Release?

[trob2034]

i have recently been leading my hands at the ball.....on a couple of drives i had the shot faded to the right..or a small push.....so i am wondering did i not release the club to the ball and held my angle too long

my question is when you come down to the ponit of release....
1. does it just happen naturally when you travel the right plan?
2. does release come manually from the person swinging?

my point for asking is on some of my shots i can feel the club release when i get back to the point of its time to hit the ball

and there are times when i can say dang i released my club head too soon

[Martin Levac]

Re: Release?

When I manipulated the club, I interfered with the natural release. So, I had to figure out a way to release it precisely when I wanted. I experimented with turning my shoulders quicker, retaining the arm-club angle longer, waiting for the club to catch up, leaving my hands dead, leaving my arms dead, etc. It was too much work. I did learn a few things.

Turning my shoulders quicker will leave the clubface open. Leaving my hands or arms dead, I lose power and precision. Retaining the arm-club longer, I lose precision and it takes very precise timing. Waiting for the club to catch up, I lose too much power. One thing I learned that was very useful is to accelerate my hands faster. The faster I accelerated my hands, the quicker the club released and the faster it struck the ball.

Release can be defined as the action when the club is released from its position or from its orbit. The arm and the club form an angle of about 90 degrees. When the club is released from this position, it accelerates very quickly. If it stayed in this position, it would make a narrow arc. When it's fully released from this position, it makes a wide arc.

I tried to make this angle narrower and tried to maintain it longer. Since the clubhead is closer to me, I can swing it faster to begin with. When it releases from this position, it does so very suddenly and very violently. Controlling this kind of sudden power is very difficult. I lost too much precision like that. So I do something else.

Instead of maintaining a narrow angle, I maintain a 90* angle or wider. Effectively, through maintaining this wide angle I force the club to release early. But I don't release the club at a precise moment, instead I let it release naturally on its own. I do manipulate the club because that's how I control it. Since the arm-club angle is wider, the release angle is narrower and the movement is shorter so it's easier to control. The amount of forces I must deal with is more regular than with the other method so I can control it more easily. It's more predictable. I am more precise and can make proper contact more easily. I lose no power.

Since I control the club with my hands, I must grip the club properly. So, I worked on finding the proper grip that will allow me to use that second method I outlined above. I use the baseball grip because all fingers touch the club. It makes for a slightly longer lever and slightly more feedback. The longer lever is good for control and the increased feedback is good for learning what the club is doing. Anyway, my grip is neutral. I won't go into details but I'll say that I do whatever I must to control the club properly.

Experiment and find something that works.

[BrianW]

Re: Release?

Hi,

Please read the attached article, I think it will assist your understanding of how the release should work and whether you should just let it happen.

Discover The New Golf Swing And Master Any Putting Green

Hope it helps you.

[Shamed04]

Re: Release?

ive found when i start hitting fades it is b/c i move slightly forward on the downswing and my head gets in front of the ball...a no no