Working on avoiding wrist collapse and getting arms extended in follow through

Hi Gene,

I agree that your hands are quite far ahead at impact. You'd have a hard time getting any height unless you have a LOT of speed. DTL could help this discussion, but I'll take a crack at it.

I think you have a pretty solid swing, but a couple of things don't quite match up. The main thing, is you have a pretty strong grip. Most golfers who have a strong grip would have an earlier body turn during the downswing. (see Dustin attached). His hips are open much earlier than yours and then his body is bracing away from the target to help release the club and reduce shaft lean. Your upper body tends to continue moving forward too much into the finish, indicating not enough bracing to match the strong grip. I think you have a good level and timing of supination compared to your grip. I'd shift my focus more to the lower body movements that would help reduce the shaft lean.

PS - I think it's easier to work out of too much shaft lean rather than try and have to keep adding it!

Happy Golfing,
Tyler

Wow, thanks for pointing out the strong grip -- until you mentioned it, I had not even realized how my grip has been slowly leaking in that direction in the last several months. I just watched the "Strong Grip & Low Point Issues" video, and it seems like the issues you mention there are exactly what I'm trying to fix right now: slight chicken wing (my right arm doesn't straighten until very late in follow through), and when I try to add supination, I tend to pull hook. I honestly like where my grip is right now, so I think I'll try working on getting my body more matched up with the my grip/club face. If there are any other videos that you think might help, please let me know.

Every player has a grip drift tendency. Some drift stronger or weaker. Some drift more trail hand and some more lead. It's always helpful to know your tendencies and keep an eye out for them when the game is a little off.

Yes, if you like you're grip, then matching up the pivot is the best way to go. We have to take away some of the shaft lean, but if you do that with the hands then it closes the face (like when you add too much supination to your pattern before impact). Which pivot drills do you like to go back to?

Tyler

I’m not sure if you think of it as a pivot drill, but the “armpit rope swing” drill was a real breakthrough for me in helping me understand how to use my lower body and core to power the swing. So when I practice or even out on the course, if I feel like my arms are getting too active, I take a few practice swings just focusing on removing tension from the hands and arms and visualize/feel that sensation of trying to get that rope to whip through the impact using my body.

Regarding the release and supination, I’m wondering if I should give the lead-arm-only drills another crack. I’ve struggled with them before because they are pretty tough and so mentally it’s easy to give up on them. But the one drill I’m specifically thinking about is the “lead arm whip” because I’ve noticed that my lead elbow stays really straight from backswing to downswing thru impact. I never thought of it as a “fault” to keep my elbow locked like that but wondering if there’s tension built up there that’s preventing a proper release. I know your advice is to work on the body pivot, which is something I’ll continue to do, but any thoughts on this elbow locking thing as another item to focus on?

I would definitely consider armpit rope swings a pivot drill (and a really good one at that). And it sounds like you're using it well as a reset drill.

To your second point, the lead arm only swing is a good pivot drill as well. It really challenges golfers who tend to pull with that lead arm. I think the more important part of the lead arm whip, for you, would be not pulling in the follow-through. If you feel like you get too armsy, then the lead arm whip can actually encourage that tendency. So, I might try the lead arm jazzy jeff instead of the lead arm whip, but you might as well try both and see which one clicks better. If you want more guidance on why you struggle with the lead arm-only swing, feel free to post a video and we can dig to the bottom of it.

Good luck,

Tyler

Thanks for the tip on the Jazzy Jeff video -- it's been a huge help. I've been focusing on 9-3 and 10-2 supination drills with the Jazzy Jeff follow through in mind (also the ping pong paddle release), and wow, it feels like I've really unlocked something. I realize that I never really understood what the wrists and forearms need to do through impact and release until putting all these pieces together. The contact is so solid with a lot less effort. I'm still working on how to connect all these pieces to the pivot and body rotation with consistency, but I feel like I just need more reps to dial that in. Thanks again for all that you do!

Hey Gene,

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear it's helping you out. There's no that's as satisfying when you achieve breakthroughs, I'm happy that some of the ideas that have helped me and my students are able to be communicated through this platform. Amazing day of information we live in :)

Tyler