Miles Bennett
Creating lag in a golf swing can be a challenging aspect of the game for many golfers. Lag is the angle between the club, wrists, and arms in the golf swing, and it is essential for maximizing clubhead speed, achieving powerful ball-striking, and controlling shots. It is created by starting the downswing with the lower body, allowing the kinetic chain to slingshot the arms through impact. This movement requires loose wrists and the momentum of the club swinging back. While it is a natural byproduct of good movement, there are drills and techniques, such as the Lag Lock Technique, that can help golfers improve their lag and, therefore, their consistency and power.
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What You'll Learn
The importance of wrist movements
Wrist movements play a crucial role in creating lag, which is essential for achieving powerful ball strikes and controlling your shots. To improve your lag, you must ensure that your wrists are in the correct position, with the lead wrist flexed as you approach the ball. This lead wrist flexion (or bowing) is one of the most important wrist measurements for creating lag.
Excessive wrist extension (or cupping) during the swing reduces lag and opens the clubface, resulting in weak shots. Therefore, it is important to monitor your wrist angles and ensure that your lead wrist remains relatively flat or slightly flexed throughout the swing. This can be achieved through drills and practice swings, using tools like HackMotion to provide real-time feedback on your wrist positioning.
Additionally, the timing of your wrist movements is crucial. As you start the downswing, focus on increased flexion in your lead wrist, which will allow you to effectively release the lag at impact. This added flexion will enable you to rotate your hips and unwind your chest and body through the ball, generating additional power and control.
Furthermore, the position of your wrists is integral to creating the optimal angle between your forearms and the club, which is the essence of creating lag. By mastering the correct wrist movements, you can achieve the desired angle and maintain it for as long as possible before releasing it through impact, maximizing the power and speed of your swing.
In summary, understanding and perfecting wrist movements are vital to creating lag in your golf swing. Through proper wrist positioning, flexion, and timing, you can increase the angle between your forearms and the club, resulting in more powerful and controlled shots.
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How to initiate the downswing
Initiating the downswing is a crucial moment in the golf swing, allowing you to unleash stored power and avoid common faults. The correct sequence is key, and it starts with a pressure shift to the lead leg, which gets the pressure in the lower half moving more laterally. This is followed by the arms dropping and the elbows tucking in close to the body to shallow the angle of the club.
To initiate the downswing, the lower body should lead the charge. This means rotating your hips towards the target, then the core, and finally the shoulders and arms. It is vital to keep your arms and hands relaxed. If they are stiff and tense, they will not produce the desired movement.
A helpful mental image is to imagine the shaft of the club is a bathroom light switch. As you start the downswing with your hips, imagine pulling the string straight down to turn the light off. It is important to pull straight down and not move the string away from the body or pull it down before the hips.
Another way to think about it is to feel the ground under your lead side by bumping your hips forward. The rotation of the lower body helps drop the arms down before moving them around. If you move your arms first, you will end up in the "Death position" with a steep shaft angle and narrow downswing.
One final tip is to focus on the positioning of your arms, wrists, and club when you hit the ball on impact. This will create the lag you need.
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The role of the lower body
To create lag, the lower body must lead from the top to get the club behind. This is achieved by starting the downswing from the ground up, with pressure into the lead heel and hips rotating towards the target. The hips rotate for power, with the hands and arms feeling like they remain in place. The upper body will then turn through, allowing the arms to slot into place.
A good technique is to freeze your upper body and rotate your hips forward, ensuring your takeaway is good. This will put you in a good impact position. It is important to note that the downswing should start with the hips, pulling the string straight down and turning, without moving away from the body.
The lower body is essential in creating the power and speed needed for a successful golf swing. By starting the downswing with the lower body and maintaining the correct wrist and arm positions, golfers can achieve a powerful and consistent swing.
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Maintaining the angle
To maintain the angle, it is crucial to understand wrist movements and their role in creating lag. The most important wrist measurements are the extension (cupping) and flexion (bowing) of the lead wrist. Excessive extension at any point in the swing reduces lag and opens the clubface, leading to weak shots. Professionals rarely increase the wrist angle on the downswing.
To improve your wrist movement, you can use the HackMotion Static Top Drill to help reduce extension in the backswing. Start at the address position and swing to the top of the swing, then stop and check to make sure your wrist angles are in the "green zone" (within the correct range of radial deviation and extension/flexion). Repeat this process ten times.
Another drill to improve wrist movement is to perform a slow backswing, pausing at the top to ensure a flat lead wrist. Then, begin your downswing, shifting pressure into your lead foot while rotating your hips. Repeat this drill until the sequence feels natural.
Additionally, it is important to note that creating lag is not just about wrist movement but also body movement. To create lag, you should start the downswing with your lower body, allowing the kinetic chain to slingshot your arms through impact. Keep your arms and hands relaxed, and your lead arm in front of your body.
By focusing on both wrist and body movement, you can effectively maintain the angle and create more consistent and powerful golf swings.
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The difference between lag and shaft lean
Lag and shaft lean are two popular yet misunderstood elements of a golf swing. Lag is the angle between the golfer's arms and the club shaft in the downswing. It is created by the angle between the club, wrists, and arms in the golf swing. It is a byproduct of good movement and is not something that can be learned but rather a result of starting the downswing with the lower body and allowing the kinetic chain to slingshot the arms through impact.
Shaft lean, on the other hand, is when the hands and club shaft are in front of the clubhead at impact. It is achieved by shifting the hips towards the target while the ball stays in the same place. This places the club shaft ahead of the ball and helps the golfer hit better shots.
Lag tends to increase shaft lean. However, golfers should not focus on increasing lag as it is not the cause of increased swing speed. Instead, it is the other way around—players with great swing speed need lag to optimize their trajectory.
While lag and shaft lean are not inherently bad, golfers should be aware of their impact on launch angle, which plays a significant role in carry distance, especially at slower swing speeds. Golfers with slower swing speeds who focus too much on shaft lean will hit the ball too low and limit their carry distance.
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Frequently asked questions
Lag in golf is the angle between the club, wrists, and arms in your golf swing. It is created by having the right positioning of the arms, wrists, and club when hitting the ball.
Creating lag in the golf swing can help add distance off the tee. It is also essential for maximizing clubhead speed, achieving powerful ball-striking, and controlling your shots.
Creating lag in golf is about having the right movement. It is important to start the downswing with your lower body and allowing the kinetic chain to slingshot your arms through impact. You must also ensure that your wrists are in the right position and that you approach the golf ball with a flexed lead wrist.
Some common mistakes when trying to create lag include casting the club too early and not using your legs properly in your swing. Casting is when the angle set in the backswing is released too early, which can lead to a loss of distance and accuracy. Not using your legs properly in your swing can also affect your ability to create lag.
