Wrist Hinge in the Golf Swing

Have you ever watched John Daly practice hitting golf balls with only his left hand on the club? He’ll stand with the club resting on the ground beside him, with his hand on the club. You’ll notice that his hand is on top of the club, not with the back of the wrist pointing to the target. You must have the club in the fingers of your left hand in order to achieve the proper wrist cock.

Try it next time you are out at the range. Be aware of how the clubhead sits behind the ball and how your hand feels on the grip. You will notice that instead of you feeling like the face of the club and the back of your hand are positioned together facing the target, your hand will be in a much stronger position. It’s more like your thumb is sitting behind the clubface and this is what controls the clubhead. Now swing back using just your left hand(for right-handed golfers, of course). You should feel as you swing back that the wrist cocks up towards your right shoulder. Your wrist will stay strong and not break down into a bowed position.

Now swing down at the ball. Your wrist will uncock naturally. You will feel the back of your left wrist staying straight in line with your forearm. When the weight of the clubhead has pulled the wrist down as far as it will go, the forearm will turn over. If your follow-through is only about hip-high, you will sense that your wrist is flat and strong as steel. This is the feeling that you are shooting for. Once you learn how the wrist hinges up like this, your full swings will be a whole lot better. The swinging of the clubhead releases the wrist cock like it should. You clubface will come into the ball square giving you better distance and accuracy and your whole game will get better.

Watch the pros next time a tournament is on and see if you can catch them doing this wrist cock drill. Try it for yourself around the house.

Now about that trailing hand. If you have taken the proper golf grip, with the lifeline of your trailing hand sitting on top of your other thumb, it is a lot easier for you to feel the wrist cock in your right hand. It will feel like the crease made by your forefinger and thumb follows the path of the clubface. Let your right hand just ride along with the role that the controlling hand takes. You will notice that you can fire your right side down through the ball easily and confidently. Or, as Johnny Miller says, “Cover the ball with your right hand”.