Little or no wrist hinge. Anyone play this way?

[danattherock]

Odd set of citcumstances, last minute thing, took a 2.5 hour single plane lesson yesterday. Turns out, Kirk Junge has a certified single plane instructor 45 minutes up the road from me. Dont want to get over my skis here, but I am really excited about what I saw. Long story short, was doing some club half way back, to half way forward drills. Just getting feel for things and working on leading wrist through swing as I am and always have been a flipper.

 

Soon after went to full swing and I hit amazingly solid, straight, and long shots with short iron, then 7, then hybrid, was like the old man playing in lightning storm in Caddyshack, lol. Looking at video last night from instructor, realized I had no wrist hinge in backswing, which shocked me frankly. Lead arm goes back in backswing past parallel, slight bend in lead arm, but wrist never hinges, pointing club to 10:30-11:00 if viewed from front I would guess. Finish was high and unusual, thats all I know, rather than wrapping around over left shoulder, just finished high.

 

Everything I think I know would suggest a short, compact swing without wrist hinge would result in a shorter ball flight. Apparently, the ball was not aware. Curious if I should embrace this ‘accident’. I just started playing again after six year hiatus due to back injury. Thanks for any thought.

[Orlandogolfguru]

My son swings exactly this way. He’s 110 lbs and 5-8. Drives it 290. 7 iron 190. It baffles me. Zero hinge, but it’s all about impact and speed. Whatever works!

[danattherock]

Thats awesome. Glad its working for him. Best I can tell, my distance and accuracy yesterday with no wrist hinge must have just been resultant from hitting ball more in center of club face than normal. I was making basically a 3/4 swing, yet distance was full compared to my norm. As bad as my flipping has been over the years, I am tempted to embrace this and just go with it. I rarely strike a ball as good as yesterday. Stopped on way home from lesson, enthused, and was hitting PW better than ever, all shots over 12-15 balls within 3–5 yards of flag. Fat shots were 5 yards short, misses left and right were within 3-5 yards. A drastic improvement at my skill level. Apparently, wrist action has been a very tough part of my golf swing in past, as removing it yields very solid shots. It was only one day, trying not to get too excited about it, but easier said than done.

[Millbrook]

When you say no wrist hinge is that in the lead wrist - hand does not cup and thumb remains in line with the forearm?

 

Does the trail hand have any backward flexion at all?

[danattherock]

Just looked at video again, rear hand does bend as club reaches top of backswing, but front hand/wrist never hinges.

[games]

I seem to have little flexibility to support much radial deviation (vertical cocking of the wrist). I am able to keep my wrist in flexion (bent back).

 

This goes back to the old Mark Evershed "secret" he espoused on his Golf Channel Academy Live appearance in the late 1990s. He was an advocate of keeping the trail wrist in flexion (bent back). I assume he always meant this to be done passively. The only thing I recall from his book about wrist deviation was about impact: Ulnar deviation was a cause of shanks, and optimal impact was best achieved with neutral deviation with some radial deviation being acceptable.

[danattherock]

At the 6:45 mark in below video, swing nearly identical to what I did yesterday is briefly described and then demonstrated front on and down the line. At the time, I was not intentionally doing this, found this video late last night.

 

[iteachgolf]

My son swings exactly this way. He’s 110 lbs and 5-8. Drives it 290. 7 iron 190. It baffles me. Zero hinge, but it’s all about impact and speed. Whatever works!

 

Would love to see a video of a zero hinge swing

[danattherock]

Posted link about same time you chimed in, just above.

[iteachgolf]

Posted link about same time you chimed in, just above.

 

He fully sets the club in that video

 

[danattherock]

Thanks, appreciate your input, of course. My video from lesson yesterday nearly mirrors above. I just perceived no wrist hinging I guess, my left wrist looks locked throughout swing. Maybe I underestimated the effect of trailing wrist bending a little at top of back swing. Does above look like a viable golf swing in your opinion? I was really caught offguard at how solid the ball was struck, and the resulting ball flight and distance.

[iteachgolf]

That looks like a normal 3/4 backswing. Actually having zero wrist hinge is not a viable way to swing. What may feel like zero wrist hinge may in fact be perfectly normal. Big difference between feel and real

[danattherock]

Good point. I have always been a hand and wristy player, flipper too. Blocks and hooks, when timing is on can hit good shots, but never regularly. Maybe that is why less wrist action resulted in me apparently striking center of club head yesterday. Less moving parts I guess. Unsure. Eager to get to range and work on this a bit further.

[Orlandogolfguru]

Here’s my son at 13. That’s the start of his downswing. Basically zero wrist hinge but he gets the hands high, which creates speed. 190 yard 7i. He’s playing i200 now which is standard loft. Unreal. I’m so jelly.

[danattherock]

Thanks for image. Looks like what I saw in my video up top, right wrist bent and left wrist still same as address position best I can tell.

[Orlandogolfguru]

Thanks for image. Looks like what I saw in my video up top, right wrist bent and left wrist still same as address position best I can tell.

yep exactly

[rgk5]

My son swings exactly this way. He's 110 lbs and 5-8. Drives it 290. 7 iron 190. It baffles me. Zero hinge, but it's all about impact and speed. Whatever works!

 

Would love to see a video of a zero hinge swing

 

Look up Steve Stricker.

[jut111]

Stricker has wrist hinge. Less then most. Stick an alignment stick in the butt end of your grip. Leave enough pointing out to wedge it into your left armpit. Now swing keeping the stick in your arm pit. That’s no hinge.

[gators78]

Note the guy that won NCAAs this year

[MK7Golf21]

Here’s my son at 13. That’s the start of his downswing. Basically zero wrist hinge but he gets the hands high, which creates speed. 190 yard 7i. He’s playing i200 now which is standard loft. Unreal. I’m so jelly.

 

His wrists are fully set there. He has like no hip turn though which limits the full shoulder turn, little more shoulder turn and club would be parallel

[Orlandogolfguru]

Here’s my son at 13. That’s the start of his downswing. Basically zero wrist hinge but he gets the hands high, which creates speed. 190 yard 7i. He’s playing i200 now which is standard loft. Unreal. I’m so jelly.

 

His wrists are fully set there. He has like no hip turn though which limits the full shoulder turn, little more shoulder turn and club would be parallel

yeah maybe so. Seems like the club is straight up most of the time. Good point.

[Moonlightgrm]

Here’s my son at 13. That’s the start of his downswing. Basically zero wrist hinge but he gets the hands high, which creates speed. 190 yard 7i. He’s playing i200 now which is standard loft. Unreal. I’m so jelly.

In the image you've posted of your son, would you say the shaft of the club in relation to his left forearm at the top of his swing is approximately 90-degrees? At his address position, isn't the shaft of the club in relation to his left forearm near zero-degrees (some will say near 180-degrees)? How did the angle between the two increase? VERTICAL WRIST HINGE.

 

Your son is in a very nice position at the top of his swing. A little less knee flex might be warranted. He must be fun to watch swing that golf club! Enjoy...

[jslane57]

A person doesn't need a ton of hinge to get in very powerful positions. What kills many a golfer is thinking that hinge through the ball should mirror hinge back. Like what Iteach said, what feels like no hinge, and what is no hinge can be very different. Just like what feels like a little hinge, but turns into flipping wrist at impact...

[NoTalentLefty]

Does anyone else try to hinge their wrists on here? I was taught just let it happen. It does .

[jut111]

Does anyone else try to hinge their wrists on here? I was taught just let it happen. It does .

 

Yup. If I just let it happen,I get too much co&k not enough hinge, open face and suck at golf.

[Hawkeye77]

Does anyone else try to hinge their wrists on here? I was taught just let it happen. It does .

 

Not for all of us.

[iteachgolf]

My son swings exactly this way. He's 110 lbs and 5-8. Drives it 290. 7 iron 190. It baffles me. Zero hinge, but it's all about impact and speed. Whatever works!

 

Would love to see a video of a zero hinge swing

 

Look up Steve Stricker.

 

Stricker sets his fully.

[iteachgolf]

Note the guy that won NCAAs this year

 

He sets it late but it sets.

 

[farmer]

Would this be a "float load"?

[danattherock]

Interesting thoughts guys, really appreciate it. As for Bryson, he is single plane guy, as is the lesson I took yesterday under Kirk Junges Setup 4 Impact stuff. Brand new to it, as of yesterday, so time will tell. I was just excited to hit ball in center of face hard enough to compress ball, yet no flipping through impact. That flip has been nearly impossible for me to eliminate and I have a 30 years of bogey golf to prove it. Looking over my video from single plane lesson yesterday, and hearing back from my instructor just now, I did have some lag in my swing. Seems rear wrist hinging facilitated it, as front wrist appears locked in address position throughout swing. But what I love, aside from flight of ball and solid feel, there was zero signs of flipping through impact. A rare white elephant to me, lol.