When the hands hold the golf club too tightly in effort to control it or add power, they add tension to the arms and shoulders, which in turn produces the opposite... slower clubhead speed and inconsistent shots.
For a more efficient golf swing, focus on keeping the hands passive throughout the swing. This creates clubhead lag (clubhead trails behind hands) until the moment of impact when the club automatically releases and in essence “whips” out and “impacts” the ball with incredible “thrust.”
To illustrate… imagine a line of ice skaters holding hands. If the inside skater starts to rotate… the outside skater in the line is “whipped” around at tremendous speed… basically holding on for dear life! If something got in her way while being whipped around… YIKES!
Think of the golf swing in the same way. Your body… is the inside ice skater. Your clubhead is the outside skater. And the arms, hands, and clubshaft are like the skaters who connect the two together. When the body rotates… the clubhead gets whipped around, “impacting” the ball with great speed and power.
YOUR TURN: A drill I prescribe to my students is known as the “float load drill" (I’ve attached a video of me demonstrating the drill below). It’s called “float load” because during the transition from backswing to downswing… the clubhead “floats” a bit before changing direction.
HERE'S HOW: Using a mid-iron, set up as if you’re going to hit a full shot. Release the tension of the hands to a grip pressure of about a “3-4” on a scale of “1-10” where “1” is loose and “10” is death grip! Now execute a 50 yard (about 45 meters) pitch shot and focus on maintaining a constant “3-4” grip pressure throughout the entire pitch.
Allow the club to collide with the ball. Think of the ball just getting in the way of the club’s path. Resist the urge to “push” the clubhead back to the ball. Trust it! The clubhead will find it!
When watching the video below… notice how the angle between my arms and clubshaft decreases on the way down toward the ball… NOT on the backswing. The club is really lagging behind the hands. An indicator that I’m holding the club lightly.
Video your float drill often and check to see if it looks the same as mine.
Once you've hit a bazillion (and one) float load drills with some consistency... it's time for full shots. Hit golf balls off tees at about 50% of your swing speed while focusing on maintaining a light grip pressure on the club. Feel the release of the club into the ball at impact. Slowly start building your swing speed to about 85% and eventually work on hitting the ball without using a tee.
Before every round of golf, hit at least six float load drills as part of your warm up. And when practicing… alternate between float load drills and full swings. Eventually you will create a more repeatable golf swing that will produce consistency in your game.
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Ted
Ted
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