Click here and enter your email address to watch the full video
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.

Subscribe now to watch the full video.

Trail Side Pass - Wedge Release Training

Trail side pass is one of James Sieckmann's favorite drills for wedges and it is one of the best I've used for working on timing of rotation in the downswing. The rate of deceleration for a good wedge swing is different than that of a full swing. In the full swing, we want a solid brace as the arms release. In the wedge swing, you want your body to continue rotating through impact. Trail side pass is a way to feel the body continuing to move through impact.

Playlists: Train Your Release, Master Your Distance Wedge

Tags: Pitch, Drill, Intermediate

00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,000
This distance wedge drill is trail side pass. So as most you know, I'm a big fan of

00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:11,000
James Seekman. This is one of the ones that I've seen him use more commonly with

00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:15,000
helping golfers who are struggling with contact with their distance wedges.

00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:21,000
The distance wedge is kind of a hybrid between your stock swing and your finesse wing.

00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:26,000
It has much more elements of the stock swing than it does of the finesse wing.

00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:32,000
It tends to have a little bit more of that centered pivot where the upper body tends to shift

00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:37,000
just slightly towards the target lower body shifts just slightly towards the target during the back swing.

00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:44,000
Before you then have a good little body rotation sequencing, little Jackson 5 during the downswing.

00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:54,000
But one of the big differences is with the distance wedge swing, you're going to tend to see that upper body kind of

00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:59,000
kind of continue rotating with the club. We're in the stock full swing. You're going to get more into that

00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:05,000
bracing position and really let the club pass. So one of the drills that can help you feel this

00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:13,000
continued body rotation is trail side pass. So basically what you're going to do is you're going to

00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:17,000
take your left hand and we're either going to put it on your your hip or if you have any shoulder

00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:22,000
issues you can put it on the opposite hip. So basically you're going to take some swings

00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:28,000
and you're going to as after you've just started down after you've had that little little kind of bump

00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:35,000
you're then going to make sure that this hip gets fully around and facing the target.

00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:41,000
Or again if you have any shoulder issues you can grab onto the opposite hip and you're just going to make sure that that hip

00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:47,000
is getting all the way facing the target. Instead of having a real pronounced release with the hands.

00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:54,000
It's going to give you a good little sensation of what I describe as being more of a upper body hit

00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:59,000
because everything's going to be kind of moving and flowing together. You're not going to have a really

00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:06,000
pronounced lower body movement the way that you might in the stock full swing. So once you get a good feeling of the club

00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:15,000
brushing the grass doing this you can put both hands on and try to get into that same tempo

00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:20,000
that same kind of finish position.

00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:31,000
So if you're struggling with having your your body kind of stall and struggling with contact or distance control

00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:37,000
work on this trail side pass to feel that fluidity of the body rotating all the way into that finish position

00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:42,000
that will tend to power the swing more with your upper body and help you with consistent contact.

Subscribe now for full access to our video library.