Hi Paul,
I love this tip on hinging the wrists. And as I said before sometimes I see other benefits in a tip, but in this one it raises a question that has been on my mind for a long time. In this tip you hinge the wrists straight up toward your head. And then you turn and your back-swing and hinge are set. My question is, as you un-coil and release the club are we simply returning the club back from our head to the ground? Is it a up and down movement and if so would it happen automatically with loose wrists? I hope I am explaining my question well enough, wanting to know if it is an up and return down position?
Thanks, Mike
This is one area that has not been explained to the majority of golfers. This is very simple. If you do nothing with the club and turn your body the club will want to swing to the widest point of the arc. This is mass swinging around an axis. If this is the case the club will turn over and fully release all on its own without you have to help it. Remember, this point is after the ball is hit. This is when both arms are perfectly straight again in the swing. Unfortunately, there are so many people trying to manually square the club at impact and thinking about wrists angle etc. when this is completely unnecessary. What people need to be working on is turning the arms off and letting the club go wherever it wants. In doing so it will swing to its widest point 100% of the time. This allows the clubface to square with great consistency. So do nothing on the way down.
Paul,
I made a comment a week ago, when you did your tip on “powerless arms”, and how that really helped me. Then I remembered the wrist hinge. These two tips go hand in hand. For the past couple of days in practice and playing I have tried to concentrate on those two things. And what do you think is happening? I am swing the clubs with more club head speed and the ball is going further, more greens in regulation. Not always in the desired direction because if I do not start uncoiling from the bottom I can still fade the ball. It is not a slice anymore. Then there are times I will pull the ball. But it is finally after 9 years getting through my head that tension in my hands, wrists and arms and trying to muscle the hit does not result in the desired shot and distance. Keep these tips coming and don’t be afraid to repeat them. There is so much going on in the golf swing that I forget certain parts and fall back into my bad habits. When you repeat some of the simple things, it gets me back on track. As you wrote in my copy of SWING MACHINE GOLF, “keep working on it and one day you can swing like the machine”.
Thanks – Peter
That’s great news. I love hearing about improvement. If you are just fading instead of slicing just manually roll the clubface closed a little earlier and get it hooking for a few shots. Once you can, then go back to the powerless arms and focus on turning your body to straighten it back out. You are close. Just a little more effort on the wrists and you should have it going straight.
The pull is just your arms pulling the club down. That is an easy way to remember it. Pull = you are pulling the club down. So start the body first.
It sounds like you are becoming a machine. I like it!
Hi Paul.,
I am a new member & am engoying the info, tell me with all the info on the site what added info that would improve my swing would I obtain in buying the seperate video on The Pergfect Swing.
Ron, Thank you for joining. I truly appreciate the support.
My Swing Machine Golf book and video take you step-by-step through each of the swing positions through 10 lessons. If you want structure the book and DVDs are the way to go. The Ignition Golf tips are a great supplement to these products because they go even more in depth on all positions in the golf swing. It is really up to you if you would like to add them but from the comments every since posting on RG and here people are glad they have both the tips and products.
Basically, you do 3 backswing lengths and turn your body at different rotational speeds to dial in all the shots. Once you understand it and practice a little it works incredibly well.
If you have my short game series it includes my pitching technique.
Paul,
Two things that I noticed when I concentrated of the wrist hinge. At firs,t I felt that I might be using my arms to swing the club wildly at the ground. But after a short while I noted that the feeling was actually my wrist unhinging as I swung the club past the ball. Is this the uncontrolled feeling that you are talking about when you say that the swing may at first feel that it is out of control? The second thing that I am noticing is that I am not hitting the ball any farther, but I am hitting it about twice as high — not kidding — much higher ball flight. Is this to be expected? Thanks for the site. Best money I have ever spent game improvement.
Ray
Thank you for your kind words about the site. I truly appreciate it.
I like what you are feeling as far as the release is concerned. The club is releasing on its own by letting the club go wherever it wants to go. In doing so, the mass of the club will swing to the widest point of the swing arc. This point is after the ball is hit. Right now you are hitting the ball too high because your club is releasing at the ball. If this occurs it will have too much loft on it. So you need to keep doing what you are doing until you get used to this letting go feeling. Then you need to be working on turning your body to hit the ball. If you do it will move the release point past the ball thus de-lofting your club at impact because the club will still be descending.
Hi Paul,
Contacting you from London, UK, and whilst the weather is taking a turn worse, this site is definitely keeping my golf appetite high! Thank you so much for the hard work that you and your team are putting in to share your experience and information.
Just a small point that I would appreciated clarification on, regarding the timing of the fully hinged wrists:
Am and I trying aim for my wrists to hinge at the same moment that I reach the top of the back swing or do I hold the top of my back swing for 1/2 a second to allow my wrists to hinge before starting my down swing?
At the moment, I am finding that latter is happening. I think that this is due to me trying to keep my wrists loose and arms powerless. Am I over (under) doing it?
Tim, Glad you like the site. Thanks for the support.
The club is the last thing to get to the top. The pause occurs because you are waiting for the lower body to start turning. Because the arms are connected to the body the club will follow. The wrists are hinging fro halfway back to the top. They should be hinging because they are loose and the momentum of the club swinging back is allowing them to hinge.
Hi Paul,
Another great tip. So many tips, so little time. Actually, I’m giving myself a year to learn your swing. It makes so much sense, is so logical, and explained so well that I am telling everyone I play with about you.
I played yesterday. The score was, as expected, awful. But, on occasion, I put things together. On one of the holes near the end of the round, I felt things click as I outdrove my fellow competitors by at least 15 yards. On the course we played, my handicap was 15 – theirs were 5, 6, and 7. One asked if I had caught the cart path (not close) and another yelled “Nice shot Paul.”
I do have a hinge question. Are the wrists completely hinged for all full shots or just the longer clubs? Also, as I practice this drill, I find the pad of my left hand coming off of the grip slightly. Is that normal, ok, or needs attention? I don’t want to grip the club too tightly.
Thank you for the kind words and promo. I appreciate the help.
When you start you will still see blow up holes but you will also see flashes of brilliance. This is telling you what is coming in the future. It is tough to take it to the course because you have pressure etc. and you are trying to do new things. Once the positions have taken hold you can reduce the thought and do these things naturally. Just keep at it and keep doing tons of practice swings both at home and at the range perfecting the positions.
All full swings will have the wrists completely hinged. If you grip is coming off the club you are letting go. You need to hold on tighter and keep the wrists loose. This is a fine line but it can be done. Time for the tee torture drill:
Brilliant lesson.
There i was thinking my wrist hinge was good until i watched this video.
At the top of my backswing my thumbs were pointing straight up to the sky and not towards my big head!
I will work at this all this week and more, i get the feeling my distances are going to improve!
Maybe off the track here Paul but i have been working on retaining more resistance on my left side in backswing, is this correct, should i be feeling some tension on left side resisting the right side turning?
Keep up your great work.
Paul
Glad you watched this tip. It is vital you get the wrists hinging. This will give you way more power in the future.
As you coil the shoulders you will feel a stretching in the left shoulder/lat area. Not sure if you are coiling properly or not. I get the feeling you are resisting too much in the lower body (I could be wrong). Although you should be resisting the lower body as you coil back you need to allow the shoulder rotation to pull the lower body into position. You can over do it.
Hi Paul,
I am working on full wrist hinge at the top of my backswing.
Not one instructor told me about this , hence my wrists are very stiff when I do this.
Paul, when i hinge my wrists fully until they will bend no more it feels really uncomfortable and my wrists were sore afterwards BUT i noticed that for the first time I was getting a FULL shoulder turn.
I have been doing the excercises you suggest for wrist hinge.
Because I am focusing so much on wrist hinge at the top of my backswing my whole swing is not as good or should I say not as smooth in the downsing.
I also noticed at the top of my backswing my lrft palm comes off the grip very slightly is this correct?
Best Regards
paul
They may be sore if you have never done it before. Just make sure you are not forcing the hinge in a way that is hurting you. The wrists are hinging because they are loose.
The grip should be secure at the top. Secure grip/loose wrists. It should no come off the club in any way.
If you are working on this one thing then work on this one thing. Forget the rest of the swing. Get this then go back to the other positions. This is how you build a great swing. Work on one thing at a time. If you are trying to do everything you will do nothing.
Paul
I am confused about which angle to hinge my wrists: as a hockey player, a snap shot requires me to bend the back of my hand towards my forearm prior to snapping forward. But I wonder whether the golf swing should have me tilt my thumb upwards, towards the side of my forearm. (this would prevent my left wrist from flexing and then cupping) problem is, the wrist has a lot of potential movements, doesn’t it?
So you do not want to be bowing that wrist. There will be an angle at impact in this wrist due to the club not being at the widest point of the arc at impact.
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22 Responses to “Fully Hinge Your Wrists For More Power”
September 17, 2012
mikeplummerHi Paul,
I love this tip on hinging the wrists. And as I said before sometimes I see other benefits in a tip, but in this one it raises a question that has been on my mind for a long time. In this tip you hinge the wrists straight up toward your head. And then you turn and your back-swing and hinge are set. My question is, as you un-coil and release the club are we simply returning the club back from our head to the ground? Is it a up and down movement and if so would it happen automatically with loose wrists? I hope I am explaining my question well enough, wanting to know if it is an up and return down position?
Thanks, Mike
September 18, 2012
Paul WilsonMike,
Glad you liked it. Thanks.
This is one area that has not been explained to the majority of golfers. This is very simple. If you do nothing with the club and turn your body the club will want to swing to the widest point of the arc. This is mass swinging around an axis. If this is the case the club will turn over and fully release all on its own without you have to help it. Remember, this point is after the ball is hit. This is when both arms are perfectly straight again in the swing. Unfortunately, there are so many people trying to manually square the club at impact and thinking about wrists angle etc. when this is completely unnecessary. What people need to be working on is turning the arms off and letting the club go wherever it wants. In doing so it will swing to its widest point 100% of the time. This allows the clubface to square with great consistency. So do nothing on the way down.
Remember this tip:
How to Release the Golf Club: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-wrist-release
September 17, 2012
PETERMCMULLENPaul,
I made a comment a week ago, when you did your tip on “powerless arms”, and how that really helped me. Then I remembered the wrist hinge. These two tips go hand in hand. For the past couple of days in practice and playing I have tried to concentrate on those two things. And what do you think is happening? I am swing the clubs with more club head speed and the ball is going further, more greens in regulation. Not always in the desired direction because if I do not start uncoiling from the bottom I can still fade the ball. It is not a slice anymore. Then there are times I will pull the ball. But it is finally after 9 years getting through my head that tension in my hands, wrists and arms and trying to muscle the hit does not result in the desired shot and distance. Keep these tips coming and don’t be afraid to repeat them. There is so much going on in the golf swing that I forget certain parts and fall back into my bad habits. When you repeat some of the simple things, it gets me back on track. As you wrote in my copy of SWING MACHINE GOLF, “keep working on it and one day you can swing like the machine”.
Thanks – Peter
September 18, 2012
Paul WilsonPeter,
That’s great news. I love hearing about improvement. If you are just fading instead of slicing just manually roll the clubface closed a little earlier and get it hooking for a few shots. Once you can, then go back to the powerless arms and focus on turning your body to straighten it back out. You are close. Just a little more effort on the wrists and you should have it going straight.
The pull is just your arms pulling the club down. That is an easy way to remember it. Pull = you are pulling the club down. So start the body first.
It sounds like you are becoming a machine. I like it!
September 17, 2012
ronedwardsHi Paul.,
I am a new member & am engoying the info, tell me with all the info on the site what added info that would improve my swing would I obtain in buying the seperate video on The Pergfect Swing.
Many thanks
Ron Edwards
September 18, 2012
Paul WilsonRon, Thank you for joining. I truly appreciate the support.
My Swing Machine Golf book and video take you step-by-step through each of the swing positions through 10 lessons. If you want structure the book and DVDs are the way to go. The Ignition Golf tips are a great supplement to these products because they go even more in depth on all positions in the golf swing. It is really up to you if you would like to add them but from the comments every since posting on RG and here people are glad they have both the tips and products.
September 17, 2012
MartinOlsenhi Paul
du you have anny tip for pitching 20 30 40 50 60 yards.
Many thanks
Martin Olsen
From DK.
September 18, 2012
Paul WilsonMartin,
I don’t have any of these tips just yet. I do have this one:
How to Pitch: https://ignitiongolf.com/pitch-ball
Basically, you do 3 backswing lengths and turn your body at different rotational speeds to dial in all the shots. Once you understand it and practice a little it works incredibly well.
If you have my short game series it includes my pitching technique.
I will do some more pitching tips in the future.
Stay tuned.
September 17, 2012
RayAugerPaul,
Two things that I noticed when I concentrated of the wrist hinge. At firs,t I felt that I might be using my arms to swing the club wildly at the ground. But after a short while I noted that the feeling was actually my wrist unhinging as I swung the club past the ball. Is this the uncontrolled feeling that you are talking about when you say that the swing may at first feel that it is out of control? The second thing that I am noticing is that I am not hitting the ball any farther, but I am hitting it about twice as high — not kidding — much higher ball flight. Is this to be expected? Thanks for the site. Best money I have ever spent game improvement.
Ray
September 18, 2012
Paul WilsonRay,
Thank you for your kind words about the site. I truly appreciate it.
I like what you are feeling as far as the release is concerned. The club is releasing on its own by letting the club go wherever it wants to go. In doing so, the mass of the club will swing to the widest point of the swing arc. This point is after the ball is hit. Right now you are hitting the ball too high because your club is releasing at the ball. If this occurs it will have too much loft on it. So you need to keep doing what you are doing until you get used to this letting go feeling. Then you need to be working on turning your body to hit the ball. If you do it will move the release point past the ball thus de-lofting your club at impact because the club will still be descending.
Watch This:
How to Release the Golf Club: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-wrist-release
October 24, 2012
TimLauHi Paul,
Contacting you from London, UK, and whilst the weather is taking a turn worse, this site is definitely keeping my golf appetite high! Thank you so much for the hard work that you and your team are putting in to share your experience and information.
Just a small point that I would appreciated clarification on, regarding the timing of the fully hinged wrists:
Am and I trying aim for my wrists to hinge at the same moment that I reach the top of the back swing or do I hold the top of my back swing for 1/2 a second to allow my wrists to hinge before starting my down swing?
At the moment, I am finding that latter is happening. I think that this is due to me trying to keep my wrists loose and arms powerless. Am I over (under) doing it?
Many thanks again,
Tim
October 25, 2012
Paul WilsonTim, Glad you like the site. Thanks for the support.
The club is the last thing to get to the top. The pause occurs because you are waiting for the lower body to start turning. Because the arms are connected to the body the club will follow. The wrists are hinging fro halfway back to the top. They should be hinging because they are loose and the momentum of the club swinging back is allowing them to hinge.
Watch:
Pause At Top: https://ignitiongolf.com/pause-top-backswing
DRILL: Slow Backswing: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-slow-backswing
DRILL: Count In Backswing: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-count-in-backswing
January 7, 2013
LenKoblenzHi Paul,
Another great tip. So many tips, so little time. Actually, I’m giving myself a year to learn your swing. It makes so much sense, is so logical, and explained so well that I am telling everyone I play with about you.
I played yesterday. The score was, as expected, awful. But, on occasion, I put things together. On one of the holes near the end of the round, I felt things click as I outdrove my fellow competitors by at least 15 yards. On the course we played, my handicap was 15 – theirs were 5, 6, and 7. One asked if I had caught the cart path (not close) and another yelled “Nice shot Paul.”
I do have a hinge question. Are the wrists completely hinged for all full shots or just the longer clubs? Also, as I practice this drill, I find the pad of my left hand coming off of the grip slightly. Is that normal, ok, or needs attention? I don’t want to grip the club too tightly.
Thanks for everything,
Len
January 8, 2013
Paul WilsonLen,
Thank you for the kind words and promo. I appreciate the help.
When you start you will still see blow up holes but you will also see flashes of brilliance. This is telling you what is coming in the future. It is tough to take it to the course because you have pressure etc. and you are trying to do new things. Once the positions have taken hold you can reduce the thought and do these things naturally. Just keep at it and keep doing tons of practice swings both at home and at the range perfecting the positions.
All full swings will have the wrists completely hinged. If you grip is coming off the club you are letting go. You need to hold on tighter and keep the wrists loose. This is a fine line but it can be done. Time for the tee torture drill:
Watch:
Secure Top of Backswing: https://ignitiongolf.com/secure-top-backswing
February 7, 2013
paulelliottHi Paul,
Brilliant lesson.
There i was thinking my wrist hinge was good until i watched this video.
At the top of my backswing my thumbs were pointing straight up to the sky and not towards my big head!
I will work at this all this week and more, i get the feeling my distances are going to improve!
Maybe off the track here Paul but i have been working on retaining more resistance on my left side in backswing, is this correct, should i be feeling some tension on left side resisting the right side turning?
Keep up your great work.
Paul
February 7, 2013
Paul WilsonPaul,
Glad you watched this tip. It is vital you get the wrists hinging. This will give you way more power in the future.
As you coil the shoulders you will feel a stretching in the left shoulder/lat area. Not sure if you are coiling properly or not. I get the feeling you are resisting too much in the lower body (I could be wrong). Although you should be resisting the lower body as you coil back you need to allow the shoulder rotation to pull the lower body into position. You can over do it.
Watch:
Coiling: https://ignitiongolf.com/learn-coil-backswing
Hips: https://ignitiongolf.com/turning-hips
Left Knee Behind Ball: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-forward-knee
February 8, 2013
paulelliottHi Paul,
I am working on full wrist hinge at the top of my backswing.
Not one instructor told me about this , hence my wrists are very stiff when I do this.
Paul, when i hinge my wrists fully until they will bend no more it feels really uncomfortable and my wrists were sore afterwards BUT i noticed that for the first time I was getting a FULL shoulder turn.
I have been doing the excercises you suggest for wrist hinge.
Because I am focusing so much on wrist hinge at the top of my backswing my whole swing is not as good or should I say not as smooth in the downsing.
I also noticed at the top of my backswing my lrft palm comes off the grip very slightly is this correct?
Best Regards
paul
February 9, 2013
Paul WilsonPaul,
They may be sore if you have never done it before. Just make sure you are not forcing the hinge in a way that is hurting you. The wrists are hinging because they are loose.
The grip should be secure at the top. Secure grip/loose wrists. It should no come off the club in any way.
Watch:
Secure Top of Backswing: https://ignitiongolf.com/secure-top-backswing
If you are working on this one thing then work on this one thing. Forget the rest of the swing. Get this then go back to the other positions. This is how you build a great swing. Work on one thing at a time. If you are trying to do everything you will do nothing.
February 8, 2013
paulelliottalsoP aul my left palm was coming off grip
February 9, 2013
Paul WilsonPaul,
This should never happen. I answered this already.
November 7, 2013
BrentCorlettPaul
I am confused about which angle to hinge my wrists: as a hockey player, a snap shot requires me to bend the back of my hand towards my forearm prior to snapping forward. But I wonder whether the golf swing should have me tilt my thumb upwards, towards the side of my forearm. (this would prevent my left wrist from flexing and then cupping) problem is, the wrist has a lot of potential movements, doesn’t it?
November 7, 2013
Paul WilsonBrent,
The wrist is hinging in the wrist joint. With a proper grip and the correct thought it should hinge perfectly.
Watch these tips:
3 Ways to Set The Top of the Backswing: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-top-3-ways
Top of Backswing Square: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-square-at-top
Knuckles Down At Impact: https://ignitiongolf.com/knuckles-down-impact
So you do not want to be bowing that wrist. There will be an angle at impact in this wrist due to the club not being at the widest point of the arc at impact.
Watch:
Why The Shaft Is Leaning At Impact: https://ignitiongolf.com/shaft-leaning-impact
Hopefully, this gets you on track.