early wrist hinge = better contact?

[turbo4door]

its like a new game!

The last two times I've played/practiced I've been hitting shots much more crisp. I found while working on my pitch shots that if I hinge my wrists early in the backswing that I can make much more consistent and solid contact.

Before, I was struggling with some seriously fat shots, laying the sod over the ball, no distance, etc.

So I transferred that early hinge feeling over to the full swing and it fixed things right away. Wondering what this is doing to my swing and why its working instead of hinging later like I normally used to. The downswing and follow through feel so much better and I don't get stuck like I used to. It also seems to have toned down my bad habit of starting down way to hard from the top and is allowing me to swing at a better tempo? Strange that something so small makes such a difference.


EDIT: this does not work with the driver at all though :)

[stevestrike]

Maybe you were not getting a full-set with your other swing and the early set helps you do that? It's always nice to find something that helps your swing like that, isn't it?

[hammerheel]

At the local Hank Haney range, this is what they have been working on with me. When the shaft is parallel to the ground, your want the toe pointing straight up.

[swingseeker2]

My instructor had me do this while working on my tendency to release the club early. He said the earlier you set the club, the later you tend to release it. I don't know if that's really true, but it worked well for me too during that lesson.

[turbo4door]

My instructor had me do this while working on my tendency to release the club early. He said the earlier you set the club, the later you tend to release it. I don't know if that's really true, but it worked well for me too during that lesson.

 

This is exactly what I am experiencing and feeling. I have yet to get it on tape but that was the first thing I noticed, a feeling of a later release which I struggle with a lot.

 

So it sounds like I should keep doing this then. Was afraid it may be a band aid that leads to something else bad.

[swingseeker2]

I am sure that people more knowledgeable than I am about the swing will know whether developing the habit of setting early is a good thing or not. During my lesson, I had the feeling that I was being instructed to do it as a temporary technique to develop a feel for a delayed release. I would be interested to hear what others say about using the early wrist hinge as a permanent swing change.

[dlygrisse]

I find this to be true as well, you have to be careful that you dont start snatching the club up too upright, make sure your make a good pivot and dont tilt your shoulders too much, which I tend to do if I set the wrists too agressivley. this IMO is why it works well with the shorter clubs and not the longer clubs, with the driver make sure you are making a full turn and not setting the wrists too agressivley. BTW some great ball strikers and players do/did the same thing including Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Lanny Wadkins, and Nick Faldo to name a few. Search for the "Faldo drill" Ledbetter had him and Nick Price do this a lot when rebuilding their swings.

IMO it leads to crisper contact in a lot of occasions, and allows you to get the club on plane more consistently, but players who swing this way tend to have a narrower plane and may not hit the ball as far. Just take one aspirin, not the whole bottle, as Harvey Penik would say.

 

Also a lot of players tend to use this technique when hitting pitches, e.g. Mickelson and the "hinge and hold"

[turbo4door]

I did notice that I seemed to be turning better in my backswing when I focused on my wrist set. Perhaps because I was taking my mind off of trying to fix my poor pivot. BTW, wrists are not setting THAT early, more where most people would hinge I think. I always hinged way up at the top for some reason.

 

Will take it with a grain of salt and see what happens. So far so good though, and it added distance for me (i've never been a long hitter). Was just such a great feeling after struggling for the past month or two. Balls were falling exactly where I wanted, from short to long range with just a very very slight draw. I hope it continues :D

[ClarkGrswld4]

bump...would love to hear ITEACHGOLF's response to this

[jhperna]

bump...would love to hear ITEACHGOLF's response to this

 

i was shocked that iteach hasn't smeared up this thread yet... :russian_roulette:

[Riverside]

I recently started pre-setting my hinge and am very happy with it as a technique to help me improve my consistency. Before, I was never sure if I hinged at all. Now, there's definite feeling of having a hinge, leading to an improved whoosh through the ball. It's by no means a cure-all for me, but I really like the "set it and forget it" aspect-- one less variable to worry about (or forget) while executing a swing.

[iteachgolf]

bump...would love to hear ITEACHGOLF's response to this

 

i was shocked that iteach hasn't smeared up this thread yet... :russian_roulette:

Why would I help anyone out when treated like crap? This will be my only post in this thread and if the OP has any questions he can PM.

 

As long as the club is on plane the wrist **** can occur in many different places. The key is keeping the club on plane. Strictly speaking distance wise the later the wrist hing(float loading) the more momentum can be used to your advantage and the more leverage you can create assuming you know how to release it properly. Too early of a hinge can narrow your arc and decrease speed. Early is a relative and depends on your pattern.

[stevestrike]

i was shocked that iteach hasn't smeared up this thread yet... :russian_roulette:

What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you bother to post something insulting another member on this forum? One who happens to contribute a great deal around here more than yourself? Go take a long walk off a short pier.

 

iteachgolf, please don't let idiots like this get to you. We appreciate your contributions to the forum, as well as your insight into the golf swing.

[dlygrisse]

bump...would love to hear ITEACHGOLF's response to this

 

i was shocked that iteach hasn't smeared up this thread yet... :russian_roulette:

Why would I help anyone out when treated like crap? This will be my only post in this thread and if the OP has any questions he can PM.

 

As long as the club is on plane the wrist **** can occur in many different places. The key is keeping the club on plane. Strictly speaking distance wise the later the wrist hing(float loading) the more momentum can be used to your advantage and the more leverage you can create assuming you know how to release it properly. Too early of a hinge can narrow your arc and decrease speed. Early is a relative and depends on your pattern.

As I thought, early set = Faldo and Price, later set = Sergio and Nicklaus. Most set the wrist somewhere in between.

[turbo4door]

bump...would love to hear ITEACHGOLF's response to this

 

i was shocked that iteach hasn't smeared up this thread yet... :russian_roulette:

 

 

You're a tool

 

 

Thanks for all the helpful replies from everyone else.