Adam Young May 18, 2015 at 3:54 pm
    I will also be doing a part two which will help people understand how to create a more solid strike with less shaft lean.

    • Adam Young

      May 19, 2015 at 1:44 am

      Why Ron?

      Should everyone have to fall into the camp of having pro-level shaft lean and hitting golf balls which fall out of the air? Or should there be a way of creating a more optimal distance and trajectory for slower speed players?

      There certainly seem to be a lot of people who ave commented that since they have done away with the ‘lag N Lean’ approach they have hit it higher and farther. And on our forums, a lot of the teachers are also reporting the same results.

      • Randy

        May 19, 2015 at 11:17 am

        Adam: Are you suggesting that when a ‘pro-level’ (e.g. Tour Professional) needs to hit a 1/2 or 3/4 (less-than-full) shot (intentionally using fractional swing speeds) that he/she does not want shaft lean and/or lag? You need to re-think what you are saying. Unless the pro-level player is hitting a specialized shot (such as a wide open lob shot where the shaft is vertical or the clubhead races ahead of the grip) he/she will always have shaft lean – including the shortest and most delicate pitch or chip. Are you forgetting that golf clubs are made to have shaft lean by their very design?

        • adam young

          May 20, 2015 at 8:46 am

          Randy, please re-read the article. I am not suggesting that a pro hitting a 3/4 should not have shaft lean, just that it will fly lower.

          If a pro hits a 3/4 shot with the same shaft lean, the ball flies lower, as the same impact factors with less speed produce a lower flight. This is the whole premise of the article

          A pro’s 3/4 speed shot is also much higher than the average player full speed.

      • TonyH

        May 19, 2015 at 2:03 pm

        adam, you might want to find something different to write about. this topic one is not going well for you.

        • Adam Young

          May 22, 2015 at 6:58 am

          Tony, with all due respect, 300 people have liked the article. The people who have disliked it are likely to be higher speed players who it doesn’t apply to, or people who have misread the message (which it seems like a lot of people have).

          The article is stating facts. If you get into a tour player’s shaft lean and present a tour player’s dynamic loft to the ball at a swing speed which is less than a tour player’s, you will create a lower ball flight which may not have optimal carry distance.

          I would be happy to discuss this if you feel that this is not true. but I would also invite you to re-look at the Trackman data first.

  12. Michael Graham

    May 17, 2015 at 5:39 pm

    Your pre-impact pixs look okay, but your impact and post-impact pixs are pretty astonishing because you don’t have the results of properly releasing. How do you explain your lack of ‘both arms straight’ when the clubhead is 2′-3′ past impact? How do you explain the bent left wrist at impact? How do you explain the totally bent left wrist and the limp left arm post-impact? Your left wrist should be flat and your right wrist should be bent back at impact regardless of what your swing/intent was (except for a flop/lob shot). Your hands, wrists and left arm positions are like the clubhead had been cast or thrown instead of properly released. It is not something I would expect coming from a teacher/instructor.

    • Adam Young

      May 18, 2015 at 10:34 am

      Michael – both arms being straight is usually a result of the club being swung at greater speed. It is the result of the club exerting a force on you as it is being propelled at speed – it should not be a consciously manipulated position.

      I am not sure you understood the message in the article. The reason why a player would get into the positions yo describe (bent left arm, flipping/casting etc) is because it creates the desired trajectory- as evidenced by the Trackman data.

      I am not advocating it – I am clarifying one of the big reasons why it happens

  13. Gene

    May 17, 2015 at 12:06 pm

    I’m intrigued by what Adam has attempted to present and I appreciate the swing data he has provided, but I am really puzzled in what I see with Adam’s pictorial demonstrations. A 33 year teaching pro’s perspective….

    • Adam Young

      May 18, 2015 at 11:06 am

      Gene – what you have to realize is that (RE the positions), I am trying to create both exaggerated positions to make the point, as well as trying to swing a 7 iron at 65mph – not easy for a pro with normally much more speed.

      But the fact remains that if you produce the impact numbers verified by Trackman at those speed, you will achieve those heights of shot.

      If a 38ft high shot is what you desire, then go ahead and lean the shaft a ton. If not, your brain and body will fight achieving those impact numbers with the club and ball (which is what ultimately matters)

  14. Steve

    May 16, 2015 at 11:49 am

    Impact and post impact pictures look like a 18+ handicapper.

    • PGA A-6

      May 16, 2015 at 2:37 pm

      I have to agree. Clearly some poorly applied manipulation resulting in a lot of bad angles and body positions.

    • Adam Young

      May 17, 2015 at 12:08 am

      Steve – I am trying to get into positions that an average 18 handicapper would get into – so job done.

      But I assure you, the shots were much crisper strike (see the smash factor) and more accurate than the average 18 handicapper due to the other factors involved in strike.

      Positions to not maketh a golfer

  15. John R

    May 15, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    Adam: As a golf coach and teacher you simply cannot be pleased with what is illustrated in any of the images of yourself in this article you authored. Please forgive me but, it is glaringly evident that the person in these images has a very flawed understanding of how to swing a golf club. Have you ever seen any tour player (with the exception of maybe Tommy Gainey) be so out-of-kilter in his body positions at every point in his swing as what these images portray?

    • Adam Young

      May 16, 2015 at 12:17 am

      With a trackman combine average of 85 and a high score of 88.4, I would beg to differ.

      I can hit a ball.I do so using the right pic. But at slower speed, the right pic does not work.

      Maybe your understanding of what is important to hit ball is flawed.

      • Travis R

        May 18, 2015 at 10:21 am

        Trackman data can only go so far Mr. Young, while scores do much more talking. It is disappointing that a GolfWRX writer such as yourself is becoming so defensive and cannot learn from the comments that others have posted. Your arrogance bleeds through your posts.

        • Adam Young

          May 18, 2015 at 10:45 am

          Travis – you are right – my apologies.

          What I am trying to say is, regardless of whether you like the positions or not, the swings posted produced certain impact conditions. Ultimately, THIS and not the positions of the golfer is what is responsible for the ball flight.

          If a player were to desire to lag and lean the club (there are lots out there which do), Combined with the average player’s 7 iron swing speed, the ball would not achieve optimal trajectory.

  16. Boh

    May 15, 2015 at 4:35 pm

    The data shows the truth! but let us all disagree the quantifiable numbers.

    • Adam Young

      May 16, 2015 at 12:19 am

      Exactly Boh

      FACTS- if you get into the right position (yellow) at 65mph with a 7 iron, you hit it unplayable low.

  17. EliG

    May 15, 2015 at 2:11 pm

    The left wrist is cupped at impact as well as in the post-impact image too where both arms/wrists should be in full extension. Sorry, but I see nothing but bad form.

    • Bill

      May 15, 2015 at 4:01 pm

      I’m seeing a lateral throw of the clubhead being made with a revealing collapsed lead wrist and contorted left arm post impact. Any shaft lean with such a swing must be manipulated.

  18. Stretch

    May 15, 2015 at 12:52 pm

    Great article with some fun to read observations.

    How does the A swing affect the discussion? Having come across David and Denis videos on the internet was revealing. After playing three rounds using it I have found a return of my missing speed and accuracy.

  19. Jeff

    May 15, 2015 at 5:08 am

    I am a 6-handicapper who converted to a Jim Hardy One Plane swing last year. In our latest lessons we have focused on eliminating the lag immediately and ensuring there was no shaft lean at impact. This was a big change for me. When I hit the ball this way, it definitely goes long and straight!

    Nice article!

  20. Tom

    May 15, 2015 at 1:54 am

    This is exactly what I was going through with my teacher. I have a moderate swing speed (driver SS 95mph), but had a whole bunch of shaft lean and lag which led to a smothering shot and very low ball flight. The result of years of playing cricket in Australia. I asked him about flipping in the lesson because he was basically telling me to pick the ball off the ground with it played way back in my stance (as a drill, not as a desired final swing). His response, which made sense to me, was that I wanted (signifincantly) less lag to produce a higher ball flight to have my irons land softer. Having somewhat implemented the changes I’ve found the distances I’m getting almost identical but the ball is flying higher and landing softer. I think the main teaching point out of this is that there are degrees of lag/shaft lean at impact and sometimes less is more.

    • Adam Young

      May 18, 2015 at 3:54 pm

      That’s right Tom.

      I will also be doing a part two which will help people understand how to create a more solid strike with less shaft lean

  21. Albiemanmike

    May 14, 2015 at 12:02 pm

    I enjoyed the article very much and agree with the authors premise. But people have to understand lag isn’t something you can really teach nor learn? If you try to teach it or learn it you will only succeed in frustrating yourself right out of the game. I have never thought about lag/shaft lean as those two things are completely the results of my putting a good swing on the ball or not. My driver swing speed is 110-112 last time it was measured and the irons were in the 90-95 range if memory serves me. If I tried to think about lag and shaft lean I am certain everything would go to hell in a hand basket. People need to stop trying to be something they are not i.e. Tour Pros. You will never be a Tour Pro nor will you ever swing a club like a Tour Pro so stop trying to do things they do and start doing things you can do with your very own swing. Be true to yourself and your game and you won’t have to worry about things like lag and shaft lean.

    • Adam Young

      May 15, 2015 at 12:35 am

      There are some important points in what you said there.

    • Gorden

      May 15, 2015 at 11:40 pm

      I agree, take it farther and Post that notice “If your paying for your round today, you are not a Tour player and have a handicap, please play form handicap proper tee box’s so everyone can enjoy the day.”

  22. Thwack!

    May 14, 2015 at 11:50 am

    Adam – It is clear that you are intentionally trying to move (swing) the clubhead forward (or target-ward). This can be easily seen because your right arm’s elbow is flared out to the rear of your right hand at, or near, impact. This is an indication that you are trying to move or throw your right hand (and club’s grip and clubhead) toward the target, and it is THE cause of flipping. It is only natural that one would think that they should try to move the club and clubhead toward the target, right? However, the golfer should not [really] be trying to make his club move forward to the target, but instead he should try to move it DOWN with the right arm…and OUT with his pivot. The right arm unfolds (or extends) DOWN to the ball (like you were trying to hit the top of the ball and drive it straight DOWN into the ground) – NOT forward toward the target. Think axe chop down. Think karate chop down. (Remember the ‘Hit Down Dammit’ saying?) Well, the right arm unfolds straight DOWN while body’s pivot slings it OUT – and together these two divergent and synchronous force vectors provides the FORWARD (or target-ward) direction. You do NOT need to do anything to obtain the ‘forward’ part of the 3-D swing – the forward part happens because of the DOWN and OUT. Again, when I see a player’s right elbow hanging back or flared rearward it is a clear indication that the golfer thinks he needs to (and is doing his best to) move the club target-ward or forward to the target. Can you say ‘flip’, ‘throw-away’, ‘cast’, ‘no lag’, ‘deceleration’? Intentionally trying to move the club and clubhead toward the target is something that 99.99999% of people would of course try to do if they wanted to hit the golf ball toward their target, right? Well, that is NOT how you should swing a golf club.

    The downswing is just that – a DOWN movement provided by the unfolding of the right arm with the intention of driving the clubhead STRAIGHT DOWN into the ground…and an OUT movement provided by the body pivoting around – and together the result is a perfectly on-plane swing that automatically sustains lag. I have only seen two people (Tom Tomasello & Lynn Blake) that explains this. It is counter-intuitive, and looking at a professional swing the club it is an illusion. But, now that you know what needs to be done (unfold the right arm STRAIGHT DOWN and allow the pivot to swing it OUT with centrifugal force to obtain the forward part), you can easily see it in the swings of professionals. The unfolding can be done using just gentle gravity, or it can be driven muscularly, but the direction that the right arm unfolds must be down, not forward…and let the body’s pivot provide the slinging outward movement. This is where the ‘compact’ (small radius) low MOI downswing comes from, along with ‘naturally’ sustaining a stressed shaft and ‘natural’ hand lag, which ‘naturally’ retains the bent back right wrist…that provides a ‘natural’ bottoming out of the low point beyond impact…and compresses the ball to the absolute maximum. Have you ever heard that Bobby Jones’ hands dropped (DOWN) at only the speed of gravity, yet his clubhead speed was well over 100 mph. Watch the pros swing and focus in on their right arm – see how it unfolds the right arm DOWN, not target-ward. The target-ward movement comes only from the body pivot. Now you know the secret of the golf swing – and of lag (which this article is about)…and all that goes with it!

    • Dave S

      May 14, 2015 at 2:41 pm

      TL;DR

      • Thwack!

        May 14, 2015 at 3:05 pm

        I really should read it Dave (and I suspect you have!) – because you will most definitely learn something extremely important about the golf swing that ALL tour professionals do and 99.999% of amateurs do not do, or even know about. And, anyone can do it – even you Dave!

        • jaybrus

          May 17, 2015 at 4:07 am

          May seem completely false but the fact is “holding on” to create lag only increases your flip through the ball as the hands are forced to turn over through the hitting area. That is why most pros take out the “drag” in their swings so they can square up the club earlier in the downswing so the club wont be stuck behind them through impact

    • Adam Young

      May 15, 2015 at 12:42 am

      Thwack,

      With all due respect, I know about this stuff. What you described above is actually the complete reverse of what is actually happening in the swing – in terms of intention.

      No golfer is sustaining the lag, or they would go clean over the top of the ball. No golfer is driving the clubhead down and out – it might be moving that way, but biomechanical analysis of some of the best players in the game show their hands are moving UP AND IN through impact.

      You might not see this now, and I appreciate where you are coming from. But in 10 years time, what I describe above will be the norm.

      Here’s a good start to begin your education.Have a look at Muira’s parametric acceleration paper, followed by Nesbits hand path paper, followed by work from Sasho Mckenzie, Dr Kwon and Como.

      It will take some time for your existing beliefs to be flipped. And you will resist it (as all humans do). but in time, you will see that trying to maintain lag, trying to drive the hands and clubhead down and out is destroying consistency.

    • polo412

      May 22, 2015 at 10:56 pm

      Brilliant! THANK YOU

  23. B

    May 14, 2015 at 11:04 am

    I usually don’t comment on articles but I have to admit that this is a pretty cool article. I enjoy because it does challenge conventional thinking. The golf community has had an obsession with creating lag for years. The problem is that golfers have become obsessed with a resulting action and forgetting the cause.

    You CANNOT flip the club if you are pivoting properly. If your footwork and core are functioning right then it is borderline impossible to flip through impact. Flippers, the majority of the time, don’t pivot into impact.

    I enjoyed this article and I can see how this could benefit many golfers. Just because it may or may not apply to the majority of golfers on this site or anywhere to their knowledge doesn’t mean that it isn’t useful information. There are many different golfers that will be able to use this information to better their games.

    Adam keep up what you are doing, we can’t innovate without challenging status quo. Love these kind of articles.

    • Adam Young

      May 15, 2015 at 12:48 am

      Thanks B

      It may seem like basic stuff which doesn’t apply to better players, but it applies to them more.
      Sure, a better player may want or need more shaft lean than the left pic, but how you get there is important (as you state). Trying to intentionally hold lag or driving hands down and out is not the answer and is counterproductive.

      The article is there only really to state that a player’s intention of shot trajectory will influence their motion. But it goes deeper than that – just because a player has a certain movement doesnt mean they are not actively trying to do the opposite. In a game of tug of war, you might be moving forwards, but not for effort of doing the opposite. People forget that golf is a game of tug of war with you and the club

  24. myron miller

    May 14, 2015 at 9:37 am

    Interesting and totally contrary to what I’ve found over the years with my swing. I’ve found that if I increase my lag and release it moderately late (after the club head has passed parallel to ground) that I significantly increase my distance and ball height by very noticeable amounts. releasing it early or swinging it without lag yields much lower ball flight and generally much shorter. For example, My driver goes about 175-180 with smooth swing – no lag. Goes 215-230 when I get the lag and feel it releasing. Similarly for other clubs, especially the mid-irons. Short irons (wedges, etc) are NOT distance related but are control and distance controlled so generally no lag there as I want them to go very controlled distance in the straightest line possible.

    I have never had much shaft lean, very very slight forward or almost totally straight vertical (and never reverse). As indicated in the article, too much shaft leans tends to low ball flight and lack of both control and distance. Even when I was younger and could hit the ball as far as anyone, I never had much shaft lean. And it showed by almost zero spin on the green. but since the ball height was super high, it mean that I hit a lot of drop and stop shots.

    Controlling the lag is probably the hardest thing to accomplish. Having it release in time is very hard but its beyond belief helpful in the overall shot. So here, I would strong disagree with the article on this point. Learning to control and have some lag is important in learning to swing even moderately well in my opinion. But this is just based upon my own observations and my personal swing.

    Shaft lean is different. Too much is always been a problem, even for the pros. So there I would agree with the article.

    • B

      May 14, 2015 at 11:34 am

      I wouldn’t say totally contrary. Actually what your experience has been validates what Adam said. You said that you never had very much shaft lean at impact so, yes you would see more height and distance if you increased lag, but this article is for those who are trying to get Sergio Garcia type lag and don’t have the speed(70-80 mph) to release it in time at the ball. From what I have seen on a lot of the forums here and elsewhere and with the TV coverage constantly talking about, “this player gets this much lag and that is how he can hit the ball this distance.” That is only part of the story. Someone made a comment that 70% of power comes from lag. That can’t be true. If it were then the biggest laggers would’ve been the longest hitters.

      But I definitely agree with you about the need to control lag because my ideal lag is not going to be someone elses ideal. One player who swings at 120 mph, will need to have a different lag angle from the retired vets lag that is swinging at 85 mph.

  25. RG

    May 14, 2015 at 7:36 am

    Great article Adam. Just be ready for the backlash when you try to awaken people to the truth about the golf game. Individuals on this site are SOLD on the fact that what works for the tour, works for them. Teachers keep teaching and preaching that what pros do is what Mr. Johnny Tryin To Break Ninety should do. They call it cast, but it is also “square the club early.”

  26. Brian T

    May 13, 2015 at 9:13 pm

    I think a lot of you guys are missing Adam’s point. He’s not saying that lag is bad and you shouldn’t teach lag. What he’s saying is that lag is a result of a solid swing and generally higher swing speeds result in the need for more lag.

    I play with a guy that creates very little lag and starts to release the club about 7-8 o’clock. He is a very good balls striker and can sweep it right off the turf every time. Baby draw and more than sufficient yardage. But then he decided that he needed to create lag and start taking divots, and I’m telling you, he is really struggling. I think this is the exact player that this article is targeted at. Guys get so infatuated with trying to get to certain position at impact that their swing goes downhill when it was bad to begin with.

    • Adam Young

      May 14, 2015 at 1:05 am

      Someone gets it 🙂

      Also, looking at how your concept of ball trajectory is going to influence your ability to create shaft lean

  27. Doc

    May 13, 2015 at 5:12 pm

    How does Adam lose lag and still swing 64mph?? I’m a pretty good player I know it would take me an hour to get 10 swings that slow with a 7 iron that consistently cast the club around a 0* attack angle.

    To play devils advocate, I think this is way too analytical and not relevant for 97% of us who frequent the GolfWRX site. If someone is a 20 handicap and has no intention of ever improving, the answer is get your irons custom fit so you consistently present the proper angle of attack by adjusting shaft kick points and flex. Most mid to high handicappers couldn’t hit a 0* attack angle and static loft if their life depended on it. The overwelming majority would be casting and presenting an over-the-top path and positive attack, while hitting the ground behind the ball. This is a symptom of the flip/roll release that so many have.

    Based on my experience, when I lag the club just a few inches more I gain 2.5mph of club head speed. For each personal player, if they lag more their speed at impact should naturally increase. Which leads to higher trajectory as a result of more ball speed and spin. So as a player increases lag and improves/reduces their dynamic loft they NEED shaft lean for optimal carry. It’s a catch 22. In this test Adam just casts the club at the same speed, which is almost never the case in real life.

    Can we learn from this is a mathematical ratio for a specific swing speed vs attack angle. I’m guessing the club fitters have something like this in mind to dial in a persons shafts, loft and lie, right?? I’m not great on club fitting but it makes sense that a calculation could be done to determine that. But there’s always the option to just hit balls on the flight scope and go from there.

    • Adam Young

      May 14, 2015 at 1:09 am

      Doc-it took me 11 swings to produce the unlagged results.

      If lagging adds 2mph swing speed but takes off 4 degrees of dynamic loft – there is no benefit

      I casted the club at the same speed to keep a data variable the same.

      you re right – clubfitters will/should know this

      don;t forget, one of the main points in this article is how our concept of trajectory influences lag and shaft lean. The point is not that it is bad (it can aid strike, although not necessary), but that if you are trying to lag and get a high flight at the same time, the two are incongruent

      • CD

        May 14, 2015 at 12:31 pm

        There is an optical illusion of the club being held, to varying degrees amongst players, depending on the degree to which they shallow the shaft on the downswing. No one views this angle which apparently ‘is’ ‘lag’, perpendicular to the plane.

        ‘Holding the angle’ (or throwing it away) is viewing the swing two dimensionally.

        A releasing clubhead that lags behind the hands has more energy than a held clubhead.

        One can speed up the arms or the pivot to achieve greater lag, greater energy and a later release. Then you will not only need shaft lean, but will actually have the correct amount of shaft lean.

        Cause a moving component to accelerate with weight; don’t cause an accelerating weight to lose energy by slowing it down.

  28. golfiend

    May 13, 2015 at 4:51 pm

    flipping is no way to play good golf. people seek golf instruction to get rid of the flip, not to confirm that they should keep their bad swing.

    • Adam Young

      May 14, 2015 at 1:10 am

      Maybe there is something else making them play poor golf. Just maybe

  29. J

    May 13, 2015 at 4:38 pm

    The easiest way to create power in the golf swing is through lag and the proper release of lag into impact. This should be a fundamental effect of a properly loaded golf swing. Hip rotation, upper body seperation are also factors in creating speed. I’ve seen old guys with 68 mph swing speeds hit the ball to their physical maximum by leveraging the proper release of lag no matter how limited their other swing factors maybe. This article is a bit misleading, lag should never be discouraged. Once proper lag is generated release of that lag becomes the priority.

    • Adam Young

      May 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm

      That’s fine, I will go along with that.

      This article is not discouraging lag per-se. Just talking about how you may be losing lag quicker and arriving at a different impact position than a pro simply because your brain is trying to optimize trajectory.

      Oh, and btw, if your 68mph guys were “leveraging the proper release of lag”, AND “The easiest way to create power in the golf swing is through lag and the proper release of lag into impact”

      Why are they still swinging at 68mph? surely your comments are contradicting each other?

      • J

        May 13, 2015 at 5:03 pm

        I was using an old guy analogy. Generally speaking, they have limited hip rotation, seperation, and are reluctantly to stay on the left after impact (knees) But, they keep their hands soft, ball forward and noticeably add lag from the top. Hold off the finish,and they hit it 210 every time down the middle. That is a best case power scenario for an old guy with 68mph driver.

        • Adam Young

          May 14, 2015 at 1:12 am

          J, did you read my article on on angle of attack and creating 56 yards of extra distance.

          Losing lag rapidly and arriving at a more purple position with the driver is a great way to both add launch and improve AOA for better carry distances.

  30. Raj Painumkal

    May 13, 2015 at 4:07 pm

    THis is a good article. A lot of amateurs are trying to create lag at the expense of squaring up the clubface on impact which is first and foremost.

    • Adam Young

      May 13, 2015 at 4:30 pm

      Definitely Raj. That is certainly another element. The more lag and forward shaft lean you produce, the more the clubface tends to be open to the arc (specifically if you produce more than you had at address.

  31. Sean

    May 13, 2015 at 3:38 pm

    I always thought lag was supposed to be a result of a good swing, not something one pursued.

    • Adam Young

      May 13, 2015 at 4:00 pm

      It is. But if you read lots of forums and do thousands of lessons like I do, you see players with 65mph swings trying to lag the hell out of it in the hopes of more speed and distance.

  32. Scott Shields

    May 13, 2015 at 3:17 pm

    Is this a joke?
    Teaching people to try to lose lag and swat at the ball…wth kind of article is this?

    • Adam Young

      May 13, 2015 at 3:39 pm

      teaching people to arrive at an impact position which allows for an optimal ball flight at lower speeds whilst still maintaining ball/turf contact.

      Which part of the article did you not understand Scott. I will gladly clear it up for you

    • BD57

      May 13, 2015 at 10:17 pm

      Did you read the article? I’m serious here …

      The point of the article is “lag” is a product of the swing, not the object of the swing. Put another way – your swing will have the lag that it “deserves” . . . someone who can’t make his hands move with the speed of a Dustin Johnson isn’t going to have DJ “lag” – – – and shouldn’t want DJ “lag.”

  33. LK

    May 13, 2015 at 2:21 pm

    On the above I meant to put: No one would argue that the mind can’t make the body “get things done” so to speak. No one would argue that there isn’t generally more than one way to do something.

  34. Duncan Castles

    May 13, 2015 at 10:35 am

    Interesting article. At what swing speed does lag become efficient?

    • Adam young

      May 13, 2015 at 11:31 am

      It’s a continuum, with less speed requiring less forward shaft lean and vice versa.

      Or you have to accept the lower flight. The choice is yours

  35. LK

    May 13, 2015 at 10:24 am

    If our subconscious could instinctively change our swing to get the results we wanted, every golfer would be a 0 handicap and pounding 300+ yard drives. Lag is lost because of a golfers dominant hand being the primary power source or at least too active in the swing. Ask any golfer with a 10+ or maybe even 5+ handicap to make some swings and hit some balls while taking their right hand off just before impact and watch what happens. It is frustrating at best. However, it is relatively easy for good golfers to do. The dominant hands of some great players even come off the club as they play (Vijay, Phil, & Freddie for instance). What is actually instinctive to humans is to hit something with their dominant hand which creates lots of problems in the golf “swing”.

    • Adam young

      May 13, 2015 at 11:34 am

      Ok, it doesn’t work like that Re subconscious changes. You would need to understand more about constraints led theory, perception action coupling and the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis (some of the tenets in motor learning research which apply) in order to effectively make use of subconscious changes.

      Although complicated sounding,t hey are actually quite simple and relatable.

      • LK

        May 13, 2015 at 2:19 pm

        Constraints-led theory: your body/mind does the best it can to succeed as new challenges are presented.

        Perception-action coupling: Your body/mind uses your perception to create a movement pattern for activities you haven’t mastered.

        Uncontrolled manifest hypothesis- The body/mind can find a lot of ways to create a desired result because of all the possible combinations of physical movement.

        No one would argue that the mind can make the body “get things done” so to speak. No one would argue that there is generally more than one way to do something. What I disagree with is your statement that it is the subconscious that is “why most golfers are unable to maintain lag and get forward shaft lean in the first place.” My argument is that most golfers do not know how to power their swing with the correct muscles and instead use a dominant hand hitting action. This is the primary cause of losing lag.

        • Adam Young

          May 13, 2015 at 2:50 pm

          There could be multiple causes for loss of lag.

          But if someone is expecting to get into the yellow position and hit a decent height shot – the conscious action does not match the result, and the subconscious will interfere.

          This article helps people understand that if they are lower speed players, their subconscious concept of trajectory may not match what they are trying to do with their technique

  36. Desmond

    May 13, 2015 at 10:23 am

    I think the article requires more clarification. It seems lag or not needing lag, according to the author, is on a continuum – a line from less speed to more speed. The more speed, the more lag is required.

    But even for average speed golfers, if you encourage them not to “hold the angle”, then they will cast even more. Most instructors request lag knowing their students will never hold it sufficiently. There are ways to hold the angle with easier technique (.i.e., elbows more together in the downswing).

    I do think this constant wanting to hold lag does result in tension — a bad trait, and that causes other issues in the swing. So you’ve got to teach how to hold lag in other ways so the student does not flip (i.e., left wrist to ground).

    So I would not take this article literally without a fuller explanation and warning.

    • Roger R.

      May 13, 2015 at 11:19 am

      I really don’t think there’s a gray area when it comes to “lag”. i.e., hands ahead of the club head at impact. Either you put a correct swing on the ball (which will always have the club head lagging behind the ball at least somewhat, depending on the player’s skill), or you don’t, which indicates some sort of swing flaw. No one should ever attempt to create or “hold” onto lag. It’s a result of a sound swing. ‘Tis why I disagree with the premise of this article. If one has trouble elevating the ball or is losing distance, then they’re probably trying to artificially create lag, when it should be a natural occurrence as a result of a properly sequenced swing. Further, irons are DESIGNED to be hit with shaft lean.

      • CD

        May 14, 2015 at 12:03 pm

        I like your comment and both agree and disagree with the article. People mistake cause and effect as Adam says; then puts it in terms of ‘holding angles’ or losing them. People could very well take losing lag the wrong way, just as ‘holding it’ is poor advice.

        From what I see people believe that angle is being actively held. If you look at any tour pro there isn’t a point where their hands hold the club statically; it is always cocking and uncocking; it’s just their pivot and arms/hands speed of movement as a unit bring it closer to the ball by varying degrees. That’s due to their muscle latency, firing pattern, wiring/nervous system, THEIR type of ‘athleticism’ if you like. There isn’t a top golfer I’ve ever watched that has a club that isn’t really releasing once they’ve transitioned. The degree to which they will be releasing during the transition is part of their specific latency. Yet people hold and are taught to ‘hold the angle’. Awful advice. Don’t mess with your pattern.

        Now, someone that improves their pivot or backswing, or whatever is probably going to achieve more lag FOR THEM as their technique improvements non-consciously provide the opportunity to apply greater speed for that given level.

        Then you have the optical illusion of a shallowing shaft to a greater extent in some players – lag as people define it (wrongly) in terms of the ‘angle’ is never measured at 90 degrees face on to the swing, it’s always 90 degrees face on to the player. You can prove this by taking a split handed position and swinging back a la Ben Hogan or Rickie Fowler or Garcia, and literally throw that angle away continuously whilst shallowing the shaft and you can replicate their ‘lag angles’ (again, whatever they are).

        If your hands are moving forward in the downswing, either by the arm movement or the pivot, and weight going to the front side, the clubhead can never quite catch up.

        Lag to me is not an angle; it’s pressure, it’s precisely one part lagging another in time, it’s about how far across your personal ‘wiring’ will let you transition before the release happens. Not consciously ‘holding it’ at all, not one iota any longer than your own pattern permits. Otherwise that club is coming in ‘held’ in two dimensions, because ‘holding the angle’ is the swing being viewed in three dimensions and not four

    • Adam young

      May 13, 2015 at 11:26 am

      That’s right Desmond. It is on a continuum.

      Some things were changed int he editing process which make it a little unclear. The message is not that hitting it like picture 2 is bad, but you will hit it lower and shorter when your speed is not sufficient.

      When a player is subconsciously expecting a 60 foot or higher ball flight, picture 2 would not work. So the subconscious will sabotage your attempts at doing so.

      Please let me know if this explains enough.

      Thanks

      • Roger R.

        May 13, 2015 at 11:40 am

        Adam, wouldn’t it make more sense then for a player who’s swing speed is that low to switch out their irons for irons, and then attempt to put a proper swing, i.e., a negative angle of attack on the ball rather than trying to add loft to irons to compensate for the slow swing speed?

        • Adam young

          May 13, 2015 at 11:58 am

          Roger, can you restate please.

          Swap irons for irons?

          • Roger R.

            May 13, 2015 at 12:04 pm

            Sorry, my bad. Meant to say swap out irons for hybrids or woods. Something that’s designed to elevate the ball more easily.

            • Adam Young

              May 13, 2015 at 2:14 pm

              Ah yes – anything which increases launch will be better for slower swing speed. But by lowering the COG of the club, we also tend to decrease spin rates,maybe causing ball to drop out of the sky.

              Its tough, but slower amateurs either have to deal with crisp strikes and low shots, or the reverse. Amateurs will actually play quite nicely if you raise the swing arc and move it further back. The slightest amount of shaft lean, as in the left pic

              • Roger R.

                May 13, 2015 at 3:27 pm

                Interesting. So then what’s the correlation in terms of higher SS and angle of attack? For example, my 7i SS is usually btw 82-84, and based on trackman and just watching the ball, I get the highest flight and most distance when my angle of attack is -4* to -5*. If i made a swing like the picture on the left I would lose a ton of distance.

                • Adam Young

                  May 13, 2015 at 3:55 pm

                  Better players usually produce less dynamic loft (as they produce more speed), which usually goes hand in hand with a low point of the swing arc which is farther forwards.

                  Normally, this would produce a steeper AOA, but top level players shallow this out by getting their hands to move up and in through impact.

                  All of this is 180 from what most golfers do/try to do, yet is being proven in biomechanics and in analysis of top players. The industry is just light years behind.

                  hence why this article has split the votes. Read this in 10 years time and it will be all likes and no shanks

                • Adam Young

                  May 13, 2015 at 4:02 pm

                  Also,dynamic loft will have the biggest say on launch height, not AOA.

                  And dynamic loft correlates more with shaft lean at impact (although it is more complicated than that).

                  at 85mph with a 7 iron, you should be ok.But even then, lots of players at your level are trying to over do the lag and shaft lean thing.

      • Desmond

        May 13, 2015 at 2:16 pm

        Yes, Adam, we are on the same page. It’s a tough subject. If golfers force lag, my experience is that they grow tense – and other issues arise. If they don’t have enough speed and/or are delofting, I see your point. Not much carry. If you overdo a technique to keep lag, as I have done in keeping the elbows together on the downswing, I top the ball. So I gear it back for a happy medium. So is the point that we all have our own journey, and if we are struggling with lag, stop “trying so hard”, and just stay with decent technique and sequencing? i.e. Don’t force lag?

        • Adam Young

          May 13, 2015 at 2:20 pm

          yes, we all require different things which may change at different stages of development.

          Lag should be the product of other things, such as correct sequencing and hand paths. But those things tend to automatically arise as a result of other things (such as an ability to create speed, hence needing more shaft lean, as well as improved low point control).

          A lady golfer with low speed may need to look more like the left pic, a tour pro more like the right pic.

          And YES, you can strike the ground and ball correctly in the left pic – a small adjustment to the height of the swing arc is all that is needed

  37. LK

    May 13, 2015 at 10:15 am

    If our subconscious could manipulate our body to secretly do what is “most desirable” then everybody would “instinctively” be a scratch golfer and pounding 300+ yard drives. Lag is lost because of your right hand (if you are right handed) being the source of power in your golf swing not because of some primal instinct. Ask any golfer over a 10, or maybe even a 5, handicap to hit balls with their right hand coming off the club through impact and see what happens. Hitting even short shots doing this drill is frustrating at best for mid to high handicappers. What is instinctive to humans is to try to hit something with their dominant hand which is the cause for many problems in golf.

  38. Jeffcb

    May 13, 2015 at 9:47 am

    It’ll also depend if you’re a one or a two planer if you should have lag in your downswing. Two different releases for two different swings.

    • Adam young

      May 13, 2015 at 11:29 am

      Jeff c,

      Being one or two plane will not make a difference to trajectory unless it influences dynamic loft.

      If you get into impact position (yellow) at slower speeds, you will hit it shorter whether that was one or two planed swing.

  39. Snowman9000

    May 13, 2015 at 9:42 am

    This is exactly true in my experience. I am a slow swinger. My normal swing has no lean. I have a swing I can do which creates lag and lean. It’s somewhat like stack & tilt. With that swing, I gain no distance but lose height, spin, and stopping power. However I do feel the commenter “TheCityGame” is correct that good contact is easier with some lean. It creates more margin for error IMO. But for me the tradeoff is not worth it. Every year I swear off chasing lag and lean, now I think I know why.

  40. TheCityGame

    May 13, 2015 at 8:42 am

    Is it a coincidence that you were able to get these numbers HITTING OFF MATS?

    Isn’t shaft lean at impact also about good contact? I don’t know how a golfer hitting the ball like the one on the left could possibly make good contact on anything except a fluffed up lie, or off a tee.

    • Roger R.

      May 13, 2015 at 9:29 am

      Agreed. And sure, some people might swing a 7i at 65 mph, but I would that’s slow enough that it doesn’t apply to the general population; almost like writing an article for a 125 mph driver SS, just the other end of the spectrum.

      There’s been plenty of advice that the amateur male should look to to LPGA swings (rather than PGA swings) for guidance, and I can’t imagine a single LPGA pro gets into the scoopy position at or just after impact.

      • LK

        May 13, 2015 at 10:04 am

        Great point about the LPGA player.

      • Nathan

        May 13, 2015 at 10:12 am

        Agreed, fantastic point about LPGAers.

        Google “LPGA swing sequence” or something along those lines, they all lag the club.

        • Adam young

          May 13, 2015 at 11:38 am

          Guys apologies. Some of the article was lost in translation during the editing process. It was actually titled “why you lose lag” with a sentence saying “because you want to”.

          The message was never to be to try and lose lag. But it was that if you are going to chase lag and shaft lean, understand that you will hit it lower and shorter at lower speeds. This is undeniable fact.

          Yes, you will strike it better with shaft lean (potentially, there are other variables at play), but your subconscious mind will not like the ball flight at all. Hence “because you don’t want to”.

          Had that clarified things?

          • John Childs

            May 13, 2015 at 12:55 pm

            Yes, that clarifies things, but this article is downright irresponsible. Club head speed is a function of 30% weight shift and using the ground for leverage, and 70% lag (or more specifically release of lag.) The laws of physics mandate that a lever must amplify energy. When lag is released it causes the hands to move an inch or two and the club head to move ~6 feet.

            • Adam Young

              May 13, 2015 at 2:16 pm

              yes – but you don’t want to have so much that you create too much forward shaft lean – or if you do have more, you have to be able to release it harder.

              Most amateurs are told/try to hold on to the lag for ever. THAT is irresponsible. not only does it create poor impact dynamics, but reduces speed.

              • john

                May 13, 2015 at 6:08 pm

                Well of course you will lose distance with too much lean….at a certain point you could theoretically hit the ball with the top of the blade. The fact of the matter is that slow swing speeds are a result of poor technique. There are certainly ways of generating a lot of speed without lag (I used to be able to carry my driver 290 with a chicken wing follow through, it just wasn’t consistent as whenever my timing was just a fracture off, it ended up two fairways to the right.) Any good consistent swing has a ton of lag built up that is released just after impact. That is why all pros have a swing shape of wide/narrow/wide. This article really needs to be edited or taken down, because as a trusted authority, it will steer people in the wrong direction. Lag is good!

                • Adam Young

                  May 14, 2015 at 1:15 am

                  I’m sorry John, but that is just a severe mis-understanding of correlation and causation.

  41. Greg V

    May 13, 2015 at 8:38 am

    Good article. We often forget that ball flight tells us everything that we need to know about swing mechanics.

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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How a towel can fix your golf swing

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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!

 

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