The Waggle - You Might Need It

Watson Waggle

For the longest time, I avoided really waggling the club. Very few professional touring golfers of the modern era do it, with the notable exception of Jason Dufner and a few others. So I never saw much use in it. I was wrong--at least for me. Virtually every sport that uses an implement to hit a ball, such as baseball and tennis, has some sort of waggle in preparation to perform a hitting action. Basketball players dribble the ball at the freethrow line as their waggle. Billiards players "waggle" the cue back-and-forth several times before taking their shots.

A waggle serves several functions, and I have seen it improve my playing firsthand. First, waggling prevents you from starting the swing from a tense, static position; by waggling, you can work tension out of your fingers, arms, and wrists that might have caused you to snatch the club up into an early off-plane condition (had you started from a static address position). Second, it allows you to essentially take several quick "practice swings" (or really "practice takeaways") in succession, so that you can be assured of at least starting the takeaway on-plane, which apart from the setup is the next most important part of the swing. Third, it allows you to practice and ingrain how the club head will arc back to the ball (usually down and from the inside in equal parts, unless you're trying for a fade). Fourth, the waggle helps you establish rhythm and tempo for the shot you're about to hit; the rhythm and tempo of your full swing should match that of your waggle.

My typical waggle procedure: I perform 1/4th of the swing arc several times (essentially a "takeaway" followed by a simulated "impact") using a loose wrist motion, relaxed fingers, and very little arm or shoulder motion (my right elbow bends slightly, left arm moves back slightly, and my left forearm rotates slightly). I watch the arcing of the club head to ensure the club head is tracking back freely and smoothly, up and inside at the same rate and down and outside at the same rate. My waggle ends when the shaft is on my toe line and parallel to the target line, though it might end earlier if I'm, for example, performing a chipping waggle. If the club head seems to "jerk upward" or unintentionally along the incorrect path during the waggle, I loosen the grip and wrists until it arcs smoothly as described above and I can feel the weight of the club head in my fingers.

While waggling in this manner, I observe that the club head is smoothly arcing upward and inward (especially if my intention is to hit a draw), tracing the path I want the club head to travel in the swing, but traveling no further inward than my toe line. At the same time, I ensure that I'm not opening the club face; the leading edge of the club remains parallel to my "spine angle" and remains perpendicular to the swing arc. As the club head is tracking back to the ball to start the next waggle, I then observe the "return arc" or how the club head is approaching the ball from the inside (or perhaps slightly from the outside for a fade); it should track back on the same arc it took when first moving away from the ball. All the while, I may even slightly move my feet, which Tom Watson recommends as a part of his waggle.

The waggle is not only useful for full swings but also chipping, pitching, and bunker shots--especially bunker shots. You'll notice that a lot of touring pros who don't waggle in their full swings make several waggles in greenside bunkers. For chipping, your waggle shouldn't involve any wrist movements; instead, start with straight arms and a flat left wrist; use your body rotation to make the club head arc back to the inside and then through, arcing to the left, all while keeping your left wrist flat.

Naysayers. Now, as you might have guessed, there are the usual bunch of detractors out there when it comes to the waggle in golf. Virtually anything that's considered "fundamental" in golf will have some authority advising you not to do it, and that's true for everything from grip to posture to swing planes to anything really. This is one thing that frustrates amateur golfers so much: For every commonly accepted golfing tenet, there will be the inevitable batch of instructors who say that particular tenet is crap, which causes total confusion in the amateur golfing community, especially in this internet age where a simple Google search is all you need to totally confuse and frustrate yourself. So my advice to you with respect to waggling is the same for any aspect of the golf swing that is argued, both pro and con: Try it out for yourself. It helps me. If it doesn't help you then avoid it. But make sure you give it a fair chance, which is something I never did until recently. I didn't because today's touring pros--with a few exceptions--mostly don't waggle, but I realized I'm not a pro and can benefit from the "swing lube" provided by the waggle. Ben Hogan devoted a significant portion of his famous Five Lessons book to the waggle; that should tell you something.

I begin by gripping lightly. I try to feel the weight of the clubhead with my waggle, which keeps me from squeezing the grip. I square the club to the ball, then pick it up and waggle it back and forth twice to keep my hands tension-free, swinging the clubhead back just outside my right foot and returning it to the ball smoothly.

Tom Watson: Why You Should Waggle

Any beginning golfer not being introduced to the waggle is not a good thing. Rather it is a terrible thing that not a single one of my friend’s instructors apparently see the need for a beginner to address the pressure of beginning a golf swing (full, half, chip, lob, pitch, etc.) from a dead stop. That borders on professional malpractice!

The Forgotten Waggle

The waggle sets the stage for the swing path and plane. Let’s say you need to hit a draw. Waggle the club on a slightly inside path to set up the inside-out motion you will need to produce the shot. Likewise, you might waggle on a slightly outside path before attempting to fade. Remember, make each waggle an individual action. Tailor your waggle for the shot you are playing.

The Golf Waggle

So you waggle the golf club to loosen your arms, to pace your swing and to practice swinging the golf club on the correct plane. When you waggle the club it’s mostly with your hands, just a little bit of rotation with your arms but your wrists are cocking up and your arms are rotating just a little. You waggle the golf club right back along the plane of the swing.

Hank Haney - Waggle Before You Swing

The waggle is the movements of the club head just prior to making a swing. Sometimes it’s not one waggle but two, enough to allow you to feel the shot. The waggle is accomplishing several different things. Aside from just feeling the path you are going to take the club back on; you are making adjustments to your grip pressure, re-gripping with fingers from your left and right hand. This will let you to get more comfortable making sure your hands are strong and in control. Make sure you are paying attention to the weight of the sweet spot on the club face. That’s where you want to hit the ball.

The Waggle Dance - A Good Start To Your Golf Swing

As Bill McKinney explains in the video the waggle does 5 important things for your golf swing. First, it rehearses you[r] swing path. By moving the club along the proper path you are reminding yourself seconds before you swing where the right path is.

Next, it reminds your wrists how to cock at the top of the swing. A good waggle also reminds your wrists how to release into impact.

The waggle also helps you feel the right amount of tension in your arms and wrists, remember your arms and wrists should be loose and your grip just tight enough to hang onto the club. If you have too much tension you’ll quickly realize it when you waggle and be able to correct it before it ruins a shot.

Lastly, a good waggle gives you some rhythm, and keeps you from stiffening while standing over the ball. As Bill McKinney explains in the video, the rhythm aspect to the waggle is very similar to a baseball player rhythmically moving the bat before each swing. Starting a swing from a stagnant position nearly always results in a jerking motion, it’s just how our muscles work, but if we are already moving we can be incredibly precise and smooth.

golf waggle

Under pressure, the tendency is to freeze over the ball and put a death grip on the club. To combat this, keep some motion in your fingers and feet (right inset). Waggle the club back and forth. If you lock up, your nerves will get you.

Butch Harmon: Best Tips For Driving

Harbinger of the movement of the club head. The waggle reveals how you are ultimately going to deliver the club head. Therefore, the backward motion of the waggle should be up and inward. It should also feel natural; you shouldn't fill like you are fighting the club. If you are straying up and out or up and away, then you've likely got a poor (weak) grip on the club. I like to feel that my grip is slightly on top of the club.

Ruminations on the Golf Waggle

 

ALWAYS Keep the Arms and Hands in Front

When we watch good golfers swing a golf club, it's easy to be tricked into seeing something that isn't occurring. Golf is full of optical illusions. One GREAT example that is a key fundamental is what the arms do on the backswing and downswing. Speaking for myself, I've struggled with pulling the club WAY TOO FAR behind me on the backswing, because I concluded this was the proper motion by looking at still images of great professionals in their backswings. I felt--because of what I thought I observed--that the arms were made to move around the body horizontally--in a circle (a problem which can cause one to be laid off). And then I would do all sorts of weird contortions on the downswing to correct for the awful backswing (usually with disastrous results).

Now, let me say that, yes, there are many different kinds of backswings and downswings among great players, but there's only one kind of GOOD impact. And many pros do things that they correct through some compensation (e.g., look at Jim Furyk's backswing and follow-on downswing as an example). But all of these guys and gals end up with great contact. Hey, they're professional athletes. And I'm not! 

At any rate, I feel a top fundamental for us mortal golfers is to keep the arms in front of the body at all times--takeaway, backswing, transition, downswing, and followthrough (and that's using all clubs and situations). This means the arms, wrists, and club simply lift the club up and lower it down vertically in front of the body, while the club is moved horizontally by the backswing pivot and downswing. Shawn Clement and Steven Bahn's videos explains it best, though you can find many other such examples on youtube (including this one) and elsewhere.

Drill (Proper Motion): Take your address position with a 7-iron and then stand up from the hips; the club should be roughly parallel to the ground. Now, without any body pivot at all, cock the wrists upward; the left wrist with a neutral grip will be slightly cupped. Now bend the right elbow slightly (<=90 deg) while keeping pressure in PP1 (right palm on left thumb) to ensure the left arm is straight. You'll notice the arms and hands raise almost vertically in front of the torso only a few inches. Practice this up-and-down motion for a few moments. This represents the correct vertical motion of the arms, wrists, and club during the golf swing--somewhat like hammering or chopping wood. Coupled and timed with the correct torso turn back-and-through, this is the entire swing--a simple motion.

Drill (Improper Motion): Perform the same address procedure in the previous drill, standing erect as before. Now raise the arms while moving the hands to the right, pulling the left arm tightly across the chest. The right arm bends more. The left arm will tend to collapse. The hands move to the outside of the right shoulder. This is more of a horizontal motion and is what causes the club to get laid off and stuck.

The arms DO NOT need to provide the horizontal or circular movement, because the pivot does that; the arms, wrists, and club should move roughly up-and-down in front of the chest during the entire swing and move around simply because of the pivot. If you catch yourself pushing OUT on the shaft with your right arm to get back to the ball, you're trying to supply horizontal motion with your arms and you'll be OTT. 

Your arms and hands don't move very much during a full swing.

Think about it. The hands are in the center of your body (ie., in front of your belt buckle) at setup. When the hands are waist-high, they're still in the center of your body. That means your shoulders have moved and not much else. Then, from the waist-high position, your right elbow bends and your left elbow doesn't, which causes you left shoulder joint to pivot up.

So your hands have only moved from your waist to just above your right shoulder, and most of that movement comes from bending your right elbow. That's not much movement at all!

Ruthless Golf: More Thoughts on Keeping Your Hands in Front of You

...while maintaining your address posture, lift the club and lay it on your right shoulder next to your neck, with your elbows bent and close together (2). Now turn your shoulders and hips away from the target exactly as you would if you were making a full backswing (3). When your turn is complete, simply extend your left arm out until it's nearly straight (4).

[From Tom Watson: How To Feel A Great Backswing: Golf Digest]

Clark is so accurate, even under pressure, partly because he swings with his elbows exceptionally close together. He had a physical problem as a child that forced him to keep his elbows together, but those close elbows have become a blessing to his swing. Most amateurs have elbows flying around in the downswing, and that causes your club to go off plane and your shots to go wayward. By keeping your elbows close together, especially in the downswing, you'll find it's much easier to have a repetitive motion in which you keep your wrists cocked and the club on plane.

[From Big Play: Hit tee shots under pressure like Tim Clark | GOLF.com]

THE CLUB STAYS IN FRONT OF ME

My coach, Chuck Cook, says I do a great job of keeping the club in front of my body throughout the swing. Amateurs tend to swing mostly with their arms, so the body lags behind; better players can get fast with the body turn, so the arms lag behind. If you focus on turning back and through with the club staying in front of your chest, you'll find it easier to square the clubface and hit straighter shots.

Golf Instruction: Jason Dufner: Duf's Moves To Hit It Solid: Golf Digest