Need help with wrists

[Simon Woo]

Something is really wrong with my wrists at the top. Try as I might, I just can't seem to get it right. Appreciate any other comments as well (sorry the video is not too good as I'm doing it in a room with the swing trainer )

http://www.eys.com.sg/simon/simon_swing_20051122.mpg

[gord962]

Re: Need help with wrists

Simon, I can't play your video for some reason....

[LowPost42]

Re: Need help with wrists

Me either.

[GregJWillis]

Re: Need help with wrists

You are across the line at the top. Caused mainly by the first move by the hands taking the club back, and not your shoulders. You get inside the plane, and now are stuck with no place to go. So your hands try to reroute.

If you have not done the right hand drill, then you need to. If you have, then you have forgotten it.

This will put your wrists in the correct position.

[Simon Woo]

Re: Need help with wrists

Hmm I saved it under .mpg (mpeg2) format. It's about 2.5Mb. Is there a preferred format for the board or the users? I'll try to post up another format soon.

Thanks Greg yep it's been a while since I did the right hand drill. It really worked for me but I've been trying to set up normally, with the shaft down the middle of the body instead of an emphasized forward press. Will work hard on it again tonight in my room. It's a rainy week here in Singapore

[GregJWillis]

Re: Need help with wrists

There is no need to emphisize a forward press if rou relax the right elbow....

[Simon Woo]

Re: Need help with wrists

I tried to use less of my hands this time :

http://www.eys.com.sg/simon/simon_swing_20051123.wmv

[GregJWillis]

Re: Need help with wrists

There you go. Better position at the top. Straight down the line.

[Simon Woo]

Re: Need help with wrists

Many thanks Greg! The simple act of killing my hands seems to make a whole world of difference at the top. But now it all feels different on the downswing

[pnearn]

Re: Need help with wrists

Simon

A good way to take out the hands is to delibarately keep them really loose and a light grip ( as discussed in the other thread). From there you have to turn the triangle with your body (shoulders) to move the club and your hands will naturally find the right position at the top. This keeps everything together in the takeaway and ensures a gfood release on the way down

[Simon Woo]

Re: Need help with wrists

What about the pronation/supination of the forearms? I find that I need to cup my right wrist towards the end of my backswing now, because at setup it doesn't seem to be sufficiently cupped. Is that what the good players do? Setup slightly cupped, backswing fully cupped, downswing keep it fully cupped?

[GregJWillis]

Re: Need help with wrists

The pronation/supination happens as you rotate your shoulders back and through, the arms have to because they are connected. So don't fight it, help it, or think about it. It will just happen.

The idea of the cupped right (trailing) wrist is to keep you from flipping the face closed through impact. That's it. How much you setup that way, or take the club back to that point is all up to your particulars, in grip, ball position, and arm tension. (I wanted you to relax the right arm at setup. That helps allow the right elbow to flex into the body more. That in turn allows that wrist to cup.) But if you tense up again as you take rotate back, for instance, will negate what you did at setup, you are right back to the original problem of a dominate right arm and wrist position.

What good players do, is relax. Tension is bad. Changing a swing causes tension, because you are fighting an old position. So it is very difficult to gain a relaxed state in a new position. This is where you are right now, which is ok. But try to be in a frame of mind where you will allow the new feelings to find a comfort.

Seeing your first move is telling me that you are so focused on what your hands need to do. You are not allowing them to relax yet, so lest do this drill to help...

At a good setup position, let your grip float and bobble in your hands a little and get them to relax. Like someone can start to take the club out of your hands if they tried. Now, without manipulating then club in any way, slowly take your shoulder rotation back to get the club and arms parallel to the ground. You will feel forces on the grip pressure points. They should be at the top and bottom of the grip, and not from teh sides. If they are, then you are moving the club "With" your hands and not letting the shoulders rotate the arms that are connected to the hands. Slowly go back to setup hopefully feeling the same good "top and bottom" pressure points. Do this over and over and over and over until you can feel that the first move is that simple. Shoulders back -- Relaxed hands. Once you are parallel, let the hands set the club to the top while raising the arms up. Tension and position are going to be very closely related. So keep the tension constant.

What you should feel now, is that you can move the wrists to the top with less effort, and will be able to release to the ball with more range of motion getting greater acceleration.

From the top, drive the legs and hips, rotate the shoulders, and the release is the least of the things you have to worry about. Keeping the cupped position will be already set there if you are not worried about it and trying to make it happen.

[Simon Woo]

Re: Need help with wrists

Thanks Greg. Looking at my latest video, would you say that I'm not really using my body in the downswing? I tried playing it at half-speed and noticed that in terms of movement, I definitely see more hand movements than body movements. I always like to see the pros have their bodies scrunched up especially at impact. Is that something I am badly lacking in for generating power?

I noticed that I'm still lifting on the backswing, and even with my body so straight coming down, I already have a habit of hitting too low (sometimes at the mat). So if I keep my head down keep my right leg flexed, at this rate I will definitely be hitting too low. Any idea what I could be doing wrong to have this?

[GregJWillis]

Re: Need help with wrists

Simon, work on one thing at a time. Now you are starting a new thread about something different.

But yes, those things are correct.

[Simon Woo]

Re: Need help with wrists

Thanks Greg. I'm working on getting the flat left wrist at the top of my swing. Will check in with you again once I have committed that to muscle memory