Release The Club, the Wrist's Special Function

The golf swing is a complicated function of the shoulders as well as the other areas of the body that come into play during the swing. It is important to understand that each aspect of the swing is important in its own right. However, some of the functions such as the weight shift/hip turn, transition at the top, and take away, to mention a few, rely mainly on feel. Many of the areas of the swing rely on a certain amount of innate athletic ability. There is really no way to "teach" these functions except to suggest certain feelings the golfer should feel or certain exercises to produce the desired feeling. Teachers tend to use trial and error methods using different techniques to produce the same result.

However, there are some aspects of the golf swing that aren't difficult to convey and can easily be understood and easily taught. That's not to say that they are easy to do. It's also hard to remember numerous different movements and to train your body to do them in a swing that is systematic, smooth, and flowing with good tempo. Therefore, certain aspects of the golf swing must be practiced in a way so that they can be incorporated into the swing without really thinking about them.

One part of the golf swing that may be learned easily is the proper wrist release. First, it is necessary to clear up some misunderstandings about how the golfer should release the club. Some writings on the golf swing seem to suggest that the wrist release is a matter of "rolling the wrists". The wrists and ultimately the club are not released by rolling the wrists. Although the wrists in fact do roll during the golf swing.

Prior to impact with the ball the wrists release into the ball which is commonly referred to by the term "release the club". However, it's very important that the wrists release properly. The wrists and club must release much like the way a fisherman would cast a fishing pole. Take a couple of practice casts with an imaginary fishing pole to get the feeling. Then observe your wrist and forearm as you practice this move. Notice how the back of the wrists and the back of the forearm are on the same plane as you cast the pole. This is the same way the wrists release when striking the ball. The release is much more of an up and down movement than it is a side to side movement. It is critical to understand this as any deviation from the proper wrist release will cause a "slapped" shot and not a downward thrust into the ball and through the turf. There are numerous training aids that can help the golfer perform a proper wrist release. Greg Norman endorses one that should do the trick.

View the original article here