Left Shoulder Lag Secret

Flipping. Casting. Club head throwaway. The opposites of lag. Not fun. Flipping ruins a good backswing and adds loft to clubs when we don't want to add loft; thus, we lose distance. The pros don't flip or cast; some of them look like they're barely swinging and hit a 7-iron 170 yards or more (think of languid, slow-rhythmed Freddy Couples and his Boom-Boom distance). They achieve this through physics...not strength or necessarily through some exclusive ability. The lagging club head is the key to effortless power. How does one stop the club head from catching up with the hands too early? For us amateur golfers, a little lag can go a long way, especially when we haven't had any.

The club head naturally wants to extend out to the furthest point from where it's being swung--the left shoulder. Yes, some instructors (e.g., Shawn Clement) argue that the swing center is the notch above the sternum, but when you're coming into impact, the right arm is still bent while the left is straight, so the club wants to seek an alignment with the left arm and left shoulder (i.e., the fulcrum of the club is actually the right wrist). For most hacker golfers like myself, this occurs too early--way behind the ball. We come through with the club head passing the hands to one extent or another (the more the flip, the worse the shot). So, we have been taught any number of silly things to counteract this--hold the lag, drag the mop, aiming point, etc.

Torso in the Downswing

For an industry that's struggling to grow, the Jedi Masters of the game need to stop holding back information, if they are, in fact, doing that on purpose. If hackers could learn the correct movements, they would all start lagging the club and handicaps would drop. But so would the number of lessons taken. It's not in a teaching professional's interest to give it all away early; one wonders if they don't have a need to keep things esoteric, vague, and mysterious--slowly giving up the real game-changing information, once a regular student has forked over enough dough. But I digress...forgive my conspiracy theorizing.

When the club head reaches the point where it is aligned with the left arm and left shoulder, the club head is moving its fastest; from that point onward, the club head is slowing down, no matter how hard you push with the right hand. For the flip to occur, something else must be slowing down too much. And I believe that's the left shoulder for most (i.e., the torso rotation is slowing or pausing). If the left shoulder keeps turning up and back before and after impact, and forward flexion over the ball is maintained, the club head CANNOT pass the hands early. Or, it's, at least, a lot harder to achieve.

Still images of pro swings fool us a bit; we usually only see these great swings from two views: DTL (down-the-line) or FO (face-on). We rarely see them from the target's perspective, and usually never from above, back-on, or from other angles. And swing sequences in magazines often omit images between "positions" that relay useful information, simply because they don't have the print space to show it all. There's a lot of missing information from which the careful observer could learn. At impact, we see a still image of shoulders that appear square to the target line, but that's just a brief moment located within the space of a second; the camera captures that moment, but we don't see that the shoulders (actually, the torso turning the shoulders), which began rotating briefly after the hips in the downswing, continue turning all the way through and past impact. They shouldn't tilt backwards. They shouldn't stop or slow down to stay parallel to the target line, forcing the arms out "to right field."

Slow motion video has, fortunately, removed some of the mystery, for those who observe closely. You will notice that the left shoulder keeps turning up and back, without pausing, though impact, when looking at the swing of a touring or good teaching professional. As the torso continues turning, there is a moment after impact when both shoulders are perpendicular to the target line, with the right shoulder lower than the left. Continuing the rotation into the finish position, the entire left side of the body is facing away from the target, with the left shoulder back towards the right foot, and the right shoulder is pointing target-ward and over the left foot. And the great player maintains their posture (forward flexion or "spine angle") over the ball into the finish--torso flexed towards the target line; they don't stand up out of their swing (i.e., sometimes distastefully called "goat humping").

Lightbulb! This is where you've heard the vague advice to move the left shoulder away from the chin as quickly as possible. It's one of those little tidbits that gets a brief mention but is never expounded upon very much. Sometimes it's those little tips or advice that are glossed over that have the biggest impact on changing your golf swing for the better.

This is also useful for chipping, as a chip is a smaller version of a pitch, which is a smaller version of the full swing; even the putting stroke has a minute bit of this movement. To keep the club head from passing the hands (i.e., flipping), the torso must continue turning while staying in forward flexion. Many chunked and thinned chips are caused by swinging the arms at the ball, overusing the wrists and elbows, and trying to keep the shoulders parallel to the target line through impact, which is what intuition tells you to do. Intuition and instinct in golf are usually wrong!

Now there's an inverse to this, obviously, since we're bilateral human beings. Just as the left shoulder continuously rotates counter-clockwise and up during the downswing, the right shoulder continuously rotates counter-clockwise and down--the reverse of the torso's backswing movement. After all, the torso is actually doing the turning, with the shoulders merely following. This is what teachers refer to as "firing the right side through," which is the antithesis of "clearing the left side."

Whether you think of it as continuously "clearing the left side" or continuously "firing the right side through," you must be shifted first into your left leg, left knee aligned over the left ankle. And you MUST maintain your posture (i.e., forward flexion) throughout--no standing up! See which swing thought gets you through the most and practice that one; you should immediately notice a more piercing ball flight, and your finish will have your shoulder line roughly parallel with the target line but mostly facing away from the target line!

The "feeling" of extending the left side of the body and elevating the left shoulder has been described by Brian Manzella (New Orleans golf instructor) as a "throwing a drunk off one's back" maneuver. Imagine being at a party and having a drunk partygoer draping himself over your left shoulder, and imagine the "feeling" of "throwing the drunk off one's back" by abruptly elevating the left shoulder in a sudden left shoulder shrug maneuver. If that left shoulder shrug maneuver is incorporated in a smooth manner into one's swing action, then it can produce smooth parametric acceleration of the hands/club without any need to "jump-up" after impact, and without any need to elevate the upper swing center.

Learning to perfect the i) timing of left shoulder socket elevation and ii) also the exact amount of upward movement of the left shoulder socket during the late downswing is an absolute requirement if a golfer wants to consistently strike the ball solidly with the sweetspot of the clubface.

Downswing

A golfer should ingrain the "feel" that the right shoulder is moving [down plane] at the same speed as the right elbow/RFFW (right forearm flying wedge) in the early downswing.

How to maximize wrist lag

The sustained rotation of the left shoulder is critical to squaring off the clubface at impact. [T]he beauty is you don’t have to think about pulling the grip up through impact. Swinging to a properly architected and balanced finish is the most simple and best means to keep the left shoulder ["to" removed] moving upward and rearward.

[In a balanced finish,] [t]he left shoulder should compress back towards the right heel and settle directly over the right heel.

WaddenGolf - Why the Finish to the Golf Swing is so Important

Here’s a secret golf tip Ernie El’s gives about the shoulders in the golf swing. At the start of your downswing, get the left shoulder moving away from your chin as soon as possible.

Perfect Golf Impact Position

 

Hitting Lag: More on Pressure Points #1 and #3

Lag Pressure.

I've posted before on the subject of lag and on various ways that have been cited to acquire it. To review for the uninitiated, the word lag is used in the full golf swing to describe how the club head SHOULD lag or trail the hands into the ball. All professional golfers have this lag to some extent, and it's responsible for powerful, compressed, penetrating shots that are associated--at least in the case of irons and wedges--with divots well ahead of the ball. This should not be confused with lagging long putts close to the hole.

Lag isn't necessarily holding wrist angles, especially in the case of the left wrist (assuming a right-handed golfer). But in TGM circles, lag is strongly associated with feeling Pressure Point #3 (PP3), which is essentially located somewhere along the side of the first-finger base knuckle of the right hand (again, assuming a right-handed player). Pressure in this side area of that first right hand finger is applied--as a pushing force--to the shaft on the downswing along with a dorsiflexed right wrist, straight through impact and beyond. This pushing force is applied by the gradual straightening of the right arm through impact (called Power Accumulator #1 or PA #1 in TGM); the right wrist doesn't really do anything except stay bent back. This is also called lag pressure, and many golfers feel that keeping a "trigger finger" helps them to feel this. Doing so automatically flattens or even bows the lead left wrist and ensures that the hands lead the club head into the ball.

I have found it easier to focus on PP3 and the right wrist position rather than trying to produce a flattened or bowed left wrist, which may be a valid way for others to teach and learn this fundamental. I will not go deeply into the differences discussed in TGM between swingers and hitters in this post, but PP3 is more associated with the hitter style (though it can be felt more passively in the swinger style). There are also other Pressure Points and TGM concepts that I'm not really going to discuss in detail here; all you need to do is Google TGM or buy Homer Kelley's complex book and you'll have an endless supply of advanced golf theory to consume.

PP1 and PP3

But there's an equally--if not more--important pressure point associated with the right side or hitting style (PA #1): Pressure Point #1 or PP1. The is where the lifeline of the right hand encloses the left thumb on top of the grip. The left thumb should NOT be visible to you when you apply this pressure point correctly (you should use a "short thumb"). And the kicker is, you should feel downward pressure applied to the base of the left thumb, which means the right hand may be rotated over to the left more than you may think or may have been told, even if you have a strong left hand grip. This helps secure the two hands together, helps prevent the club from moving around in the hands, and helps prevent independent movement. PP1 helps to produce lag pressure felt in PP3. You should feel PP1 through impact, as if the heel of the right hand is pushing the base of the left thumb through the ball (again, use a "short thumb" with your left hand). This pressure flattens or bows the left wrist through impact automatically, keeping the club head behind the hands where it must be. This assumes that your left wrist is kept very relaxed to allow the push force of the right hand heel to flatten or bow the left wrist.

Lag is also known by other synonyms, such forward shaft lean, delofting the club, hitting down on the ball, pinching the ball off the turf, trapping the ball against the turf, etc. Pinching, trapping, and hitting down are descriptions of feel, and many golfers get caught up the verbatim trap of trying to achieve these feels in reality. Forward shaft lean and delofting are the best synonyms of these when attempting to describe reality--what actually occurs when the hands lead the club head into impact.

The opposite of good lag into the ball is a cast or club head throwaway right from the top, followed by a flip at the bottom, where the right wrist flips forward early and the left wrist breaks down and dorsiflexes, the left-hand knuckles rising both skyward and targetward. Even a small amount of cupping through impact has a detrimental effect. This is a classic high-handicap, hacker error that adds loft to the club (e.g., turns a 7-iron into a 9-iron, depending on the degree of flip). In a sense, this mistake has the two wrists in antithetical positions at impact compared with their correct positions; in a flip, the right wrist straightens and the left wrist bends backwards in a conscious or unconscious attempt to lift the ball into the air, causing weak, uncompressed, high shots that don't fly very far and many other potential mishits like fat, thin, and sliced shots.

Since exploring and researching this topic more thoroughly, I wanted to post additional references to material on the internet that I've found helpful, especially since this seems to be a subject that isn't taught much or taught in a manner that's easy to understand. The mop drill demonstrated by many professionals goes a long way towards getting the amateur golfer familiar with the sensation of using PP1 and PP3, but I sometimes wonder if this tidbit isn't kept purposefully vague among golf teaching professionals much the way magicians are sworn never to reveal their secrets; yes, I think this fundamental of golf is that important to improving beyond the hacker stage, at least with respect to feel in the hands and arms.

Another drill that golfers may find helpful is the aiming point drill, where a point ahead of the ball becomes a target for the hands. In other words, the hands must get to that point before the club head, and where that point is will vary by the club length and the player (body type, swing speed, etc). With longer clubs the driver and woods, the aiming point moves closer to the ball or possibly even behind it.

I like Tom Watson's description of using PP3); he likes to keep everything loose on the backswing. But on the transition and downswing, he wants to feel that pressure in PP3 increase dramatically and feel that the right wrist dorsiflexes even more than it was at address. This down-cocks the wrist and produces tremendous lag without creating any tension at address or during the backswing; this creates more of a swinger style with some elements of a hitter style. It should be noted that some teachers want their students to create pressure at PP1 and PP3 right at address and carry that pressure all the way through; in other words, the grip pressure should be constant from address to finish. In this same vein, Mr. Watson also states that that a golfer should hit the ball hard with their right hand at the bottom, provided they start down from the ground up. As Mr. Watson says, "Hit it hard!" Also why Ben Hogan stated he wished he had three right hands!

You should still feel PP1 and PP3 when driving the ball. They key is to keep the ball well forward in your stance with the shaft leaning away from the target slightly at address. Even though we've been told to play the ball more back in the stance to hit a draw, using PP3 for your driver can cause you to hit down on the ball unintentionally, causing pop-ups that go nowhere. Keeping the ball more forward, especially if you don't sway off the ball, allows the club to release. In a sense (just as with the aiming point drill), you're allowing yourself time to let the right wrist straighten a bit more, square up the club face, and hit the ball more on the upswing.

And now, caution. Feeling PP1 and PP3 and pushing against the shaft with that right hand knuckle feels very powerful, but pushing too much with the right arm (without enough lower body's initiating movement) can also send the shaft outside too early, causing an over-the-top move (and thus a pull or slice). The way to counteract this potential error is to keep the butt-end of the club pointing down towards the ball for as long as possible in the downswing, while maintaining the feeling in PP1 and PP3. The end of the handle should first point out to the right of the target line (inside the ball) when coming down from the top, gradually reaching a point where it points towards the target, and then finally pointing behind the golfer's left hip when the fully rotated into the ball. If the end of the club points directly at the golfer during the downswing, that golfer is probably over the top.

Using PP3 can also be thought of as using a "trigger finger." The pressure in the right index finger can also be felt in the crook that wraps around the shaft, especially if that finger is well separated from the others. Using the finger this way increases swing awareness of not only where the clubhead is in relation to the hands (i.e., lagging or releasing) but also where the clubface is pointing at all points in the swing. During the release, the right arm and shaft should form a straight line pointing into the ground, and that trigger finger should be rotated over.

I vacillate between concentrating on PA#4/PP#4 (swinger style of pulling the club through) and PA#1/PP#3 (hitter style described in this post), but I sometimes believe that the swinger style (while still feeling PP#1 and PP#3) is more efficient and passive. For me, I need to make sure that I press that right hand knuckle into the right-side-top of the grip at address, which ironically also seats PP#1 better; then I'm free to swing using PP#4 and can forget about PP#3 and active hitting with the right hand. In other words, a solid connection with the right hand and the club is essential, regardless of the swing style. My tendency is to hold the club with no connection or a loose connection of the right hand pressure points. Now, keep in mind that you can vary the pressure with which you press this right hand knuckle into the shaft; experiment with different pressures--lighter pressures are most likely to yield right-to-left shot shapes, while tighter pressures are better suited for fades. Whatever PA/PP combination used, it's important to keep the end of the club handle pointing down-target for as long as possible to ensure an inside approach. Swingers may very well feel PP#3 but it should be passive and not active as it is for hitters.

How can this be fixed? Well, there needs to be an understanding that the clubhead will always follow whatever the other end of the club does. So, the grip actually should lead or direct the club towards the ball. Once the golf club reaches the "set" position at the top of the backswing (a right angle between the left hand and the shaft of the club) that position should stay the same until the hands and the grip of the club are about even with the golf ball. At that point the hands will begin to unhinge and release down into the golf ball.

Casting Recall: Stop the Power Loss

PP#1- Right heel pad of hand against left thumb

PP#2- Last three Fingers of left hand

PP#3- Right index finger against shaft

PP#4- Left arm against chest

Golfers use different combinations of these pressure points. A golfer who is referred to as a “swinger” because they’re left side is pulling the golf club primarily use pressure points #2 and #4. Golfers referred to as a “hitter” because they’re right side is pushing the club primarily use pressure points #1 and #3.

Positions, Pressure Points, And Power Accumulators | Matt DeJohn Golf

The problem most golfers have is that they have no concept of pressure points and lag pressure and they almost inevitably maximize their lag pressure in the startdown. And because you lose lag pressure immediately after you maximize it, the golfer has lost the lag pressure once they arrive to impact. And remember, once you start to lose the lag pressure, you cannot regain it in that swing.

What usually happens when the golfer loses that lag pressure at impact is that their hands stop or slow down greatly in the downswing and they wind up using their wrists (flipping) to move the clubhead towards the golf ball. One of the main things I try to emphasize in the FLW (flat left wrist) at impact is that in order to obtain it, the golfer should avoid trying to actually keep the left wrist flat at impact. Instead, use lag pressure properly and that will get your FLW at impact.

3Jack Golf Blog: Lag Pressure, Key Concept in the Golf Swing

Probably the biggest question I get in regards to TGM is about 'swingers' and 'hitters.' Before I go on explaining the difference between the two styles, I will note that according to physicist Dr. Aaron Zick, who was brought to the latest TGM Teaching Summit, there is no such thing as a 'pure hitter' or a 'pure swinger' on full golf swing shots. Instead, everybody does a little of both.

3Jack Golf Blog: Understanding the Basics of TGM -- Part III

During the past two years, my thinking has become more refined and I have moved beyond the limitations of TGM thinking, which believes that the swing styles of swinging (drag-loading) and hitting (drive-loading) are mutually exclusive swing styles. I now believe that it is perfectly acceptable to mix swinging elements with hitting elements in the same swing if a golfer can successfully manage to synergistically mix the two elements in a time-coordinated and synergistically synchronous manner.

Power mechanics of swinging

One of the most overlooked fundamentals of the golf swing is the point of pressure created by the club resting against and across the middle joint of the right-hand forefinger. This pressure point transforms that finger into the "trigger finger," meaning it plays a major role in the loading of the club on the backswing and the lagging of it on the downswing.

Where the grip falls across that finger is where we feel the lag of the club. To use this effectively, lay the handle diagonally across the middle joint of the trigger finger. During the swing, you want to feel the club's weight in that spot the entire time.

Breaking 80: Bobby Clampett: Golf Digest

You know that the Lag is felt during the downstroke as a steady pressure in the index finger of your right hand (aka Pressure Point #3 (PP#3)). Done properly the hands and the clubhead combine as Clubhead Lag feel that can be directed, or aimed at a target.

Consequently, the Aiming Point is a target on the delivery line where you fire the pressure in your index finger (PP#3) to. The Aiming Point is very rarely at the ball. Therefore you must not consider the ball as your target. Instead, the Aiming Point replaces the ball and becomes your new target.

The Aiming Point Concept from the Golfing Machine | Golf Lag Tips

2. BOTTOM HAND FOREFINGER PRESSURE

HERE’S AN IMPORTANT POINT: Nearly every bad shot in golf results from the shaft coming off the bottom hand forefinger before impact. When this occurs, it’s all but impossible to control the clubhead. As you address the ball, you should feel very little pressure on your bottom hand forefinger. However, as you start your swing, the weight of the club puts pressure onto your forefinger. This pressure must be sustained throughout the downswing, with the forefinger staying in front of the clubhead. To help maintain this pressure through impact, when taking your grip extend the forefinger down the shaft.

3. BENT BOTTOM HAND WRIST

AT IMPACT, THE FORWARD leaning shaft and clubhead exert force into the ball. When the bottom wrist is bent back, pressure is applied to the lead arm and shaft as the clubhead approaches impact. If the clubhead weight passes the hands prematurely, the bottom hand wrist straightens, slowing down the clubhead. To ingrain the correct feeling of the bent bottom hand wrist, sprinkle some grass on your left thumb and take your grip. Make some short pitching-length swings. If the right wrist stays bent, force is sustained during the downswing and the grass will remain in place.

For maximum distance here are four little known..but key points

When a ball is struck with "Lag" it explodes off the clubface! Without this "lag" the sound turns into one of mush, a soft Impact instead of a driving Impact.

So we have a Clubhead Lag Pressure Point (Pressure Point #3) which is the Right Forefinger and this is always directing the club to where, the inside back quadrant of the ball.

Golf Swing | The Secret of Golf

The right hand “V” will point straight up toward the chin, and the secret is accenting the forefinger position so it looks like a “trigger finger.” Going further, be sure the first joint segment of the finger is pressing into the side of the club in a manner that slightly puts the first knuckle on top of the handle as pictured here. The trigger finger will maintain side pressure on the handle from start all the way to impact.

Right Wrist Action for the Perfect Golf Swing | Herman Williams Golf Instruction

A trigger finger can help you better engage your golf swing. What’s a trigger finger? John Daly, for instance, as well as several other top players use some separation between their index finger and the rest of their grip as a “trigger” to help sustain proper grip pressure and assist in better hand rotation and in preventing the club from slipping too far into the palms of the hands. Give it a try and see what a trigger finger can do for your feel and overall swing.

Master Your Iron Play | GolfTipsMag.com

If you are holding the club with the last three fingers of your left hand and the middle two fingers of your right hand, and if your left thumb is cradled firmly in that little pocket of your right hand, with the part of the right hand below the thumb keeping a steady pressure, then you've got it.

You may have trouble keeping the pressure on with your right hand below the thumb. But believe me, this is the right way to hold the club. Master it and you are more than halfway home as a golfer.

The Swing is Simple - Arnold Palmer - SI Vault

Power is applied to the left hand, not the club itself, using the base of the right wristbone pressing against the top of the left thumb, to help the left hand move along its arc around the shoulder fulcrum.

The Wrong and Right Way to Apply Force

When your right palm exerts this slight pressure against the left thumb extending the grip away from your left shoulder, you will not need to have any tension in your left arm to help it remain straight and your left arm will have the same radius around your left shoulder from start up, through your back swing, down swing, and through impact. [This] pressure point has another function as well, it monitors the cocking and uncocking of the right elbow and sends this information to the motor cortex. It only feels this hinging motion and should never add or contribute to the actual cocking or uncocking of the right elbow.

TGM 101 - The GOLFING MACHINE

Again, the palm of the right hand presses hard against the thumb of the left.

Cure A Golf Slice - Harry Vardon

 

Take an Inside Path

We've all heard time and again that we need to swing inside-out, and there is no shortage of drills and instruction out there designed to help us do just that. But like most things in golf, there's usually a huge difference between what we THINK we're doing and what we're ACTUALLY doing during our facsimiles of a swing. Often when we try hard to follow the target or aim line with the club, we end up unintentionally swinging over the top (OTT). That might be okay if you're trying to hit a fade or slice, but this isn't preferable or as powerful as swinging from the inside and hitting a draw.

I've written about swinging inside-out numerous times (including Ernie Els' clever "keep the box" thought)--a move that produces an inside path to the ball, which is one half of the equation to hitting a hook or draw. The other half of the equation is that the club face at impact must be closed to the path to some degree. Too much club face closure relative to the club face path and the ball will hook wildly or pull-hook. We've been told to swing to right field, swing towards one o'clock, hit the inside-left of the ball, etc. I've tried all of these and they've all worked and then later failed me in one way or another, and I believe that's because I was still making an unintentional OTT move by being fixated on the target or aim line and fixated on getting the club head back to the ball with respect to the target line.

I think it might be best to occasionally drill what a REAL inside path to the ball feels like. One should start with imagination: imagine a half semi-circle behind the ball. The smaller the club, the tighter that circle should be if attempting to hit the inside. Now, how can one swing inside WITHOUT trying to steer the arms through impact, which relies on timing and small muscles too much? In other words, how can you make an inside swing using--mostly--the big muscles in the lower body to drive the swing?

I don't think I've seen a better description lately than Martin Hall's drill/feel for hitting inside-out (video below). At address, imagine there's a large tent stake that's about waist high, inline with your rear foot, and about three feet away from you. Your first thought coming down should be to use your club as a hammer to hit that stake before rotating down. This will shallow the swing path to inside-out instead of the steeper outside-in move.

Another thought is to feel like the butt end of the club handle (and thus the entire club) is pointing out to right field shortly after starting down (back is still turned at this point and hands and wrists remain passive). But avoid the impulse to throw the club head at the ball from the top. When the club reaches near parallel to the ground and the hands are located close to belt level, the shoulders and the end of the club handle (and thus the whole club) will be pointing out to the right and appear to be pointing at the inside left of the ball or inside the target line. The right elbow will have dropped in close to the right hip and the right wrist can dorsiflex (bend back) even further (right palm facing the ground) to keep the end of the club pointing off to the right and on plane. Keep the club and shoulders pointing this way for as long as gravity and centrifugal force will allow. You may notice that the weight shift driving all this is naturally moving the way many teaching professionals (such Hank Haney and David Leadbetter) describe: The weight shifts first into the left big toe and then around to the outside of the left foot. The reason is that the weight of the club and arms are moving in this direction initially!

The club head will "fall" (creating the appearance of a loop) and be located well behind you at this point--NOT pointing at the target line, which would be an OTT move. This swing thought solves several problems. For one, it helps ensure an inside approach to the ball, which is essential for hitting a draw and avoiding a slice. It also ensures that lag is retained because of how late the butt end of the club is still pointing out to the right; as a matter of fact, lagging the club and swinging inside-out are closely related, just as casting and swinging OTT are closely related. The club head shouldn't just lag behind the hands relative to the target line; it should ALSO lag behind the hands relative to right field (lags behind the hands and also behind the body for a time). Finally, it flattens a steep swing and should therefore lessen fat shots.

In order for the club to return to that lined-up position at address, it must approach the ball on the downswing on an inside-out path. In fact, the proper swing path will cause the club to strike the inside quarter of the ball.

“On line” and “target line” are not the same. If you could take a string and attach it to the inside quarter of the ball on one end and to the butt of the club at the top of the backswing, then keep the butt of the club sliding straight down that string on the downswing, the swing would be “on line.”

Swinging Inside-Out - Golf Instruction

So, the question is, “How do you get the club to the inside and in the ‘slot’ on the downswing?”

There are many ways to feel this. One of the most popular thoughts is the clock image. Feel like you are swinging the club from 7 o’clock to 1 o’clock. Some golfers need a body thought to get the club to the inside on the downswing. If this is you, you might want to think of getting your right elbow close to your right hip on the downswing. Too simple, you say.

Other golfers need to focus on the ball. If this is you, try to hit the inside edge of the ball at impact.

A good thought for you might be to keep your back to your target and swing your arms down to the inside. Just try to avoid starting your down with your shoulders and upper body as this will throw the club down on a steep and outside path.

For those of you who are very athletic and have strong legs, a good thought would be to move your weight to your front leg during the transition. This will allow the arms and club to fall down to the inside on the forward swing. Other people can relate to the butt end of the club. These people seem to gain distance (maybe 10 to 15 yards) simply by feeling the butt end of the club being pulled down at the ball. In any case, this seems to get the club on a good inside path.

Speed is another issue. If you have a fast change of direction it is called “hitting from the top.” If you are too fast during your transition, your club will never come down in the proper inside-outside approach angle. A good thought for you might be “slow at the top.’’

Jim Suttie: Better golf through an inside path

You may be hitting the outside of the ball at impact, imparting left to right spin. To correct this, you need to hit the inside of the ball at impact instead. To help you achieve this position, have the butt end of the club pointing inside the ball-target line as you swing your arms down. This will help you hit the inside of the ball.

Looking to get more power on your golf swing? Here's how - WorldGolf.com

Downswing Drops in the Slot with Right Palm Down

As the downswing starts, the right arm and shoulder simply drop straight down as the feet press firmly into the ground and the knees make a slight lateral shift. There is no body turn at this stage the right arm cant drop straight down if the chest starts turning.

This straight down drop is what stores the lag angle at right elbow and right wrist as the club drops on plane into the slot half way down. The secret at this stage of the swing is to feel the pressure against the right hand trigger finger as the right palm faces down at waist-high. From the top of the backswing it feels like hitting your right thigh with the heel of your right hand while your right wrist stays bent all the way back.

At this waist-high downswing position of the hands, the butt of the club should point at the golf ball, toe of club points upward (but not quite straight up) and right palm is facing the ground, or more technically faces the ball on the ground.

Right Wrist Action for the Perfect Golf Swing | Herman Williams Golf Instruction

 

Compression: Role of the Right Arm

Hang around online long enough and you'll discover a plethora of golf teachers with varied opinions on the role of the right arm in the golf swing. Some teach that the left arm should be dominant (players sometimes called "swingers" who pull with the left arm), some argue the right arm (players called "hitters"), and some both ("switters" or "swing-hitters"). Some say that both arms should be passive, neither pulling or pushing, and merely responding to gravity and body movement.

And you'll find examples of successful touring pros who use each one. In The Golfing Machine (TGM) parlance, the active straightening of the right arm (primarily driven by the right tricep) is described as using Power Accumulator (PA) #1 and is heavily associated with the "hitter" swing style.

Regardless of what is taught, used, or believed, there seems to be one universal truth, at least visually, with regard to the right arm in the full golf swing when we examine the swings of great players: The right arm folds in two places--the elbow and wrist--in the backswing, and the right arm gradually unfolds in the downswing, reaching it's fully extended, released position (right wrist and elbow straight) a foot or so past impact. The left wrist never breaks down or bends backwards (i.e., flips). The right arm straightening can be passive for swingers or active for hitters.

The first element of properly using PA #1 involves keeping the elbow and wrist of the right arm bent for as long as possible coming down. Ernie Els describes this as "keeping the box." The right elbow should still be slightly bent at impact, reaching a fully extended, released position only a foot or so past impact, with the right wrist still bent backwards (even just after impact). Doing both automatically extends the left arm fully and keeps the left wrist flat through impact. Pressure should be felt in the first phalanx or base knuckle of the right index finger from the top and through impact. In a sense, that phalanx or inside base knuckle of the right index finger can and should serve as a guide to the club face position throughout the swing. The right hand thumb and index finger should be completely loose around the club handle; you can even take them off! Only that phalanx or base knuckle is important.

If the right wrist straightens in a way that causes the left wrist to bend backward at impact, this creates a "flipping" motion and the club head will pass the hands (lag is lost and the effective loft of the club is increased). Instead of "flipping" or swatting at the ball with the right wrist (behaving as if it was merely a door closing along its vertical axis), the right wrist should only straighten WELL AFTER impact with the right palm rotated slightly downward through impact.

This reflects the TGM description of hitting down on the ball with the right palm and actively straightening the right elbow, feeling pressure in the base joint of the first finger of the right hand (Pressure Point #3) and pressure on top of the left thumb (Pressure Point #1) due to pushing on the left hand with the right. This creates a feeling of pushing down and out on the shaft with the right palm, and results in a flexed shaft due to the compression against the ground; a divot is taken well in front of the ball. The ball is often described as being powerfully "pinched" off the ground or "compressed against the ground."

Use this one swing thought: Aim to fully, dynamically straighten the right elbow a foot or so past the ball with your irons. Straighten it down, forward, and out. You can use this method to hit the driver; simply use less downward extension. Instead, extend so that the right forearm is more level with the ground coming into the ball. Straighten it out to the right slightly for a draw and out to the left slightly for a fade.

The best way to describe [Kenny Perry's] right arm on the downswing is that it is "pushing down and out." Pushing down allows the right arm to actively straighten while maintaining the bend in the right wrist. This feeling is no different than if you were to try to push something into the ground with your right arm.

Maintaining the bend in the right wrist is a fundamental you see in a good swing. It allows the clubshaft to return forward at impact, resulting in a clubhead that is descending and accelerating through the impact zone.

PGATOUR.COM - Instruction blog: Right arm the key to Perry's swing

"In essence, bending and straightening the Right Elbow will raise and lower the left arm and/or cock and uncock the left wrist without bending, flattening, or cocking the right wrist. Right elbow action either powers and/or controls all three elements of the Three Dimensional Impact, (downward, outward, and forward)." ~ Homer Kelley

www.chuckevansgolf.com

In a golf swing (whether one is a hitter or a swinger), the right wrist is always bent back and the right wrist never bends forward (palmar flexes) at any time point during the downswing - because it would cause the left wrist to bend forward (flip).

Whether one is a hitter or a swinger, the clubhead should never flip past the hands while the clubhead is moving through the pre-impact zone. The clubhead should always be lagging behind the hands during the entire downswing, which means that the right wrist is always bent back.

[A] hitter applies an active push-force at pressure point #3 by actively extending the right elbow during the downswing - as the right elbow actively straightens it applies an active push-force via the bent right wrist to pressure point #3.

PA#1 is only actively released in a hitter's swing action - when the right triceps muscle actively contracts with a large amount of isotonic force, thereby straightening the right arm in a straight line thrust action that thrusts the right forearm downplane and drives PP#1 [the left thumb]/PP#3 towards the ball (or towards a desired aiming point in the vicinity of the ball).

The release of PA#1 is due to a very active triceps muscle contraction that actively straightens the right elbow in a forceful thrust action that pushes the right forearm and bent right wrist towards their impact fix position.

How to Power the Golf Swing

Throw the club through the ball with your right hand. As Jack Nicklaus said, you can hit as hard as you want with the right hand as long as the lower body is leading.

Tom Watson: My power key never gets old: Golf Digest

That right hand does not stay as loose as it does on your backswing. You take it back loose, your hands are nice and flexible. But when you hit that ball, you’re adding power to it and you’re increasing your pressure all the way through impact.

Tom Watson Interview

 

Els: Keep the Box!

Probably one of the best bits of golf swing advice I've ever seen or heard comes from the great touring professional Ernie Els; touring pros aren't usually the best golf teachers, but this small tip from Els has become one of my top swing thoughts.

I've referred to this before in other posts (sequenced passivity and golf's triangles), but it also ties closely into other posts and fundamentals that did not mention Els, including the right hip-right elbow relationship and arms falling to start the downswing (as Shawn Clement's "arm-club unit falling down the plane").

Simply stated it's this: the right elbow, right forearm, and right wrist (and thus the club) form a box shape (actually more of a rectangle with 2 90-degree angles) at the top of the swing. During transition, one simply allows this box shape to remain intact and fall down in front (right elbow coming close to the right hip while the shoulders REMAIN turned) and then release it past the ball. As Ernie so simply puts it, "Keep the box and give it a lash!"

I believe it's probably best to focus on the right arm only in the backswing, because doing this properly will keep the left arm straighter and help set the wrists earlier. And thinking of the box shape in the downswing is a given; maintaining it as long as possible gets 2 crucial levers working in the swing: the right elbow and right wrist straightening in the right sequence and at the right times. This adds tremendous, effortless power to the swing (for all shots…include bunkers and pitch shots).

This is Els' way of describing what TGM'ers call the use of Pressure Point #3: "Keeping the box" as Els describes will place pressure in the base knuckle of the first digit on the right hand from the start of the downswing until past impact. This is often referred to as "lag pressure," and it's maintained all the way down into the ball. As a matter of fact, one can think of the base knuckle or first phalanx of the right finger as analogous to the club face; it's often called the "trigger finger," though most of the finger should do NOTHING during the swing.

By using this "box" method, you will notice that the left and right wrists can cock up and down WHILE the right wrist remains hinged backwards, and it's this backwards hinged right wrist that creates a flat left wrist at impact, maintains lag pressure in PP #3, gets the hands leading the club head, compresses the ball, and creates a forward leaning shaft. A key is to start down or transition slowly; the greatest speed is added at the bottom, not the top.

In reality, Ernie could have called this "Avoid the cast!" instead of "Keep the box!" Casters apply an active pushing force, unhinging force, and/or uncocking force (either consciously or unconsciously) at the top (and thus have to flip the wrists at the bottom), while laggers (i.e., good players) form the angles at the top and then drop that arm-club "power package" intact from the top (the right wrist remains hinged backwards through impact). Thus, the angles formed in the right arm during the backswing are retained late into the downswing. Casting is often associated with an early shoulder rotation; the arm-club power package should ideally begin dropping in response to the lower body BEFORE the shoulders open up.

Many instructors will tell you that maintaining lag pressure is not something you can do actively, but that poses the question: Is consciously fighting the urge to cast considered an active attempt to maintain lag? One could argue that "keeping the box" as Els describes is a means of actively keeping the angles and lag pressure in PP #3. Martin Hall's take on this is to "keep the thumbs pointing up in the air as long as possible," which also implies an active effort to maintain lag. As with all things in golf, let your results be the arbitrator.

A good way to practice this move is using the Pump Drill (see videos below); Hogan doesn't refer to it as the Pump Drill, but you can see him demonstrating it in his video. Another drill advocated by Hogan and Brian Manzella is to simply remove the right thumb from the shaft and hit some balls (Sam Snead used to remove his right thumb and right index finger entirely to practice). There are also drills that advocate holding a wet mop like a club (or using a club with a towel on the end) and dragging it across the ground. An impact bag is also used to instill the correct feeling at impact.

My take on the Pump Drill is to completely remove the right hand thumb and index finger from the handle to accentuate the pressure feeling in the base phalanx of my right index finger. From the top of the backswing, use the left hip motion to cause the arm-club unit to pump up and down a few times. The end of a "pumping action" gets the hands over the ball with the club shaft still parallel to the ground. After one or two "pumps," let it go at the bottom.

What happens when lag is taken too far? Skull shots (not really thin shots) because the club bottoms out late and balls that fly off to the right because the club face doesn't close in time. Rejoice if you see these occasionally instead of weak fat or thin shots that come from casting and flipping.

It's very crucial to keep your head behind the ball (i.e., maintain a tilted spine angle); just get the feel that once you get over the right leg in the backswing that the head stays there while the lower body weight shifts to the left. Keeping the head back assists with shallowing out the swing and with hitting inside-out.

Even cooler, if you "shake hands" with your right hand towards the target, you can coax a draw or straight-ish ball flight (the toe of the club overtakes the heel), or you if you hold off the right hand somewhat (toe and heel come through more together) you can get a fade.

As Ben Hogan rotates his lower body towards the target, the "straight left arm + bent right arm" act as a single unitary structure and they are both passively pulled down towards waist level as a single unit. Homer Kelley refers to this unitary structure of the left arm and bent right arm as the power package assembly [6]. In other words, Ben Hogan does nothing actively with his hands/arms/club during the early downswing - he simply allows them to respond reactively/passively to the shift-rotational movement of the lower body, and he simply allows the entire power package assembly to be passively pulled down to waist level.

How to maximize wrist lag

[Drill for learning the feel of lag pressure.]

BM: "Grip the club normally. Take the right thumb off of the club and point it at the target. Hit it."

[Why does this work?]

Forum Member: "...when most of us begin to lose the lag, we compensate by feeling/adding pressure from the right thumb to try and stop the throwaway....without the right thumb on the club, we must store and hold the lag or be ready for the club to flop around coming into impact (especially if there is throwaway or if we lose the lag on PP#3)."

BM: "Helps Slicers too!

...but why???"

Forum Member: "Without the right thumb exerting pressure on the club, one can drag the sweetspot onplane via the right index finger, thus closing the clubface by impact."

Best Drill for maintaining lag

In the Golf swing there are 4 distinct pressure points (more on that in another article) but again, for simplicity stakes, we will focus on the easiest and more convenient to feel: the meaty part of your index (the "trigger finger") of your trailing hand where it touches the club.

Here is the trick: Are you able to perform a Golf stroke while feeling pressure in this index from start down to both arms straight (the end of the follow-through and before the finish)???

Even better: if you can feel this pressure not decreasing (unrelentless pressure), I bet my shirt you must be a 1 digit handicap as you must have Lag in your swing with all the good things that come with it!

A player who casts the club (club head throwaway) does exactly that: he feels a lot of pressure in the start of the downswing (by accelerating the club very hard and convulsively). Such a sudden accelartion thows the club away with no chance to catch it up before impact.

Needless to say, that player feels no pressure at all in the index finger when the club head arrives at the ball.

The correct way to do it is to push your cart evenly with no over-acceleration.

Golf Lag Tips » Focus on pressure points to feel Lag

 

 

The Drag of Lag

Lag. [See YouTube playlist on Lag.] Another subject in golf full of contradictory advice and instruction. Some instructors say hold the wrists and others say that other factors hold the wrists automatically (more on that in a moment). I'm not referring to lagging a putt close to the hole. This is about the full swing: Ensuring the hands lead the club head to the ball, or avoiding a scooping action to lift the ball into the air, which is the instinctual first thing we beginning golfers do. This is often called an early release or casting; golfers can cast from the top, in the middle, or down at the bottom--all well before getting to the ball. Fat shots often result. But one result is certain: A lack of distance.

Leading with the hands (or the butt end of the club) ensures a forward leaning shaft and ball-first contact--"hitting down" on the ball with an iron (i.e., hitting the little ball before the big ball). Many term this compressing the ball or "pinching" it off the ground. It is said that this downward strike with a later release sends more energy into the ball (because of the physics of a lever or double-pendulum action), thus providing greater distance and a lower, piercing ball flight. It's also true that releasing later increases the chance of pushing the ball out to the right, because the club face may not have closed in time. Body and forearm rotation close the club face when lagging the club.

First, it's fairly obvious that most professional and low-handicap golfers maintain this angle. You can see it in slow motion video of a great iron swings. Consider Rory McIlroy.



He retains his wrist angles or "keeps the box" (the "L" shape of his left arm to the shaft) well into the down swing; the hands only release the club once they've passed the ball. Notice how his left shoulder points behind the ball at the top. Could this coil be a key to maintaining lag without holding the wrists?

Another way this is often analogized is that one pulls the butt end of the golf club straight down as if pulling on a chain or rope. Sergio Garcia says this is a swing thought for him, and he has massive lag. Others teach that the butt end of the club comes in as if trying to hit something with it by the left thigh or left hip (very similar to Els' "keep the box" analogy).

Some proclaim that one should actively or consciously maintain the wrist angle established by the cocking of the left wrist during the backswing (i.e., 90 degrees formed by the shaft and the left arm). Some teach to hold the angle created with the right wrist (as this wrist shouldn't straighten until well after impact).

Other professionals state that lag is retained passively, automatically, and unconsciously by doing various other things correctly (like McIlroy's 90-degree shoulder turn above), to especially include starting the downswing with a lower body move or pivot (i.e., weight shift back to the left and simultaneous hip rotation). They state the arms remain passive and the angle is retained. Hank Haney states that lag is caused by the transition (i.e., the downswing starting with the lower body as the arms are still finishing the backswing). However, I've seen that some professional golfers appear to have a slight pause at the top and still retain lag, so is this really true? McIlory doesn't. He definitely has that blending between backswing and downswing during his transition.

An important point is that a golfer must never attempt to "hold onto the left wrist angle" by artificially stiffening the left/right wrists - in an attempt to delay the release point. The wrists must always be very relaxed during the entire downswing.

[From How to maximize wrist lag]

The author referenced above recommends the "pump-pump-go" drill to sequence it all correctly. Here's another example. But even the last video instructor recommends "holding the angle." Herman Williams has another interesting drill that claims to help eliminate the cast from top to bottom of the downswing; he seems to imply an active holding of the wrist angle.



I've noticed in my own swing a tendency to cast about midway down. I've done it now for about year, so it has become part of my muscle memory. My hands seem to be doing it (i.e., pushing out with the right hand while pulling in with the left hand). I don't know if there's something else I'm doing in my swing that's causing my hands to cast, but it definitely feels like an active process. Maybe it's an unconscious effort to square up the club face; I'm not sure.

I suppose I'm wondering whether learning the feel of lag can't be an active process. In other words: Is it wrong to consciously address my casting problem with an active holding of the wrist angle to learn what "correct" feels like? If I don't then how will I overcome the muscle memory of casting? Why not hold the lag using my left wrist (or right wrist or both)? Yes, I know this produces some amount of tension in the forearms. I have seen some success with distance hitting this way, but I'm not sure that it's the right feel. Obviously, what feels right to me is casting, which is obviously WRONG. I also have hit some really crappy shots holding the angle, and my scores haven't really improved any yet. It definitely seems like there should be a way to retain that lag without having to artificially induce it. The jury for me is still out.

How do you create lag and maintain it? Think of your left arm as one lever and the shaft as another. Going back, hinge your left wrist to create a sharp angle between the two levers. Then, as you swing down, maintain that angle for as long as you can. When you release it, the clubhead will speed up.

Many amateurs release the lag too soon by unhinging their wrists. A drill to prevent this is to swing back with your left arm only, and as you start down, hook a finger from your right hand around the shaft and resist the unhinging of your wrist. Groove this feel. In a normal swing, your wrists unhinge naturally at the bottom of the arc.

[From David Leadbetter: Learn The Power Lag: Golf Digest]

Pretend that there is something near your left hip and you want to hit it with the grip end of the club - not with the club head.

how to avoid casting - Toronto Golf Nuts - Greater Toronto Area Golf Forum

Often golfers mistake understanding lag by solely looking at the angle between the left arm and clubshaft, but it is incorrect. The left wrist will be uncocking at this point in the swing as the clubhead accelerates and begins to square. However, the angle formed by the right wrist and clubshaft continues to be maintained and is critical, especially for Rotary Hitters, as this is what allows you to control the power of your shot and the angle of the clubface at impact. Improving this angle will go a long way to helping you become a better golfer.

Increase Lag Drill - Improve Your Golf Swing

How can this be fixed? Well, there needs to be an understanding that the clubhead will always follow whatever the other end of the club does. So, the grip actually should lead or direct the club towards the ball. Once the golf club reaches the "set" position at the top of the backswing (a right angle between the left hand and the shaft of the club) that position should stay the same until the hands and the grip of the club are about even with the golf ball. At that point the hands will begin to unhinge and release down into the golf ball.

Casting Recall: Stop the Power Loss | Instruction Feature | PGA.com

To increase your clubhead lag, swing down from the inside, and pull the butt of the club toward your left thigh as your shoulders and hips unwind. Pulling the grip toward your thigh rotates your left forearm and prevents you from making an early release. It also gets the driver back in front of you so you don't have to flip your hands through. The lag releases naturally just before impact, creating a powerful strike.

Dave Phillips: 3 Steps To 20 More Yards: Golf Digest

To do this the legs start by shifting both knees and ankles targetward. It is true that the head stays behind the ball, but the core of the body shifts and clears past the ball rather dramatically. This assists the hands and arms in making their initial drop to the waist high area while wrists are still fully hinged. At this stage the right wrist should still be bent back fully but the palm is now facing the ground not the sky. With the palm facing down this insures the clubface is also facing down or toward the ball and requires no scooping or manipulation to be squared up in time for the hit.

Simply continue to drive the heel of the right hand through the ball as legs and hips clear or rotate through to the finish. The wrists will not fully unhinge until after contact with the ball as the trailing right arm continues to straighten past impact.

Golf Lag: Stop Casting Lag like Tiger Woods – Herman Williams Golf

I view Ben Hogan and Lee Trevino as perhaps the best ball strikers ever. They both had maximum delay of the right side or “lag,” as it is called today. This allowed them maximum distance and accuracy. In this type of swing, the lower left side of the body moves forward as the club is still going back. This swing is created by a coil of muscles in the left side of the back. Thus, the lower left side responds to this torque in the back and moves forward before the backswing is completed. This multiplies the backswing torque, and adds to the lag in the swing...When this open left shoulder turns away from the less-open left hip, an immediate coiling in the left side of the back occurs. The hips will react to this coiling and move toward the target before the club goes all the way back. Because of this, the right side of the body will be subjugated until the moment before impact. Then when the right side does participate, it won’t interfere with the accuracy of the shot, but it will create more acceleration, culminating in a full finish.

Carl Explains the One Move to Better Golf

Weight is constantly shifting in the golf swing, from even before the club is taken back at all. To create lag the secret is to make sure that the weight is being properly shifted FORWARD just before the club reaches its position at the top of the backswing. As this occurs a recentering of the center of the body will occur and the hands will automatically LAG behind the body.

THIS IS LAG! The hips shift the hips rotate, the hands FOLLOW or LAG behind. The DOG wags the TAIL. In a great golf swing the hands follow the movements of the body and have no choice but to delay their hit.

CONSCIOUSLY thinking about holding the release, delaying the hands, WHEN MAKING A GOLF SWING is the quickest way to destroy your swing. When you practice, sure, focus on where your hands need to be in the slot on the way back down using a pump drill or some variant of it. But when you are making an actual downswing it has to be a complete abandonment of positions, it is giving up control to get control, it is swinging the club from the body, it is creating lag.

Creating Lag in Your Golf Swing » The Deep Rough

 

Golf Height and Spin Influences

The following are often trumpeted physical aspects of the golf swing that are associated with particular ball flights, but it should be noted that they are not exclusive to those ball flights (one can hit a fade using an inside-out swing). Slice or cut spin (clockwise-tilted spin) is typically associated with high ball flights and hook spin (counter-clockwise-tilted spin) is typically associated with low ball flights, but that doesn't mean one can't hit high draws and low fades. Understanding these attributes can help one diagnose when something goes wrong on the course (because it inevitably will).

Hook Spin (Draw) and Lower Ball Flight Characteristics	Slice Spin (Fade) and Higher Ball Flight Characteristics
Setup further away from the ball; posture more bent over; elbow away from torso	Setup closer to the ball; posture more upright; elbows close to the torso
Flatter swing plane (more around the body)	More vertical swing plane (more up and down or down the line)
Stronger Grip (hands turned to the right) / lighter grip pressure	Weaker Grip (hands turned to the left) / firmer grip pressure
Knuckles down at impact (flat or cupped left wrist - closes and delofts club face)	Knuckles up at impact (bowed wrist or knuckles up - opens and adds loft to club face)
Swinging from in to out (swing plane tilted to right or swinging from inside)	Swinging out to in (swing plane tilted to left or over-the-top move)
Closed stance (shoulders, feet, hips aligned right of target)	Open stance (shoulders, feet, hips aligned left of target)
Back foot flared out, front foot perpendicular	Front foot flared out, back foot perpendicular
Closed or closing club face	Open or opening club face
Ball positioned further back (ball on the backside of swing arc)	Ball positioned further forward (ball on the front side of swing arc)
Grip more in the fingers (promotes club face closure)	Grip more in the palm (slows club face closure)
Posture more bent over from hips (promotes flatter swing plane)	Posture more upright from hips (promotes vertical swing plane)
Short thumb on left hand grip (promotes club face closure)	Long thumb on left hand grip (slows club face closure)
Lag retained excessively (hands in front of club head at impact)	Club casting or losing wrist hinge before impact (no lag retention)
Full shoulder turn (90 deg) = flatter plane/higher shoulder-hip turn ratio	Partial shoulder turn (<90 deg) = steeper plane/lower shoulder-hip turn ratio
More diagonal finish (club points more down behind the back)	Picture frame finish (club and arms form an open rectangle shape over the head)
Downswing begins with lower body ahead of upper body	Downswing begins with upper body ahead of lower body
Arm motion more active than body	Body motion more active than arms
Hands and arms extending out away from body past impact	Hands and arms pulling in toward the body past impact
Left arm straight through impact and followthrough	Left arm "chicken winging" (bending) through impact and followthrough
Ball tee'd up higher (high trajectory, hook)	Ball tee'd down lower (low trajectory, slice)
Smaller diameter golf grip (promotes earlier club face closure)	Larger diameter grip (promotes later club face closure)
Higher lofted clubs (easier to hook and draw) (e.g., 9-iron)	Lower lofted clubs (easier to fade and slice) (e.g., driver)
Gripping down on clubs (easier to release)	Gripping at full length (slower to release)

 

Of course, there are some outliers (it wouldn't be golf if there weren't):

Hook Spin (Draw) and HIGHER Ball Flight Characteristics	Slice Spin (Fade) and LOWER Ball Flight Characteristics
Ball tee'd up higher (high trajectory, hook)	Ball tee'd down lower (low trajectory, slice)
Head behind the ball at impact (high flight, hook)	Head forward of the ball at impact (low flight, slice)
Wide stance (especially with driver)	Narrow stance (especially with driver)