Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in
America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.
Meet your new instructor.
Unhinge in the release
Subscribe now to watch the full video.
When working to improve the "flat-spot", golfers can become confused regarding the relationship between shaft lean & angle of attack. In other words, we know that there is no direct correlation between the two. While this seems counter-intuitive, we know that it is possible for a player to have his/her hands ahead of the club-head while still being able to hit up ("positive" angle of attack) on the ball; if we think of the best drivers in the world, this would often describe their impact conditions.
This separation is important to remember as it can improve our training process; most golfers need to create more shaft lean, but also decrease their angle of attack. This seems tricky, but if we use the right release mechanics (such as ulnar deviation, trail wrist extension, etc.), we can accomplish both goals and end up with more efficient and repeatable impact conditions.
Tags: Fundamentals, Poor Contact, Not Straight Enough, Impact, Release, Concept
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000
This concept video is separating angle of attack from shaft length.
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:12,000
So as we work through trying to improve your flat spot, one concept that can trick golfers
00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:19,000
up or make them, let's say, get a little bit frustrated, is the idea that you can have your
00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,000
hands way forward like so.
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:28,000
I'm exaggerating of course, but you can have your hands way forward and hit up on the ball
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:29,000
if the handle was raising.
00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,000
So I would have a positive angle of attack even though my hands were way forward.
00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:42,000
Or I could have my hands backward like so and hit really down on the ball if I was doing
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,000
it more like this.
00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:50,000
So the trick here is learning to separate the two more in your mind.
00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:57,000
Yes, if you don't change your swing, then hitting it more, you know, further back on the
00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,000
arc of the circle will increase the angle of attack.
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:06,000
But if you change the shape of the bottom of the swing, then these two variables do
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,000
and can become separate.
00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:15,000
Because a lot of golfers struggle with getting a steep angle of attack and they struggle with
00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:16,000
not having enough shaft length.
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:25,000
So what usually creates more of the steep angle of attack problem is either a lack of an
00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:31,000
unhing or the upper body lunge more on top of the golf ball.
00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:38,000
And you can lunge on top of the golf ball and still have the club working in more of a
00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:39,000
scoop fashion.
00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:45,000
So you have very little angle of attack or you could be well behind the golf ball, but
00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:51,000
not have enough only deviation and so the club would be coming down really steep.
00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:57,000
If you tend to have neither of those, so if you stay behind the ball and have a lot of this
00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,000
unhing, yes, you'll typically have zero shaft length and you might actually hit up on
00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:02,000
it.
00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,000
But as I said, it's important to start separating those in your mind.
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:10,000
Or else you may be a little bit afraid of trying to get your wrists in a little bit
00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:15,000
more extension or your lead wrist and a bit more flexion or having a little bit more of
00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,000
this white movement.
00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:23,000
Because all of those help create shaft lean, but can keep you in a, if you're making
00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,000
a good bracing move and making a good body pivot, you won't have an incredibly steep
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:28,000
angle of attack.
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,000
You're not going to stick the club into the ground.
00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,000
So I've had a couple of questions about it.
00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,000
I thought I'd just do a real quick video just to get you thinking that these two variables
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,000
are not one to one.
00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,000
You can increase the shaft lean and decrease the angle of the attack.
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,000
That's great to do, say, with your driver.
00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:52,000
Or you could bring the handle back and increase the angle of the attack if you're having
00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:58,000
either not as good wrist mechanics or too much of an upper body lunge.
00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:04,000
In fact, I'd say more often than not, it's the owner deviation that's going to have the
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,000
biggest impact on your angle of attack.
00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:14,000
So even if I come from the inside, if I keep this hinge up like so, I'm going to tend to
00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:20,000
have a fairly diggy or steep angle of attack.
00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:27,000
And if I was to come from the outside, but really, hold your deviate, you'll see the club
00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:32,000
will get down closer to the ground sooner.
00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,000
I'll have a longer flat spot and typically shallow out my angle of the attack.
00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,000
It's one of the reasons why the unhinges, one of the big shallow movements for the arms.
