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I often hear or read things relating to golf that I find hard to reconcile in my mind, some of these things are taken as almost sacrosanct and come from some of the greats in the sport so one tends to accept them on face value, even though they are misleading or completely wrong.
Some examples:
To get the ball in the air it has to be trapped between the clubface and the ground.
Ball spin is created by the grooves on the club face.
Recently I have been considering another that is so wide spread I keep thinking I must be wrong but the more I consider it I cannot see that I am. This misconception is that the wrists have to be cocked or hinged up and down to generate power in the shot. The more I consider this issue the more convinced I become that it is incorrect and a cause of inconsistency in the swing.
Something that has triggered this with me recently were some discussions here relating the difference in the shaft plane some tour golfers had at address and impact, I now think this is due to wrist cock.
Feel free to enter into polite debate on this subject as I have come to the conclusion that wrist cocking should be avoided in the swing and the pronation/supination of the wrists are the source of power we should be using, although I am open to considering any contrary opinions.
Please read the following article that supports my thinking:
http://www.targetputting.com/golftip20066.html
Some examples:
To get the ball in the air it has to be trapped between the clubface and the ground.
Ball spin is created by the grooves on the club face.
Recently I have been considering another that is so wide spread I keep thinking I must be wrong but the more I consider it I cannot see that I am. This misconception is that the wrists have to be cocked or hinged up and down to generate power in the shot. The more I consider this issue the more convinced I become that it is incorrect and a cause of inconsistency in the swing.
Something that has triggered this with me recently were some discussions here relating the difference in the shaft plane some tour golfers had at address and impact, I now think this is due to wrist cock.
Feel free to enter into polite debate on this subject as I have come to the conclusion that wrist cocking should be avoided in the swing and the pronation/supination of the wrists are the source of power we should be using, although I am open to considering any contrary opinions.
Please read the following article that supports my thinking:
http://www.targetputting.com/golftip20066.html
Every golfer wants to hit the ball straight every time. It sure would save a lot of strokes and make the day more pleasant, wouldn't it?
But one thing that most amateurs do, or overdo, keeps them from hitting the ball consistently.
I'm talking about "wrist cock". Most high and mid handicappers severely overdo this wrist cock thinking it will lead to power.
Instead, it throws the clubhead off line and forces the golfer to make compensations in the downswing to get it back on line.
At address, the bottom of the left hand and the left forearm create an angle. The angle is different for everybody, but everybody has one. Average is probably about 30 degrees.
At the top of the backswing, this angle has disappeared. The line formed by the left hand and forearm has become straight, or in many cases the angle has actually reversed. This effect is know as wrist cock.
There are many different theories as to whether you cock your wrist early in the swing, or later. You shouldn't worry about it.
Some would argue that power comes from the wrist cock and to reduce or eliminate it would reduce your power. How much power does it really generate?
To prove to yourself what the wrist cock actually accomplishes in the golf swing, take your normal address position. Then, eliminate the angle formed by the left hand and forearm by picking up the clubhead. What have you just done?
It should be obvious that you have just thrown the clubhead significantly off the line you are trying to swing it on.
When you attempt to swing a golf club down a certain path, how much sense does it make to allow the club head to stray from that path at any point in the swing? Especially by three or more feet!
If your timing is great, you may be able to readjust and get it back on line before you get to the ball. But for most of us mere mortals, we are at best inconsistent at getting there.
Yanking the clubhead off the proper swing path by cocking the wrist, thus eliminating the angle formed by the left wrist and forearm, is the cause of many errant shots.
The wrist cocking action takes the clubhead off the line you trying to swing on. If you want to hit the ball solidly and consistently straight, you should keep the clubhead on line.
You do this by preserving the angle formed by the left hand and forearm as much as possible throughout the swing. It is much easier to keep this angle intact than it is to eliminate it on the backswing then recreate it exactly on the downswing.
But what about power? Ask yourself, how much power is being generated by the act of returning the club to the correct line?
As you re-form the wrist/forearm angle the club has to travel in effectively a sideways path.
If you want to see how much power is generated in re-establishing this angle, go back to the above example of eliminating the wrist/forearm angle at address. Reestablish that angle while maintaining the address position by lowering the golf club.
The elimination and reset of the angle only adds sideways momentum to the clubhead relative to the line of the shot. It does not in any way affect the forward momentum of the club on the downswing.
Therefore, it can have absolutely no effect on the amount of clubhead speed and power that gets to the ball.
The power comes from the rotation and forward swinging of the arms. The "wrist cock" has nothing to do with generating power.
Instead, it puts the golfer in a situation that requires them to make an adjustment of three feet or more to the path of the club on the backswing. That requires the same adjustment on the downswing to get the club back on line. Ever wonder why golf is so hard?
The better you are able to preserve a little bit of left wrist/forearm angle throughout the golf swing, the straighter you will hit the ball.
You don't need to be stiff about it, though. Just remember that the more of that angle you lose, the bigger the compensation it will require on the downswing.
But one thing that most amateurs do, or overdo, keeps them from hitting the ball consistently.
I'm talking about "wrist cock". Most high and mid handicappers severely overdo this wrist cock thinking it will lead to power.
Instead, it throws the clubhead off line and forces the golfer to make compensations in the downswing to get it back on line.
At address, the bottom of the left hand and the left forearm create an angle. The angle is different for everybody, but everybody has one. Average is probably about 30 degrees.
At the top of the backswing, this angle has disappeared. The line formed by the left hand and forearm has become straight, or in many cases the angle has actually reversed. This effect is know as wrist cock.
There are many different theories as to whether you cock your wrist early in the swing, or later. You shouldn't worry about it.
Some would argue that power comes from the wrist cock and to reduce or eliminate it would reduce your power. How much power does it really generate?
To prove to yourself what the wrist cock actually accomplishes in the golf swing, take your normal address position. Then, eliminate the angle formed by the left hand and forearm by picking up the clubhead. What have you just done?
It should be obvious that you have just thrown the clubhead significantly off the line you are trying to swing it on.
When you attempt to swing a golf club down a certain path, how much sense does it make to allow the club head to stray from that path at any point in the swing? Especially by three or more feet!
If your timing is great, you may be able to readjust and get it back on line before you get to the ball. But for most of us mere mortals, we are at best inconsistent at getting there.
Yanking the clubhead off the proper swing path by cocking the wrist, thus eliminating the angle formed by the left wrist and forearm, is the cause of many errant shots.
The wrist cocking action takes the clubhead off the line you trying to swing on. If you want to hit the ball solidly and consistently straight, you should keep the clubhead on line.
You do this by preserving the angle formed by the left hand and forearm as much as possible throughout the swing. It is much easier to keep this angle intact than it is to eliminate it on the backswing then recreate it exactly on the downswing.
But what about power? Ask yourself, how much power is being generated by the act of returning the club to the correct line?
As you re-form the wrist/forearm angle the club has to travel in effectively a sideways path.
If you want to see how much power is generated in re-establishing this angle, go back to the above example of eliminating the wrist/forearm angle at address. Reestablish that angle while maintaining the address position by lowering the golf club.
The elimination and reset of the angle only adds sideways momentum to the clubhead relative to the line of the shot. It does not in any way affect the forward momentum of the club on the downswing.
Therefore, it can have absolutely no effect on the amount of clubhead speed and power that gets to the ball.
The power comes from the rotation and forward swinging of the arms. The "wrist cock" has nothing to do with generating power.
Instead, it puts the golfer in a situation that requires them to make an adjustment of three feet or more to the path of the club on the backswing. That requires the same adjustment on the downswing to get the club back on line. Ever wonder why golf is so hard?
The better you are able to preserve a little bit of left wrist/forearm angle throughout the golf swing, the straighter you will hit the ball.
You don't need to be stiff about it, though. Just remember that the more of that angle you lose, the bigger the compensation it will require on the downswing.
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