Matt’s Drills & Skills – Wrist Hinge within the Takeaway
Intro
Hello Golfers, I thought this week we can look at and discuss how the takeaway segment of our golf swings will impact the backswing, and downswing.
Firstly, your takeaway will set up a variety of key areas within your backswing and downswing. But for now, we are going to look at how it sets up your backswing.
From my experience of both coaching and fitting, very rarely do I witness a player that possesses a takeaway that sees the clubhead work outside of the hands.
Ideally we would like the clubhead to be covering the hands as the shaft reaches parallel to the ground. Although, most people I see have the club too far behind them at this first parallel.
The Faults and The Fixes
There are a number of reason why this might be the case:
- The player is trying to make their takeaway “one piece”. Which sees the player have limited wrist hinge. However, this causes too much body rotation away from the target, therefore resulting in the clubhead being behind them at the first parallel. This is also known as being “stuck”.
- The wrists are not being used correctly. This is the most common error. The wrists should hinge upwards as the club starts traveling back in motion. This allows the club to stay in line with the players hands, as they rotate back in their swing. Most players “dead-hand” the takeaway resulting in the clubhead being lower than the hands at the first parallel. This is extremely hard to stop the club from being “stuck” behind you at the first parallel.
Below is a chain of pictures that will help explain the above 2 points.
As you can see from the chain of pictures above. The first 2 pictures in the top left section of the collage, identifies limited to no wrist hinge. You can see how the club shaft has already started to work behind me.
However, from the bottom left picture, you can see that the moment there is a slight bit of pressure in the upper part of the handle, the clubhead hinges upwards.
The 2 larger pictures are highlighting how if the wrists hinge slightly. Then the clubhead will work upwards as opposed to behind you.
The Drill
Furthermore, below I have included a drill you can work on next time you are at the range.
I have placed my water bottle a shaft length behind the ball, and a foots length closer to my toes. This gives me an object to miss as I start my takeaway.
As you can see from the picture on the left, the shaft of my club, is on a trajectory to hit my bottle. Although the picture on the right emphasises the wrist hinge within the takeaway. Clearly depicting how the shaft of my golf club would miss my water bottle.
Summary
The wrists should hinge in the initial part of the backswing, however, this is only a minimal movement. When you are practicing on the range, the hinge should be exaggerate in order for you to understand this movement. Although, in reality the wrist hinge is a subtle hinge.
Lighters Nights are coming, Swing Easy!
Matt
To book a lesson or custom fit with myself click this link!