A Different Release Concept

Don’t roll your hands

Hi, Robin here. This is more about concept than it is a tip or a drill for you to work on. A concept is about the correct release. Why I’m saying this is because when I was younger, my concept was that the right hand should cross the left hand as quickly as possible. The leading edge of the club should maybe point towards the sky, or even the toe be slightly down. My concept was to hit the ball straight. Your right hand had to cross your left hand as quickly as possible. Now, it’s more my concept than my belief that if we’re releasing the club with our body and keeping the club face neutral, in that same position, the leading edge of the club would be more in line with your spine.

To give you an awareness of that or why I’m saying that, if I took address and just rotated my body into that post impact position, without rotating the club face, keeping the club face neutral, you can see where the leading edge of the club ends up. This will be quite different for many players, because in that position you’ll feel how your right wrist is a little more under your left wrist. It’s perhaps slightly bowed. There’s a little angle on the back of your left wrist. You just go from impact into that follow through position a few times, feeling how your body is releasing the club face rather than your hands.

My experience teaching golf, when I see those two types of release patterns, this player is nearly always more in control of the ball than this player. Well, as I say, this is more of a concept. This is more about trying to help that player like me, when I was younger, and not have the wrong concept, not work on the wrong things, limiting their potential. But if you’re like me and you trend the wrong release, you need a corrective exercise.  Give this a try. We call it the “core flick.” What you’re going to do is you’re going to set up to the ball. And then with your body, with your core, you’re going to flick the ball forward.

There will be no rotation of the club face, just your body flicking the ball forward. Let’s give it a try. Now when you do that, and your body is in control, if I bring that position around, you’ll see how I’ve went into that position I was talking about – leading edge of the club more in line with my spine angle, right wrist a little more underneath my left wrist. Try that a few times.  Gain a sense of that, and then try to put that same type of release into your normal swing.

I’m not pretending here that this is the answer for everything, because I am a firm believer in the way you release the club at impact and into your follow through is normally a result of what’s gone on before. But it can help players who’ve just simply had the wrong concept. So as always, thanks for watching. If you have any comments or questions, please leave them below. I always try to get back to you as soon as possible. And until next time, hope this tip helps. See you soon.