Connect with us

Instruction

A Great Drill to Learn the Proper Release

Published

on

In my 20+ years of teaching, I have found that the average golfer suffers primarily from two faults relating to the strike:

  1. Failure to return the clubface back to square.
  2. Failure to deliver the clubhead with a sufficiently downward attack angle.

The effects are a slice and hitting behind the ball, respectively. Neither is an issue with a proper release, which involves the swing of the clubhead around an axis at the hands and whatever bio-mechanics are associated with that. Ask five teaching pros what “the release” is all about, however, and you’re likely to get five different opinions. But the correct release can be verified visually, though not easily with the naked eye, by examining the action of the right arm, which must be straightening at impact.

Check out high-speed video on YouTube of any pro, on any swing, full or short, in which the trail arm has become bent to any degree in the backswing. You will then see the trail arm straightening into the strike. Since the release of the clubhead around the hands happens in-step with this straightening, if the trail arm stops straightening before impact, or has already fully straightened, the clubhead is released around the hands prematurely. This destroys any realistic chance of hitting down on the ball with the proper attack angle, and in the case of failing to completely straighten, prevents the left wrist from rolling back to its starting alignment to square the club face for impact.

A great drill to learn the proper release focuses on training the right arm by making short swings with the right arm only. Use a 56-degree wedge or similar. The action of the right arm often comes as a bit of a surprise to folks when learning this drill. You may be inclined initially to keep the right arm fairly straight as you swing it back. But this won’t work for very long when the left arm is attached. It will also cause the clubhead to bottom-out in-line with the right shoulder, surely behind any traditional ball position.

Position the ball inline with your center for this drill. In order to strike the ball with a descending attack angle, and thus to make any kind of “solid” contact at all from closely mown turf, the right arm must bend back and straighten into and through the strike point. This keeps the handle in the lead and thus the clubhead swinging downward into the strike.

The action of the right arm in the backswing is primarily a turning out (or external rotation) and a bending up of the forearm at the elbow. Ben Hogan identified the half side-arm, half under-hand baseball throw as the athletic movement most similar. This action alone will automatically cock the club back at the wrist. The right elbow is set in the lead to begin the forward swing. Keep the elbow leading by first turning the right shoulder around toward the ball, saving the reciprocal turning in (internal rotation) and bending down at the elbow for the strike. Remember, your main intention here is to straighten/push/thrust your right arm through the ball. If you start straightening the right arm too soon, you may not have anything left to straighten by the time you reach impact. But once you start straightening, for the love of God, don’t stop! The uncocking of the wrist and thus the release of the club is governed entirely by the straightening of the arm.

Admittedly, this is a difficult drill to execute. But when you do it, you will have mastered the most essential element of the correct swing, lacking among so many recreational golfers. When you return to using both arms, you will instantly appreciate the added stability. But more than that, use the left now to help you achieve what it is that you are trying to do with your right. Specifically, the lead arm should pull to help the trail arm push.

Check out the trail-arm action of Phil Mickelson, seen here covering a carry of less than 10 yards. It’s no coincidence that perhaps the greatest short-game player of all time features a prominent straightening of the trail arm for even the shortest swings.

The late great Seve Ballesteros clearly displays the pushing action of the right arm through the strike on this short chip from behind the 18th green at Augusta National. This stroke was holed-out to close the 1983 Masters Tournament.

The action of the right arm back is essentially a bend “up” at the elbow and a turn “out” (external rotation).

A strong mental and physical intention is often required to keep the trail arm straightening into the strike, without which proper contact from a descending clubhead delivery is virtually impossible. 240 frames per second video, seen here, confirms this most important biomechanical action of the golf swing.

Your Reaction?
  • 71
  • LEGIT13
  • WOW3
  • LOL1
  • IDHT1
  • FLOP2
  • OB1
  • SHANK15

As an independent contractor based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Todd Dugan provides video swing analysis as a player gift to groups hosting golf tournaments and also is available for private instruction. * PGA Certified Instructor * Teaching professionally since 1993 CONTACT: [email protected] vimeo.com/channels/todddugangolf

8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. baba booey

    Oct 18, 2017 at 4:32 pm

    I learned this from slice fixer, can hit up to 7 iron. Could use a bit more core turn as you go back IMHO> body swings the club.

    • Todd Dugan

      Oct 18, 2017 at 5:33 pm

      Swinging with just the trail arm as a drill has been around forever, baba booey. In a normal full swing, the shoulders will turn in-step with the arm swing. But since the focus of this drill is on the correct action of the trail arm, you could execute it with as little as no shoulder turn.

  2. Todd Dugan

    Oct 18, 2017 at 10:55 am

    Good work, Greg. As you have found, when you can hit down properly on the ball using just the right arm, you should have no trouble using both!

  3. Greg V

    Oct 18, 2017 at 9:11 am

    I tried the drill last night; it is not easy, but I started to hit my wedge pretty well after awhile. When I went back to both hands, I was killing it (relatively speaking).

  4. wilson

    Oct 18, 2017 at 2:18 am

    2 great short game players, not so much fairway finders. But that may be due to other factors?

    • Todd Dugan

      Oct 18, 2017 at 10:58 am

      That’s right, Wilson, as ALL great players straighten the trail arm into the strike, not just these legends.

  5. surewin73

    Oct 17, 2017 at 10:46 am

    I will give this a LIKE just because he has Cinderella playing in the background of one of the videos. ROCK ON!

    • Terry

      Oct 17, 2017 at 3:40 pm

      Somebody Save Me off the LP Night Songs. ROCK ON!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

Published

on

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?

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW1
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK2

Continue Reading

Instruction

How a towel can fix your golf swing

Published

on

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.

Your Reaction?
  • 11
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW2
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP2
  • OB0
  • SHANK8

Continue Reading

Instruction

Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

Published

on

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!

 

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK2

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending