Drill – Smooth Wrist Release

By | on February 2, 2023 | 51 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+

51 Responses to “Drill – Smooth Wrist Release”

  1. April 24, 2013

    AndrewMah

    Hi Paul.
    Thanks for another great tip. Please correct my thinking here if needed! My bad shots tends to be pulls, and the majority of my balls tend to travel left. I assume this is happening as you have explained by over use of arms or a strong grip. As I look at this tip, I have a sneaking suspicion I am just like that student you talk about, I have no SNAP in my release and hence I am not a long hitter.
    My question is, can you be someone who has graduated from a slicer, where you can square the club face and send balls left, BUT not be releasing your wrist with this speed and snap as you describe? And not releasing it with this snap will result in loss of distance?

    thanks, Andrew

    • April 24, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Andrew,

      Glad you liked the tip.

      Yes, you can get the wrists rolling over but not very fast. This cure the slice but does not give you maximum distance. You need to be constantly practicing this wrists release until it is loose and smooth.

      You can do this too:

      Lag And Release Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/lag-release-drill

      This takes time but keep doing it until you are good at it.

  2. April 24, 2013

    JaySchwarz

    Paul,

    As I watched this tip, I see two releases going on. In addition to the wrist release, it appears that your right elbow has a release of its own.

    You’ve talk a lot about letting the arms extend 2-3 feet after impact, but is there something to be working on to release the angle in the right arm?

    I’m assuming the the lower body trigger is what powers this, if the arms are powerless, but wonder if we need to be doing a drill to get this working precisely correct?

    • April 24, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Jay,

      You need to let the arms be powerless. If they are the weight of the club should be stretching them out fully at the release point. If you want to manually fully extend it I am okay with this so you get the feeling of it. Just go to the top and keep coming down to the release point. If the arms fully extend the right arm has to be releasing. I want this to happen without you thinking about it because the Iron Byron does not have a right arm.

      I would also be doing the drill where you point the club at the target after you hit the ball. In doing so the right arm would have to be fully extended.

  3. I got the concept, the arms are powerless, lower body triggers the swing. I have blocked all thoughts of my hands, wrist and golf club in my downswing. Releasing the golf club

  4. I couldn’t have expressed it better and therefore I join Michael’s question. Do yo have to focus on releasing at impact or does it happen naturally?

  5. Paul, another question. Is this wrist release also happening in pitch shots and high chip shots? I feel as if the wrist should stay firm in order to gain consistency. Similar to Mickelson’s concept of hinge and hold.

  6. April 24, 2013

    mikeplummer

    Hi Paul,
    Just starting to swing a club again after coming off a left ankle injury. This tip was great because many of us over-analyze the release. I think David’s tip about “less is more” is a good one for me in this type of move. I have a tendency to over-power this move rather than let it happen with less effort, ane a smoother flowing motion. I am having problems transferring weight to left leg since the left ankle injury, would the finish drill be the best one to work on? The ankle is ok now however I seem to be protecting it. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
    Have a great day, Mike

    • April 24, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Mike,

      Glad you’re back.

      Getting to the left side is vital but you don’t want to hurt yourself. Take it slow and easy. Do this drill around the house:

      Lean On Club to Touch Legs: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-lean-on-club

      Also, do lots of practice swings. You will have a bit of a mental block in getting over there so you need to slowly get back into it again and gradually speed up again. That is really all I would do right now. Just go slow and you will be back in no time.

  7. Hi Paul:

    I find if I do these 3 things, I don’t need to think about the wrist rotation:

    Vertical rotation
    Weight shift to the left leg and
    Stay connected with the left arm to the left pectoral through point of contact.

    When executed well, the shots are dead on. If I cheat at all, I get disastrous results – particularly if I hit off of my back leg – I push and slice the ball about 40 degrees off target.

    Am I on the right track?

    • April 27, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Bruce,

      If it is working then keep doing it. I would think it is the weight shift that is allowing the wrists to release. I say this because if you are loaded into the right side you have your motor (legs) turned on. If you do not shift your weight you have no power in your legs. No power in the legs is going to lead to you hitting with the arms because you have no other way to hit the ball. The harder you hit the tighter the wrists. The other things are important too but I think this is what is helping you feel the release. Keep doing it.

  8. I’m getting a bit confused between conflicting advice :If you go with the concept of “Powerless Arms “,then you stay loose and don’t manipulate your wrists at all,they just go for the ride.If you consciously go for a release or a unhinging of the wrists you’ll tend to tighten up and Hook the ball .the only thing I think of is simulating I skim a flat stone to the surface of a lake.Also I Believe rolling over the wrists promotes a Hook ,while I Favor a slight fade .

    • April 29, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Raymond,

      I want you manually releasing the ball until the ball is hooking consistently. This will require you to use your arms. Once you get it you turn your arms off and focus on the powering the swing with the lower body. In doing so you are no longer rolling the writs too much and the body (axis) starts rotating before the mass (club) in doing so the mass will fall towards 90 degrees to the axis thus allowing the club to swing on plane which will cause you to hit the ball dead straight.

      Once you get this you then fade the ball with our set up (if you want to hit this shot) not because you have a swing flaw. Fade it if you want. Others want to hit it straight or draw it. To each his own.

  9. Hi Paul,
    You truly amaze me by your teaching technique. I honestly believe that if one follows your instruction, step by step, it would be all but impossible to not break 80 consistently. Due to cataract surgery and tax season, I did not play between Jan 3 and April 19. The first two outings were disastrous. Probably a total of five good shots. It was very discouraging. The third round was so much better. Things are starting to work. Even the bad shots are encouraging because, for the first time in my life, I can figure out what caused it. It is very difficult to pick out the most important tips, but this one ranks pretty high. My other favorites are swinging from point A to point B and the one on understanding why certain shots had the trajectory and/or direction they did and how to fix it. Thank you soooooooooooo much.

    Len

    • Len,

      Thank you for the kind words and feedback. It’s all about making people better.

      Glad you got it back quickly after taking a break. This is great. Now you are starting to be able to fix your own golf swing. This is huge.

  10. BTW, I am telling almost everyone I know (and some people I don’t know) about you and your teaching. If I meet someone and learn that he/she plays golf, they get a ten minute introduction to Paul Wilson.

    Take care,
    Len

    • Len,

      Thank you for the promo. It is tough for me to get the word out. I only have so much time and resources. If I can build and army of people word will eventually get out. There are so many people who need help out there. I just need to get to them.

  11. Doesn’t the rolling over of the club require consistent timing?

    • Gregory,

      You are rolling it until you are consistently rolling it. This will unlock your wrists. Once your wrists are loose and you are no longer slicing it you are then forgetting about it. The club will square consistently if you are doing nothing to manipulate the mass because mass will always want to swing at its widest point 100% of the time. So the timing is consistent by not hitting or helping the shot in any way with the arms and wrists.

      Watch:

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

  12. Oh, thanks for the tip. I think not releasing the club properly is a big issue for me, as I try to do it all with my shoulders, which at times leads to a big pull or pull hook.

  13. January 30, 2015

    RYDGJR

    Just want to say that this site is exactly what I have been needing for a long, long time. I’m 68, but still pretty athletic. Wish I had all this info 40 years ago. I still have time to get pretty good at this game though and plan to do so.
    I have been working on your system for only a short time now & am quickly seeing major improvement. I have to keep working on gettimg the tension and hit impulse from my swing. I’m getting excited about golf again and want to thank you for your videos. You have a great way (make that numerous ways) of explaining things so that they are easy to understand). Your chipping instruction was uncomfortable at first for me, but I stuck with it and I’m now starting to be pretty good at that method. What was a real weakness is becoming a strong part of my game. I’ve hit a number of great shots with the full swings also and more are on the way. I’ve tried way too many tips from way too many sources in the past that have messed me up more than helped me. Your site is going to be my only source of instruction for this point on as I can already tell that I can improve a bunch with your methods. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

    • January 30, 2015

      Paul Wilson

      Gary,

      Thank you for the kind words and support. Glad you improving. I love hearing it.

      Chipping and the short game in general is a HUGE part of the game. Not only does it help you make up for your mistakes but it also takes pressure off your long game. Keep at it as well as the full swing. Good golf to come for you into the future.

  14. January 20, 2016

    RegLake

    Hi Paul,
    I’m working on just hooking the ball.
    In one of your video drills you start rolling your wrist from the top of the backswing to close the face and hook the ball.
    Should the rolling of the wrist be a gradual release to the top of the swing or should I be snapping the wrist like in this video in the impact zone.

    • January 20, 2016

      Paul Wilson

      Reg,

      You need to do whatever you need to do to hook it. You only have 1/4 of a second from the top to impact. If you roll late you will leave the face open. Remember, this is a drill. You need to hook ball after ball in a row and get used to the feeling. Once you can hook it you start adding leg drive to straighten it out.

      Golf Swing Timing For More Distance: https://ignitiongolf.com/timing-more-distance/

  15. Very sound advice ,Paul .ERIC PRAIN said that a long time ago ,in 1946 ,in his book “LIVE HANDS “.
    There’s a useful training aid to train your hands called “the SNAG SNAPPER “.
    The hands are the only connection between you and the clubhead .
    They need to be educated

  16. Paul:

    I’m not sure that I am rolling my wrists properly. When I watch slow motion video of my swing, my wrists fully extend about a foot behind the ball (i.e., complete loss of lag) and then they roll through impact and my left wrist collapses (bends back) after impact. While your wrist is slightly cupped at the top, it appears to be flat, or at least no more cupped, throughout the roll. My extend-wrist-then-roll feels comfortable to me, but I suspect it’s wrong. When to try the drill where I flip my left thumb towards the target without a club, I feel a different type of roll, and my wrist doesn’t collapse. It will take some time for me to make that roll automatic so that it replaces my different type of roll release. Let me know if I’m OB on my thoughts.

    Thanks for all of your guidance and tips.

    Charlie

    • Charlie,

      Don’t worry about the lag. If you are trying to purposely roll the wrists you would lose lag at the early stages of the downswing. This is not the point of the roll over drill . The point is to get it hooking and unlock your wrists. The lag comes later by firing the lower ahead of the arms.

      Not really sure about your description. One thing the odd person does is just after the roll they bow the left wrist which is wrong. After the roll the left wrist should be slightly cupped so look for that.

      Keep in mind if you are doing the roll over on purpose you are not trying for perfection. You are over doing it. The rehinge doesn’t even happen until about 2 feet after contact. This is just to loosen up your wrists. Sounds like you are tying to make it perfect so you are loosing the whole point.

      Just try rolling it from the top and hooking it. If you can do so, you are doing it right. Get used to this feeling and keep working on loosening them into the future. Once you get this you are adding body rotation to straighten it out.

  17. July 11, 2016

    EricHicks

    When your wrists snap over that hard during the swing don’t you have ever have problems with your wrists bothering you? If I do this drill a lot it tends to aggravate my left wrist especially.

    • Eric,

      No. My wrists are loose. You are trying to do it way too hard trying hit great shots. As I said, you are doing this until you get the ball hooking. You are working on the spin. If you hook it you are no longer a slicer. Then you need to work on direction. So slow way down. Move to 7 iron and hit easy shots rolling your wrists early. You are the first person in 25 years that has ever had a problem with it so I know you are doing it way too hard.

      Focus on what this drill is trying to get you to do. Also, do it in practice swings a home. This way there is no ball so there is no way your wrists would hurt.

  18. January 9, 2018

    JohnOsher

    Of all of your teaching, learning the proper wrist hinge and release is the most difficult for me and important. It appears to be the essence of the speed of the body swing. I have natural difficulty in believing that the wrists hinge will release in a repeatable way that the ball will continue to go straight and that the face of the club will be pointing the right direction. However I am working on this every day at home while the weather is keeping me off the course. Hope to try this on the range tomorrow. Thanks for all the help and hope.

    • Avatar photo

      January 9, 2018

      Paul Wilson

      John,

      Well, believe it. The club is mass. If you let mass go would it not swing to its widest point 100% of the time? It sure would. If you set up with your arms extended and the face square how do you consistently square the face? Simple you let your arms stretch out because you predetermined that when they are extended the face is square. See it now? If you are trying to hit you manipulate the face and activate the arms never letting them fully stretch out. So stay focused and let the arms go. The tell-tale sign you are doing it is that the club will feel heavy. if it feels light, you’re too tight.

  19. January 9, 2018

    JohnOsher

    Just to add that the wrist hinge is not a simple hinge but also requires the loose rotation of the forearms.

    • Avatar photo

      January 9, 2018

      Paul Wilson

      John,

      You don’t need to add rotation. This would occur on its own as mass will always swing to its widest point 100% of the time if you did nothing to it. If so, the arms would have to rotate without you even thinking about it. Now if you want to help it along you can do my roll over drill. Get it hooking then turn the arms off.

  20. April 10, 2018

    HughVine

    Do I understand you correctly: power is generated from a rapid wrist release, but the wrist release and its speed is generated only from a rapid hip turn (not an active wrist release)?

    • Avatar photo

      April 12, 2018

      Paul Wilson

      Hugh,

      Correct. The arm unit has to be connected to something. This something is your body coiling and uncoiling. If your lead arm was a 2 x 4 with a hinge and a golf club and it swung back it would hinge because it is loose. Once set it would not start moving on its own. Your body start uncoiling and the 2 x 4 follows. It still be perfectly lagged because there is no power in the 2 x 4 or hinge. At some point in the downswing it cannot hold this angle forever because mass (your club) would always swing to its widest point 100% of the time. This means it would release fully about 2 feet after impact with irons and 3 feet after with Driver due to the increase in backwards body tilt the harder you drive the lower body. It is the release from the hinged position that creates the clubhead speed but again this unit has to be connected to a rotating center. Try hitting a golf ball without turning your shoulders back and through.

      What Powers Your Swing (legs/arms): https://ignitiongolf.com/power-golf-swing/

      Problem is the average person is nowhere near as loose as I am. I grab their club and test this all of the time when they come for lessons. So the grip is secure while the wrists are loose. The hands and wrists are a hinge. They hinge and rehinge. A hinge is loose.

      Secure Grip Loose Wrists: https://ignitiongolf.com/secure-grip-loose-wrists/

      The other problem is it feels good to hit the ball with the arms. There is a satisfaction that goes along with hitting. I do not get the satisfaction in my arms. I get it in my legs and hips.

      Taking Out Your Frustrations: https://ignitiongolf.com/taking-out-frustrations/

      Hopefully you see it.

  21. Paul,

    I’ve played golf for 57 years and followed instruction all along the way. Golf and GD subscriber for the last 50 years. Took countless wasted and unproductive lessons. Until I found you I never understood the role of the wrists in the swing. I love your image of the little “snap” at the bottom of the swing as the rollover takes place.

    After getting frustrated with trying to speed up my lower body and blowing everything way right, I finally took a step back and started religiously doing your rollover drills. Viola, now my hands just do it automatically. Now my hips are the body part pressed with catching up. It just takes a little work and as you say doing it “over and over and over and over…” I do it with no club while just watching TV, or whenever I have a spare minute. Then, it (the body part or action you are working on) “just goes there” as you say. When it comes together, it is a magical and addictive feeling. Best feel-good drug in the world!

    Can’t thank you enough!

    Mike

    • Mike,

      I’ve have been there too. I tried everything to get my swing back over the course of 10 years and this was me working on it daily. No one could give me the answers I was looking for. Without the answers how do you ever fix it?

      Glad you like it and are feeling it. Keep at it.

  22. Paul

    if i start to roll the wrist before impact, it looks like the club face is closed at impact. Don’t I want the club face to be square at impact? What am I not understanding?

    • Avatar photo

      March 19, 2020

      Paul Wilson

      You are over exagerrating the roll over to go more than what you want, hoping that when you go to hit a normal shot you have gone too far and not going to do it as much. If you go more than what you actually need, the club would have gotten square at one point in the downswing, so you would have squared it. Plus if you only go to square at impact you would always have to think about your arms to hit a straight shot, when would you be able to think about your legs and hips?

  23. June 7, 2020

    RayLiu

    Hi Paul, thanks for teaching me the last two years!!! Truly appreciate it… Now the Pandemic has eased and we are staring to play golf…. but my iron shots are hooking everything….. my GIR is terrible…. Please advise what drills or mindset I should have? I tried to have a neutral grip but then I will start slicing the ball…. Please help, thank you. Ray

  24. January 27, 2021

    ThomasGray

    Hi Paul….

    so what are your wrists doing on the takeaway..? On your tip on the correct takeaway, you say the clubface should remain closed to match your body tilt…(the halfway back position….so no wrist roll to the half way point)..do your wrists then rotate back to the top, and then on the downswing rotate the opposite way to square the clubface, and then rollover?

    It’s frustrating…..I practiced your wrist release drill, and got my ball speed and distance up a lot…and then now cannot do it.?? How to get it back!!

    Anyway, thanks for the tips!

    -tom

  25. October 26, 2021

    RandyBagwell

    Hi Paul, do you still recommend the Momentus 7 iron for training to rollover the wrists? It looks like it would help me. Also does it promote a neutral grip? I am learning a lot with the Body Swing program I purchased.
    Thanks
    Randy

    • Avatar photo

      November 16, 2021

      Paul Wilson

      The shorter version of the Momentus is the better weight for the club. Its not too heavy and more like a regular golf club. It also has a training grip on it that will help with your grip.

  26. Avatar photo

    December 20, 2021

    Lenny

    Paul,

    Thanks again for your good tip. One question just for clarification: is this hand over thing a normal swing in your teaching or just for fixing slice problem?

    Thanks

    • Avatar photo

      January 15, 2022

      Paul Wilson

      I find that most golfers are too tight in their arms/wrists. So yes this is a cure for a slice/thin shots. But the great majority of golfers are too tight, so starting to do drills like this and loosening up will help you get better strikes and gain distance. If you are hitting the golf ball straight with good power, then you would want to move to something different.

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