How To Release the Golf Club

By | on October 25, 2013 | 42 Comments |


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Paul Wilson is the creator of Swing Machine Golf and founder of Ignition Golf. Paul's golf swing technique is based on the Iron Byron swing machine. YouTube Channels: Paul Wilson Golf and Ignition Golf Tips. Please Join me on Google+

42 Responses to “How To Release the Golf Club”

  1. October 20, 2012

    JoelWilson

    Hi Paul,

    Once again a great tip… I just happened into this tip by-way-of a viewers comment provided on a ‘wrist hinge’ tip.

    Several years ago I was at an indoor practice range and was approached by a Scottish gentleman who obviously knew everything about golf. I was striking the ball fairly well, but he added if I was to increase my club head speed I could do even better. To achieve this he directed me to focus on getting the club face from O degrees to 180 degrees faster. (with the club address being 90 degrees) I did initiate this tip and was blazing the ball. Well, like most of us with a golf addition, wanted this same high all the time. Needless to say, I got more and more arms involved which added tension, and I began slicing across almost two fairways…!

    Now that I’ve purchased the ‘Swing Machine Golf’ I’m once again straight, and respectably long. My question is do you agree with the “O degree to 180 degree scenario, and can the increased speed be achieved with your technique? And will one be able to compress the golf ball well enough to get a decent ball to react?

    Grateful, and thanks in advance…

    • October 22, 2012

      Paul Wilson

      Joel, This is a good thought. I show something similar in the Cure Your Slice section of my videos and book.

      The difference is I have people doing this from the top of the backswing as they start down. In doing so you will severely close the face through impact. The logic is if you severely close the face through impact (as opposed to squaring the face) and get used to this feeling you can then switch the thought to using your legs. Once you do, you will not roll it as much and just square the face. Doing so creates straight shots without the use of your arms.

      If you are thinking of squaring it through impact you will always have to be thinking of doing this which means you can never think about your legs. If you do you will slice it again. In your case you got some good results so you did it harder and harder. This tightened your wrists and the face was help open through impact.

      If you knew my roll over drill you would have instantly recognized this tightness. You would have rolled it way early about 3-5 times in practice swings. This would have unlocked your wrists. This would have got your back on track instantly.

      So you can keep doing this roll over. Do it early as I suggest. Get used to it. Once you are good at it you then forget it and focus on the legs to power the swing.

  2. Having hard time with this tip playing. Wants to stop or have no volume.

    • Rod,

      If you have no volume you have hit the bars on the right side of the player controls. Make sure they are blue. If so you will hear it playing. If the video is not playing hit the pause button and let it load or come back to it later. This is a connection issue in your area. No one else is having a problem.

  3. Hi Paul, when you are releasing the club, does it feel like the left hand is initiating the release or that both hands work together?Occasionally, I get in a rut where I’m pushing my tee shot. It seems that I started from the lower body…maybe I don’t release properly. Also, refresh your thoughts on the right elbow during the downswing. Thanks.

    Danny

    • Danny,

      If you are manually releasing the club it feels like your hands are releasing the club. I have done it a million times so I feel nothing. My arms are powerless and I am not hitting or helping it in any way.

      The push is you driving the lower body too hard. In doing so you are coming out of it a little which is holding the face open a little.

      Watch:

      How To Cure Pushes and Push Fades: https://ignitiongolf.com/cure-pushes-push-fades/

  4. October 26, 2013

    DavidWeinstein

    Hi Paul

    This tip is so good, you can never see it too much! What about purposefully trying to hit hooks for about 10 shots, but with a normal stance. Would that be an equivalent to what you are showing here. My thought is that a ball flying the hook is a natural feedback.

    Davidw

  5. October 26, 2013

    JAMESHUNT

    I really like this tip. It gives me a feeling of solid hits. That combined with the Point A to Point B. The latter allowing me to focus more on positions than the object ball. Here is something else that may be helpful to your other viewers. I have an impact barrier constructed of heavy shade cloth, the bottom hem of which is weighted with an aluminum bar. Since the length of the cloth is greater than the verticals on the frame, I simply roll up the bottom to form a roll which lies on the ground. There is still slack in the suspended cloth. When a ball is hit solidly and strikes the cloth….’KER THUD”. it makes a solid noise and then softly falls straight down into the fold of the roll and is trapped there. If hit at an angle, it bounces off the cloth and rolls back a few feet. This gives me all the feedback I need without having to look and thereby allowing me to stay focused on the swing and not the ball.

    I still may decide to use an actual net (mostly for appearances), but for now, this works great. The drill sans ball, is excellent, but after a few practice swings, you can check it with the feel of a ball, then go back to the practice swings. As you suggested to me awhile back 3 practice swings for each striking a ball swing. Thanks again!

  6. October 27, 2013

    Ben

    G’day Paul,
    I started to get too many hooks, I got the impression my grip was a little strong ( turned to the right) I backed that off a bit – maybe went too far. Next, I thought I was allowing my shoulders to be open at address – more adjustments. Then I had a go at holding a club at the head end and listening for where the ‘swish’ occurred.
    Finally, I said pause at the top and then rotate the body, powerless arms and free hinging wrists – guess what, I hit some shots I felt were good enough, satisfactory, adequate.
    I’m enjoying this roller coaster ride, especially when my adversaries call me names.

    • October 27, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Ben,

      Stay focused. If you are hooking but you are not trying to hook it you have a grip problem.

      Watch:

      Hooking: https://ignitiongolf.com/cure-hooking

      Glad you remembered to loosen the arms and got hitting it well again. Focus on this looseness and coiling and uncoiling as well as perfecting my swing positions. Once yo can do this you will have a consistent swing. Hitting will never work.

  7. November 14, 2013

    davidlockwood

    Hi Paul,

    Today I discovered the club shaft in my follow through was too vertical. As soon as I got the shaft to ride up the swing plane I felt the release properly (I think) for the first time. At first I thought this would create a hook, but instead it created a baby draw, every time. Sometimes I thought the shot was going straight only to see it fall gently to the left at the end. What a huge relief. For a year now I’ve been trying to stop my out to in swing to stop cutting across the ball. More hip rotation only caused pushes and push slices. I just couldn’t swing out to the right consistently, and now I guess it’s because my brain knew the ball wouldn’t come back into play if I started the ball to the right, so I kept pulling it to the left to try to create a straight shot. I’ll bet that over the next few weeks, as I learn to trust my new draw, I’ll naturally start to swing more out to the right and my contact issues will start to go away. Does this all sound about right?

    • November 15, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      David,

      To vertical is definitely telling you that your wrists are too tight through impact. To get the club on plane you have to release it so yes this all sounds good.

  8. December 19, 2013

    AndrewMah

    Hi Paul

    I have been loving all the tips on release.

    Quick question, I was watching your swing in this clip, and between the ‘point at target position’ and your ‘3/4 follow through position’, do you actually feel your right arms physically touch your left arm. is that a good thing if this happens? I am thinking that due to different arm sizes that not all people will feel their arms touch at this point. I was just wondering, for feedback purposes, is it a helpful thing to aim for?

    many thanks
    Andrew

    • December 20, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Andrew,

      I do not feel the arms touching. You are feeling them because you are overdoing the roll over. Once you stop trying to purposely roll them it should disappear.

  9. Avatar photo

    February 22, 2014

    Henry

    I am finally releasing…this tip and the drills did it! Tight wrists and hips were a hard habit to break (my apologies to Chicago!)

  10. May 23, 2014

    Dumas

    Paul, in this video your wrist turnover is right after impact. When you are fully extended after impact, it does not appear that you rolled your wrist at this point.

    Dumas

  11. Hi Paul,
    What i really find interesting in this video is seeing the way the shaft bows backward just before the club head reaches the ball. It shows that the club head has picked up speed from the wrists starting to release, and thus the shaft is “left behind”.
    cool video,
    ter

    • Terry,

      This is the camera doing this. Although there is some bowing it is amplified with the camera.

      Watch:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dToMXNNpbrM

      This is the reason Padraig Harrington lost his swing. After he won 2 in a row he saw the shaft bow in video. Then he was on a mission to make it bow like this every time. Lost his swing because of it. This is from a very reliable source. Guess he doesn’t care too much about it now that he is playing better.

  12. Hi Paul,

    This is off the content of this tip, but I noticed your iron was a steel shaft and the driver was graphite. Do you see specific advantages of this choice or was it just a case of feeling more comfortable with steel for irons and graphite for woods?

    Mike

    • Mike,

      Just remember steel for feel. I don’t need distance I need to feel the shot. Better players will play steel in the irons and graphite in the woods. If you need a little more distance than stick to graphite. Today’s graphite is very good so it won’t be a problem.

  13. April 23, 2015

    JimElser

    Hey Paul what causes me to stop rotating after I hit the ball? thx

  14. August 21, 2015

    JamesSinger

    Paul:

    The crane view of your golf swing was awesome. I went out and shot a 42 on the front 9! You are the BEST.Looking forward to more lessons with you this fall.

    Jim Singer

    • August 21, 2015

      Paul Wilson

      James,

      Glad you liked it. I think that is just the coolest view of the swing. Since then I have shot some more. I will be posting it soon.

  15. Avatar photo

    February 9, 2016

    MichelLemieux

    Hi Paul, I would like to know what you think about Jordan Spith’s swing, his chicken wing and the way he’s releasing the club ? How can he generate club speed ? By the way, I use your method for over 2 years now and LOVE it. Thank you Paul !

    • February 9, 2016

      Paul Wilson

      Michel,

      I like his swing. I would think he does the chicken wing to stop it from going left. I rececently read an article where he went to a weaker grip to stop it from doing so. In looking at some video of his swing it looks like he is purposely trying to hold the face off. I would think that’s where it’s coming from. Right through impact his right arm is immediately extended so this keep the width of the arc. The average player doesn’t do this when the do a chicken wing. Both arms bend and they never create the widest arc.

      How does he get the speed? He has perfect lag and a fast hip rotation. Just because he chicken wings it an inch or two that’s not going to loose much speed. I would prefer he didn’t do that but if it works it’s hard to change someone on his level.

      Glad you like the site and tips. I appreciate it.

  16. September 9, 2016

    RYDGJR

    Your have so many great lessons on the site that I find I always have about 30 saved as favorites. Every so often, I start at the bottom of the list and review a few so that I might remove some if I feel I no longer need to have them close at hand. I just reviewed this one and I have to keep it around as it is just so well done and so important. I doubt if I ever will remove it from my favorites. One of the best ever in my opinion. This site is just the best. Nothing else comes close & for a very reasonable cost. Thanks!!!

    • September 10, 2016

      Paul Wilson

      Gary,

      Glad you like the site and glad you have you on board. There is a ton of info posted. I just hope people are searching, watching and saving the tips like you are. I have been to a few other sites to see what they offer. I will just keep doing what I do.

  17. February 1, 2018

    MichaelShields

    Paul, is there a trigger for releasing the club? It seems to me that early release would result in a hook and late release in fade or slice. How do you time the release so that the club is square at impact? Should I think of release as a release of the lag angle or is there also a rolling of the wrists too?

    Thanks, Michael

    • Avatar photo

      February 1, 2018

      Paul Wilson

      Michael,

      You need to release the club early (roll over drill) until you rarely ever put slice spin on it. Once you can do this you are then switching focus to body to straighten it out. Remember, you are eventually turning your arms off. This means the mass (club) would always want to swing to its widest point 100% of the time. This point is after you hit the ball (release point). If you set up with the arms extended and face square you are pre-determining that when you arms are extended the face is square. So how do you consistently square the face? You extend your arms. Simple physics.

      How to Release the Golf Club: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-wrist-release/

      Manually Square the Clubface: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-squaring-clubface/

      Manually Square the Clubface (Follow Up): https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-squaring-face-follow-up/

  18. February 6, 2018

    RandMellor

    Hey Paul——I’m assuming this particular release exercise comes AFTER one has the basic swing down, correct??? As one speeds up one’s hip rotation, than the early release comes into play to keep the ball on a straight flight…..But when learning the complete, correct swing swing positions and going at slower speeds, no early release technique is needed, right…Thx for your help!!!!

    • Avatar photo

      February 7, 2018

      Paul Wilson

      Randy,

      Well, you can do it anytime. I would be doing it if you are slicing. No sence hitting everything with slice spin. That’s not going to get you too excited about changing anything. So if you slice you fix the slice. Add a little body to straighten it out. Then work on positions. Then turn the arms off once you get the positions looking good.

      If you are going slow you may not need to do it. It tightens when people swing too hard.

  19. October 1, 2018

    JimBenjamin

    Paul,

    This tip has a ton of good stuff in it. I now know that you work on the lag angle to a certain point. The gripping down to the steel tip is great. While you were working on it, loosening the wrists in the L to L drill I saw how the legs worked in unison. I think that is great to work on straightening the lead leg and starting the back leg towards the lead leg to get the correct feeling of that move while sensing the looseness of the hands and arms to forget the hit complex. I think doing that in a smaller move will help me transition to the full swing.

    Jim

  20. Hi Paul, great tip, i keep coming back to it. But I do struggle trying to reconcile what you repeat here several times “stretch your arms” with the concept of “powerless arms”. In my mind at least, the act of “stretching” means actively using your arms. In many of you videos you ask us not to hit with the arms, but think of the several ways you can use a hammer… you can use the entire arm to produce a blow, or simply hinge and unhinge from the elbow down, which is like stretching the arm to move the hammer. I hope im illustrating the idea. Im trying to understand if you are effectively and actively “unfolding“ your right arm into the hitting area… is that what you mean by stretching? Otherwise, how or how else are you releasing the hinged wrists which are holding onto that lag angle for as long as possible? Thanks !

    • There are times that you need to actually work on your arms in the golf swing…yes, this is golf swing where you have no arms in it. But, you want to be working on certain areas of the swing to make sure that they move correctly. I actually just made a tip a couple weeks ago on this topic. If you have a chicken wing, then you to do something to fix this problem. Just working on using your body should help to fix these other problems, but we can speed up the process by working on something like stretching the arms out. Check these out:

      When Do You Work On Arms?: https://ignitiongolf.com/when-to-work-arms/

      DRILL: Another Way To Widen The Arc: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-widen-arc/

      DRILL: Arm Extension: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-stretch-out-arms/

  21. September 2, 2021

    TomKelly

    When I hit driver the ball flys straight but has a fade at the end. I would prefer a slight draw. What’s the fix?

    • Avatar photo

      September 7, 2021

      Paul Wilson

      First you would want to loosen your wrists up. Get the golf ball hooking, completely get rid of the slice spin on your ball. Then you are going to straighten it back out using your lower body. You want to be hitting the golf ball as straight as possible. The draw is a tough shot to hit. Check out this tip:

      The Fake Draw: https://ignitiongolf.com/the-fake-draw/

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