Wrist Cock/Release
Get It Right, Hit It Farther
By Mark Favell with Al Barkow

There are many aspects of the golf swing that are counter-intuitive. For example, you would think that the longer you hold your wrist cock in the downswing, the less power you can impart to the ball. That notion is probably why so many golfers uncock their wrists too soon (early release) and give up power and accuracy with weak slices, pulls to the left and fat shots. But if you want to hit strong and accurate shots, you must hold the wrist cock as long as you can. And we're going to tell you how.

Whenever you see still photographs of top golfers just before impact with the ball, when their hands are about even with the ball, notice how much wrist cock they still have and how far behind the clubhead the hands are. That is what is meant by "lag." The clubhead is lagging behind the hands. If at this point in the swing the clubhead has caught up with the hands or has passed them, you have released the wrist cock too early.

What you are after is what we call the late hit. How, you might ask, does the clubhead get square with the target line while keeping the wrists cocked for so long? There doesn't seem to be enough time. Won't the ball be pushed to the right every time? The answer is that the clubhead is squared mainly by the turning or rotating of your body and forearms in the downswing. This occurs very quickly, which is why it generates maximum clubhead speed.

Is there a mechanic involved in the rotation or release, or is it a natural occurrence? Actually it's both, with a little help from nature. First off, as you shift your weight to the left in the downswing, your lower body is going to follow. This motion comes rather naturally, although you can help it along with a conscious effort. You do have to make a more conscious effort to rotate your forearms counterclockwise. Make sure it is the forearms that rotate and not your hands.

Finally, a heavy clubhead at the end of a thin shaft moving downward is going to facilitate the uncocking of the wrists, while the rotation of the forearms squares the clubface at impact. You have to make these happen to some extent, but it's not too much to ask if you want to hit strong and on-target shots.

However, so as not to make it sound ridiculously easy, there are some techniques in the way you grip the club and make the swing that will help you achieve the lag and the late hit.

The Grip
To create lag, you must cock your wrists in the backswing. Without a wrist cock, you can't get lag. That may sound obvious, but in fact many golfers do not cock their wrists or do so only minimally, in good part because of the way they grip the club. They hold it too much, if not entirely, in the palms of the hands. This significantly restricts wrist cocking.

Furthermore, you are apt to form what is called the "weak" left-hand position. That is, the hand is turned to the left so you see no knuckles. Not only is wrist cocking restricted, the "weak" left-hand grip also promotes an early release of the wrist cock you have managed to attain.

Be sure to set the club almost entirely in the fingers of the left hand. This promotes a "strong" grip, wherein the hand is turned to the right so at least two knuckles are showing. This is very important to facilitate a substantial wrist cock.

Many golfers are not aware of how important it is to also hold the club in the fingers of the right hand. They tend to "fist" the club, which is to hold it more in the palm of the hand and parallel to the fingertips. Once again, this restricts a full and effective wrist cock and tends to cause an early release.

With the club in the fingers of the right hand, the right index finger will be situated so the middle segment is under the handle, and the top segment is along the side in a trigger position. Think of the position of your forefinger when you skip a pebble over water. That's the position you want when holding your club.

As a kind of bonus, with the club in the fingers of both hands, you have much greater feel of the clubhead, which translates into more control over its path and the ability to square the clubface.

Another added value to holding the club in the fingers of both hands is it reduces tension. Because palm- and fist-gripping are not as secure as you might think, you hold the club more tightly than you should.

To prove this, hold a stick in the palm of your hand and have someone pull at it. It will come away very easily. Hold it in the fingers and it is not at all easy to pull it out. Also, if the club is in the fingers, it's easier to hold onto it without tension.

There is also psychological tension, but that can be overcome to some extent by holding the club in your fingers. You can hold it lightly and yet still feel it is secure. Most important to our topic, when there is no tension, the wrists are that much more able to fully cock. You want to feel you have a hundred ball bearings in your wrists, which is the feeling produced from a tension-free grip.

The Backswing
The golf swing is a two-lever system. The club is one lever, your left arm the other, and your wrists are the hinge. You set or cock the wrists in the backswing and keep that cocked position as far as you can into the downswing.

The two-lever system is how maximum clubhead speed is developed, as opposed to the one-lever system in which the left arm and the shaft make a single line with no angle created by a wrist cock. This means that there is no leverage and significantly less clubhead speed. You get more than 21/2 times the clubhead speed with a two-lever swing than with one lever.

There are a number of views on when the wrist cock begins in the backswing. One is called the early set, which Johnny Miller made popular and is still seen today among tour pros. The wrists are fully cocked almost immediately after the backswing begins.

Another way is how Sergio Garcia does it. The wrists cock slightly just before the backswing is completed, but when starting the club down, the wrist cock increases. This is what we call down-cocking, which is recommended only for those who play a lot of golf. It requires very precise timing and athleticism.

We recommend a third method, which is the most conventional and the one you will see with most top players. Take the club straight back from the ball with no wrist cock for 2 feet or so, then cock the wrists fully. This usually occurs when your left arm is parallel to the ground and the target line. This motion is uncomplicated overall and promotes a smoother and slower takeaway.

When the wrists are set too early, it tends to speed up the takeaway. Remember the old golf adage, "You don't hit the ball with your backswing." A late set can create an overswing or too long of an arm swing, which facilitates an early release of the wrist cock.

The Downswing
One of the best images used in projecting the idea of clubhead lag is to imagine a door in front of you with a bell beside it at waist-high. As you swing the club to impact, you want to ring the doorbell with the butt of your club.

Another example to illustrate this is similar to an actual situation. When the clubhead is at impact, your hands are in front of your left (or front) leg. That's where Tiger Woods is these days. When Butch Harmon was coaching him, his lag was not as deep, and his hands were at his zipper at impact.

To further understand when and how you get the clubhead to rotate and be square to the target when it hits the ball, you must keep in mind that when your hands are even with or a little past the ball, the clubhead is still lagging behind. It hasn't reached the ball yet. So the rotation of the forearms begins approximately when the hands reach your right leg. Also, be sure to rotate with your forearms and not with your hands.

This is when the wrists uncock. The body rotation has already begun as weight shifts to the left and works in conjunction with the forearm rotation. In fact, the correct weight shift to the left side in the downswing is encouraged by maintaining the wrist cock. However, it is important that you keep your arms in front of your hips throughout the downswing. You don't want your arms lagging or stuck behind you.