Sir Paul,
Once again, you demonstrate and explain, in pellucid terms,
your drill so very well. As an expert, of sorts, in communication
[as a writer, speaker, teacher, leader], I especially appreciate you.
Your distinction between too loose and freely swinging is brilliant.
You start, in set-up for a full swing, with grip pressure at 2 (of 10),
knowing that subconsciously, we grip in the downswing/forward swing
with a grip pressure of 7-10,
BUT… in this Monster Lag drill, you wisely have us begin with a grip pressure of 10,
knowing that the fast and many repetitions of wrists only (no arms) will give us the
correct grip pressures in the full swing – beginning at 2 and ending at 10 +/-
At least, I think that is what is happening….It seems to enable the golfer to use finger or
hand pressure similar to holding a rattle snake by the head, or cinching a belt buckle,
and yet having loose wrists and forearms in the swing which propels the arms all the way
through impact and finish.
A bit long winded, but I want to express my admiration and gratitude in “pellucid” terms, too
John Cy Perry – [70 + but feeling like 50+ again, since SMG]
Glad you liked it. So many people want lag and are trying to figure out how to get it. It takes work. The unfortunate things is people rarely work on it enough or the right way. I have just seen so many people let go the club as they do this and other drills. So what is more important holding on or starting at 2 out of 10 then increasing. Hold on is more important because once you are holding on you can always loosen in the early stages. So in a round about way I am getting people there.
Would it be helpful to do this drill with a Medicus weighted iron or one of the short training shafts with a short cylinder of weight on the end? The training shaft has a molded grip with tabs so it won’t slip out of your hands because it’s heavier than an iron.
This should be fine. Maybe the weight will help. As I said in the tip I like people doing it with a longer object. Try both and see what works best. Just don’t let go.
Paul, this isn’t related to the lag drill. My young grandson (11 years old) is learning to hit golf balls. He does pretty well but he has a habit of falling back on his right leg when he complete his swing so his weight isn’t transferring on his downswing. Do you have some simple suggestions I can share with him that won’t make things too technical.
I used to do the same thing – all the weight and couldn’t get shifted so much I tried stack and tilt for awhile to get the weight on my left let from the start (I gave that up after awhile)
Thx, and I really love your instruction – Rod
You have to show him the touch the legs position. At that age he should get it in 5 mins. So literally push his left knee back and get the other to touch it. Once he feels it a few times he will keep doing it.
Great drill! Another priceless video gem. The best thing about this one is it can be done anytime, anywhere. It seems to me that it also doubles as a rollover drill too. I have always had a problem of letting go at the top and this drill should help me in that regard also. And it will help clarify the seeming paradox of a firm grip and loose wrists. Thanks again for your re-do of this drill. A great way to spend our time during the winter months keeping our games sharp.
One of my faults over the years has been letting go of the club the top of the backswing. It feels good to me and I tend to do it subconsciously. I’ve gotten better but I hope this drill will get rid of it permanently. I’m sure letting go causes huge consistency problems. Could you address that . Thanks for a much needed drill.
Yes, this is a serious problem. False sense of loose. When you let go your first move down is to grip back on. When you do you are hitting with arms. You do this and you will not be consistent.
Hi Paul,
How many times per day over a period of 1 month would you recommend this drill to be performed. Would 40-50 swings twice a day work or should it be more.
That would be fine. I would do it until my wrists were tired. Then do it again later. And again. And again. Don’t hurt yourself. The more you do the better.
I always was of the belief that lag was not something that was consciously done but rather was a beneficial by-product of doing a swing correctly. Does this drill help us by stretching the wrist muscles and tendons so that we can achieve a more acute wrist angle and it won’t feel so unnatural? Also, would wrist stretching exercises help us get more lag angle? Your wrists appear to be more flexible that mine and I am wondering if this limitation might be hurting my ability to achieve a maximum possible lag angle.
Yes, if you are 10 years old or younger. If you learned as an adult you have trained yourself to hit with the arms. So you need to re-train them which means you need to work on loosening your wrists. If I could turn your arms off you would have lag instantly but you will never do this so you need to work on it.
Yes, this will allow the wrists to loosen up. Most people I work with are all locked up and tight. There is no way with wrists like this they will ever get it unless they do the 2 drill I just posted.
You need to do the monster lag drill a lot to get them loosened up. I did it back when I was about 13-14 years old. I did it hundreds of thousands of times. Not to say you have to do hit this much to get it but I liked doing it.
Hi Paul (and Pete!),
Since heavy clubs and lack of arm strength are why junior golfers learn to create lag by using their lower body, it made me wonder if you would recommend heavier swing weights for clubs to help with this for adults? It seems the move to lighter and lighter clubs to achieve faster swing speeds could be making it easier to lose lag. Or is the difference in light to heavy from swing weight alone really not enough to impact the urge to hit with the arms? I’m not looking for a short cut, I’ll continue to do the drills, just curious about your thoughts on club weights.
Hope you are well! You want your golf clubs to feel heavy, so if you used a weighted club to practice with then your own clubs would then feel light. A good drill would be to turn your golf club upside down and hold near the clubhead and do some swings. Then flip it back over and you will fell the club a lot heavier. It has been proven that if you use a weighted club/heavy donut aid that you actually swing slower. Lag comes from some of looser arms but it also something that has to be worked on. Check out these 2 tips:
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18 Responses to “The Monster Lag Drill”
December 2, 2018
JOHNPERRYSir Paul,
Once again, you demonstrate and explain, in pellucid terms,
your drill so very well. As an expert, of sorts, in communication
[as a writer, speaker, teacher, leader], I especially appreciate you.
Your distinction between too loose and freely swinging is brilliant.
You start, in set-up for a full swing, with grip pressure at 2 (of 10),
knowing that subconsciously, we grip in the downswing/forward swing
with a grip pressure of 7-10,
BUT… in this Monster Lag drill, you wisely have us begin with a grip pressure of 10,
knowing that the fast and many repetitions of wrists only (no arms) will give us the
correct grip pressures in the full swing – beginning at 2 and ending at 10 +/-
At least, I think that is what is happening….It seems to enable the golfer to use finger or
hand pressure similar to holding a rattle snake by the head, or cinching a belt buckle,
and yet having loose wrists and forearms in the swing which propels the arms all the way
through impact and finish.
A bit long winded, but I want to express my admiration and gratitude in “pellucid” terms, too
John Cy Perry – [70 + but feeling like 50+ again, since SMG]
December 3, 2018
Paul WilsonJohn,
Glad you liked it. So many people want lag and are trying to figure out how to get it. It takes work. The unfortunate things is people rarely work on it enough or the right way. I have just seen so many people let go the club as they do this and other drills. So what is more important holding on or starting at 2 out of 10 then increasing. Hold on is more important because once you are holding on you can always loosen in the early stages. So in a round about way I am getting people there.
December 2, 2018
JimBenjaminPaul,
Would it be helpful to do this drill with a Medicus weighted iron or one of the short training shafts with a short cylinder of weight on the end? The training shaft has a molded grip with tabs so it won’t slip out of your hands because it’s heavier than an iron.
Jim
December 3, 2018
Paul WilsonJim,
This should be fine. Maybe the weight will help. As I said in the tip I like people doing it with a longer object. Try both and see what works best. Just don’t let go.
December 2, 2018
RodneyMartinPaul, this isn’t related to the lag drill. My young grandson (11 years old) is learning to hit golf balls. He does pretty well but he has a habit of falling back on his right leg when he complete his swing so his weight isn’t transferring on his downswing. Do you have some simple suggestions I can share with him that won’t make things too technical.
I used to do the same thing – all the weight and couldn’t get shifted so much I tried stack and tilt for awhile to get the weight on my left let from the start (I gave that up after awhile)
Thx, and I really love your instruction – Rod
December 3, 2018
Paul WilsonRodney,
You have to show him the touch the legs position. At that age he should get it in 5 mins. So literally push his left knee back and get the other to touch it. Once he feels it a few times he will keep doing it.
December 3, 2018
Paul WilsonRod,
Glad you like the tips. Thanks.
December 4, 2018
MichaelBarrettPaul.
Great drill! Another priceless video gem. The best thing about this one is it can be done anytime, anywhere. It seems to me that it also doubles as a rollover drill too. I have always had a problem of letting go at the top and this drill should help me in that regard also. And it will help clarify the seeming paradox of a firm grip and loose wrists. Thanks again for your re-do of this drill. A great way to spend our time during the winter months keeping our games sharp.
Mike
December 5, 2018
Paul WilsonMichael,
Glad you liked it. Thanks.
It can be done anytime, anywhere but unfortunately a lot of people think they need to hit balls to work on this stuff. This is not the case.
You do this over the winter and you will kill next season.
December 4, 2018
GLENNWISSEOne of my faults over the years has been letting go of the club the top of the backswing. It feels good to me and I tend to do it subconsciously. I’ve gotten better but I hope this drill will get rid of it permanently. I’m sure letting go causes huge consistency problems. Could you address that . Thanks for a much needed drill.
December 5, 2018
Paul WilsonGlenn,
Yes, this is a serious problem. False sense of loose. When you let go your first move down is to grip back on. When you do you are hitting with arms. You do this and you will not be consistent.
Secure Grip Loose Wrists: https://ignitiongolf.com/secure-grip-loose-wrists/
December 5, 2018
DouglasMitchellHi Paul,
How many times per day over a period of 1 month would you recommend this drill to be performed. Would 40-50 swings twice a day work or should it be more.
Regards
Doug
December 5, 2018
Paul WilsonDoug,
That would be fine. I would do it until my wrists were tired. Then do it again later. And again. And again. Don’t hurt yourself. The more you do the better.
December 5, 2018
MichaelBarrettPaul,
I always was of the belief that lag was not something that was consciously done but rather was a beneficial by-product of doing a swing correctly. Does this drill help us by stretching the wrist muscles and tendons so that we can achieve a more acute wrist angle and it won’t feel so unnatural? Also, would wrist stretching exercises help us get more lag angle? Your wrists appear to be more flexible that mine and I am wondering if this limitation might be hurting my ability to achieve a maximum possible lag angle.
Thanks
Mike
December 5, 2018
Paul WilsonMichael,
Yes, if you are 10 years old or younger. If you learned as an adult you have trained yourself to hit with the arms. So you need to re-train them which means you need to work on loosening your wrists. If I could turn your arms off you would have lag instantly but you will never do this so you need to work on it.
Does Turning Off Arms Create Lag? https://ignitiongolf.com/powerless-arms-create-lag/
2 Minutes To Perfect Lag: https://ignitiongolf.com/2-minutes-perfect-lag/
Yes, this will allow the wrists to loosen up. Most people I work with are all locked up and tight. There is no way with wrists like this they will ever get it unless they do the 2 drill I just posted.
You need to do the monster lag drill a lot to get them loosened up. I did it back when I was about 13-14 years old. I did it hundreds of thousands of times. Not to say you have to do hit this much to get it but I liked doing it.
March 25, 2020
BryanBeasleyHi Paul (and Pete!),
Since heavy clubs and lack of arm strength are why junior golfers learn to create lag by using their lower body, it made me wonder if you would recommend heavier swing weights for clubs to help with this for adults? It seems the move to lighter and lighter clubs to achieve faster swing speeds could be making it easier to lose lag. Or is the difference in light to heavy from swing weight alone really not enough to impact the urge to hit with the arms? I’m not looking for a short cut, I’ll continue to do the drills, just curious about your thoughts on club weights.
Thanks,
Bryan
March 26, 2020
Paul WilsonHope you are well! You want your golf clubs to feel heavy, so if you used a weighted club to practice with then your own clubs would then feel light. A good drill would be to turn your golf club upside down and hold near the clubhead and do some swings. Then flip it back over and you will fell the club a lot heavier. It has been proven that if you use a weighted club/heavy donut aid that you actually swing slower. Lag comes from some of looser arms but it also something that has to be worked on. Check out these 2 tips:
DRILL: Lag Ear to Ear: https://ignitiongolf.com/lag-release-drill/
DRILL: Old But Good Lag Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/old-good-lag-drill/
March 27, 2020
BryanBeasleyThanks!