This reminds me of how I learned to play golf so many years ago… Golf My Way by Jack Nicklaus. He said of his downswing, “…. as soon as my weight moves to my left side I release the club with my hands and arms to ensure a full extension through impact”… words to live by. Good stuff Matt!!
Great comparison between swings. Dynamic loft of your “released” swings is less than on your “hold the angle” swings. Likely due a more open face on the hold off swings. Goes to show you don’t have to artificially try to hold onto angles to get shaft lean and compression. Those released swings are what we’re used to seeing! 👍🏼
I think this is so important, and the youtube-instagram-wanna-be-golf-instructors always pushing "hold the angle and rotate" is probably hurting a lot more average golfers than it helps.
Man I legit am going through the same damn thing 😂. I started golf December last year and I went from doing a violent flip (I’m an avid tennis player so think of it like a tennis forehand wrist flip action) to trying to just time it properly while using my chest to cover the ball while using my hands and it would end up in blocks and pushes. But at this point my club head speed with the 7 iron was like 95mph and it felt quite natural and not forcing the swing speed, but my tendency was to block the ball a tonne. This was because of my wrist position at the top which was cupped which made it pretty much impossible to close in time. So I watched both of the txg vid on compression and now I feel like I’m not releasing ENOUGH and my swing speed dropped to like 87-89mph. However it did fix my compression issue from flipping and blocking as it fixed my wrist position at the top. This pretty much validates my thoughts completely. I haven’t been coached at all on my swing and it’s been a solo journey but these kind of vids help so much for people in different parts of their swing journey. Keep it up matty!
As I have gotten older almost 60 I have really had to work on the release to maintain decent distance. The one thing that helps me is a mini practice swing making the swoosh sound so when I do my full swing I can feel the release - great video and breakdown thank you.
I just started doing this. I pull the handle too much and this new way is really helping. Edit: Dan Alton has some good videos on the "folding point". Meaning where the club folds on the backswing that's where the release is on the downswing. It's helping me out from dragging that handle through impact.
Spot on stuff Matt. Donated a couple weeks back about my drives just falling out of the air from lack of spin, was just dragging the handle through impact you suggested I may benefit from basically this drill. I worked on this drill/feeling and helped immensely
Awesome video Matt. Love your comments around 6:50 where you provide the very important caveat that this isn't for everyone! A lot of people (myself included) get flippy, and blindly following everything that you do (for your specific swing tendencies) isn't necessarily the best course of action. I love the way that you're providing such amazing instruction and guidance, not just tailored for you, but for all sorts of golfers, of all skill levels. Having followed along with your journey, I've started doing a bunch of your drills, and my swing has never been better... I've gained 10-15% distance on my irons, and my partial wedge shots have never been better. Keep it up Matt, you absolute stud!
This is not specifically addressed in the video, Matt, but I find this exact situation when I am dealing with injury. I have a nagging right wrist injury (I'm a lefty golfer) which, when painful, makes releasing my angles properly very challenging. I typically hit strong, high draws with my irons but I find, on painful days, I tend to hit huge slices and weak fades, at best - I feel, and suspect, that my limited range of motion (especially in flexion) makes releasing very hard so I just hold it. So, for me, the release is what allows the face to close to my slightly-in-to-out path. One solution I have found on the golf course is to move the ball slightly further forward in my stance to give me a bit more time to release the club even though it is painful. Anyway, great video!
Great subject & so relevant, thx Matt👍. Also worth a mention that you always stress ‘this isn’t for everyone’ & that is so true which makes it an excellent thing to reiterate. Golf is so far from a one size fits all sport!
Catching up on your channel, subb’d. Coming back from a long layoff and some injuries as well as getting older I am feeling this as well, more as an overall tension in my swing and especially my wrists. I’ve felt I was hitting at the ball instead of swinging the club. Gained back some of my lost speed and stopped the low launch knuckleball but lots more work to do. Thanks Matt. You have just tons of talent. Best to you.
Recently found this out about my swing. I believe it comes from being a hockey player. It’s a struggle because all the years I’ve played hockey has grooved my swing (holding too much lag) into muscle memory. I noticed that my torso is so much faster than my arms that if I start my lag release on the downswing my arms is still slower and it’s not casting/flipping. Earlier release works great at the range but when I get out on the greens, I revert back to my hockey swing. I need to over exaggerate to get the feel vs real to getting the right timing. Definitely compressing the ball more and not getting low flying darts. Going to add ‘staying long’ into my drills. Thanks Matt!!!
Great to see this as most content is about casting/releasing early (and understandably so) and as someone who has exactly this problem - causing my local pro a few headaches! - this is great content Matt and would be great to see any tips/analysis of this type of issue.
Similar to what I've been feeling recently...last year I incorporated a lot of rotation into my swing, after suffering from hooks, which I think led to me holding onto angles. Works okay if I'm rotating well on a particular day, but I'm noticing huge blocks/an open club face if I'm not. Was at the range the other day and the only drives I was hitting straight was when I was overexaggerating my release. Trying to find that happy medium now. Good stuff as usual Matt.
Great commentary Matt, I find your "thinking aloud" (if I can call it that) really insightful. Maybe a topic / theme to pick up in your next session with LC?
Hi Matt. Love your work. Been follwing your fitting vids for a long time. Thought I would leave a comment to help out. The drill you are following here only highlights artifact of other issues. You have the same flat swing issue I was facing a few years back, very much below the swing plane of tour pros. It is caused by your right arm not extending (feeling of straightening out) in the downswing. There is a video by AthleticMotionGolf called something like Magic Move. It's a silly name for the vid, but they have 3d capture to illustrate the point I am trying to make. I saw you do drills to move body first and somehow hold arms at the top. That type of drill also reinforces the issues you have, which is to have overly active body movement. You are forcing your body to open and hoping your hands will align themselves for you to achieve it. Opening the body steepens your club and the only chance you have to make good contact is to lay off the club at the top. Instead you have to move your arms in a way to help your body open at impact. Lowering your arms its called. Rory does this drill everytime during his range sessions, if you ever get a chance to see him at a tournament range (Pump Drill he calls it). The AMG guys show that every tour pro makes conscious effort to accelerate the arms and hands as rapidly as possible right at the top of the swing, lowering and shallowing the swing rapidily. This movement allows you to open your body, a steepening move. Basically, my point is that there is nothing passive about the arms in a tour pro golf swing. Don't take my word for it, look at 3D capture and compare your numbers, or overlap you swing with one of a tour pro. I can guarantee that your hand acceleration from the top of the swing is way slower than a pro. Your right arm is passive and laid off, and your swing is entirely driven by your rotation. Hope this helps.
Exactly what ive been working on for so long. I used to drive the ball 310yds easy when I wasnt as good. But ironically the more i play golf and get better, this type of problem have been creeping up alot. My habit of holding on to the angle not wanting it to go left made me push, pull and robbed my distance. I’d be happy to even carry 280yds nowadays. Its so hard to force myself to actually “hit” aggressively at the ball.
Really interesting video and incredibly well produced as always. I've been playing around with a release "flick" at impact with irons and noticed a different ball flight (more spin) and they seemed to be more consistent.
Been struggling with the same stuff. Gonna get to work tmr on some of this. Watched a crossfield vid about almost casting and throwing the club away from target to start downswing. Great shirt today, matty !
Would never have occurred to me that holding onto angle would reduce clubhead speed so much. Good to have both windows in your game. You should do a Tiger nine window challenge video.
Most people who slice is releasing too late. When u release the club head the face is closing. Most slicers handle drag cause face to open, or glancing impact because the low pt and widest pt of their swing is at the ball or before the ball. If u release too early usually is a massive pull or hook.
I guide the club into the ball with less release as well.. but my path is out to in.. so I kind of like it for direction and the fade. However if I don’t release with long irons they will cut 15+ yards.. and it’s too much. I’ve practiced hitting draws and fades interchangeably, that’s been helpful but it’s such a balancing act. Interesting video
I’ve also been struggling to release the club, found myself being careful, tentative, but today at the range I decided to try and just let it go, and forget being careful. It worked a treat, and strangely accuracy improved. Well done Matt.
Great video Matt. I'm actually finding I feel the exact same way as you lately. Feeling like I'm really holding onto those angles and getting a bunch of big blocks. Definitely going to try what you are talking about and get that release a bit earlier. Also, completely off topic, but love the shoes! Puma is one of the few companies I've been able to find larger sizes in Canada and the pair I bought at the end of last year were super comfy. Going to try them a few more times I think!
On Padraig Harringtons page he has a really good video on releasing and using the wrists in the swing, I had been working on a very rotational swing but was losing speed,with the added wrist release (not arms) the ball speed jumps a good %age
I would love to see you run through this with Larry. I’m particularly interested in a discussion of the sequencing of release. There is a rear elbow angle to release. The wrist extension to release. And the wrist deviation to release. All at once? In any particular order? What other conditions of the downswing should be met before releasing?
Condition would be you move your lower body properly to sequence from the ground up… if you do that, you can release the club from the top immediately.
@@-TroyStory- A lot of thought is that using ground force actually is what sets the power accumulating angles. You’d have to set your angles really early to release them at the top. I think if you look at a lot of the best players in the world, they are using the transition to set the angles in the wrist and elbow. DJ, Rory, Rahm. You are going to see a lot of bent right elbows and radial deviation right up close to impact.
Just my $0.02 and a reference to your other swings, it looks like your arms shoot out towards the ball on the takeaway more so than normal, club gets flat early and then you have to hold it because a release could be a steep/fat shot, or pull hooks. The reverse of what you’re doing would be like Akshay Bhatia.
Love the videos where you’re working on your swing. Is there any way we could get a face on camera in the future? Especially for this video it would have been very helpful
Been hitting a push/block for a while now. Thinking it was me holding onto the angle for too long in the swing I tried releasing a touch earlier. Helped for a little bit, but the push block came back. Ever since trying the trail arm drill to outrace the lead arm and practiced that feeling I've found the ball starting on a straighter line. Thanks for giving me a bit more insight 🏌️
Matty my boy I’m working on this exact thing but in a different way! I work with Dana D and to stop my handle dragging we’re really working on speed out front making the whoosh right at the ball and then trying to snap the shaft off my back. But doing it by really using your front foot to turn then jump off the ground kinda what you were working with Larry with awhile back
This in funny coinsidece. I just came back from Trackman studio and did similar kind of training. I hit more than 300 balls with irons so I wanna share some thoughts. First of all, I am around same skill level as you are, 0 hcp. Averaging 88mph 7 iron club speed with trackman and my path is ~1° in to out. I have kind of beeing strugling with same issue. I have been trying to find the balance between realeasing the club and holding angles. And the one thing that changed everything for me was opening my setup. I mean opening me feet a little which ables my hips to open propperly during backswing. That fixed my timing issues for good. So that is something I would recommend you to try. Becouse you propably know this very well, but relying your timing with realeasing your wrist actively is a bit like gambling. It might work today and not at all tomorrow. Cheers from Finland!
ive tried getting more saft lean as well. it didnt help. what helped my ball striking was focusing on a smooth release and completeing my shoulder turn. i suggest doing drills that incorporate a follow through
I worked on this with Tyler a while back.... My feel was immediately letting the angle go as soon as the down swing happens. It fixed just about everything and I gained about 6mph club speed. It's just extremely weird feeling... As most proper things do 🤣
I have worked so long on a bowed wrist and turning hard through the ball that I have almost no release whatsoever - I literally hold the angle with a shut face till the club is back to parallel and the lead elbow has to chicken wing because the arm hasn’t rotated at all. I think this would help a lot with distance and ball flight as the club gets way too delofted this way, and woods and hybrids are nearly useless with their low flights
Second swing looked much better. First swing seemed like arms were getting pulled in to save the face but the face wasn’t turning over. Second seems much more natural
It's really pretty impossible to see what is happening in real time at impact. Maybe some slo mo from face on. For me, it is having the hands and angle in the right place when releasing. I'm a swinger, not a hitter. Light grip pressure. I get the timing of the release, or try to, and let the club go. I just line it up. If I try to turn it over or hold it back, it slows down. My wrist are just a well oil hinge. I let the club do the work. It just has to be lined up at release for it to end up in the right place when it is pointing out towards the green/fairway. I am holding on to it, though just enough to control it, then let it go. Longer clubs you can feel the sensations better.
This is where I’m at today as well. I Worked on backswing, tempo, and impact in the garage all winter. Now struggling a little and looking for a “feel” to get through the ball and release without hanging on too long. I find release is one of the lesser talked about topics on RUclips. If you can get all the prior components of a swing grooved a release thought seems like a good single swing thought to bring to the course. Anyone have any tips or thoughts?
Hey Matt - super interesting video, especially in relation to TXG's video on compression and the video with Mac discussing how he squares the club face. Good Good also had a recent video talking about wrist angle, discussing the DJ-esque bow. Seems as though you feel like you're just on the extreme side of this right now. Fair conclusion?
yes for sure, most people if anything need to feel stronger wrist conditions and less flipping - just for me I tend to really hang on to the angles for too long
I have the same problem. As much as my coach preaches more hip rotation, I have a bad tendency to hold onto the club and not release which results in bad contact. My swing thoughts are turn (hips) then release to right(inside out).
Matt I have recently noticed the same fault creeping into swing but seems to have improve strike by concentrating rotating hips on downswing and limiting slide on hips.
heh I use to be like that but I'm the opposite now. Not flippy but trail arm rotating too much over lead arm causing some pull hooks. Been working getting closer to the ball and keeping trail hand more palm up at impact
Awesome video Matt, was wondering if you had any tips/drills for someone struggling with a massive slice? Driver has always been the best club in my bag with a 5 yard fade, but my last 3-4 rounds i have been slicing it off the planet. thanks in advance
I definitely know that you can have too much lag. I tend to not release at all and just hold it off all the way through. I find I release the driver better than irons for some reason. Wedges are the worst.
Wouldn’t it be better to feel the release/whooshing of the club head via the body pivot (kinda like a catapult) instead of using hands/wrists/arms? Seems like the latter will be far harder to time, even for someone like you know tends to drag it through more.
Could you make a video on applying this to long irons and woods? I’m currently struggling to get my longer clubs off the ground despite catching them fairly clean
To me it looks 1. Like a more comfortable swing but also almost like you’re trying to almost rotate your hands through the ball like a controlled (I hate to say it) slap. But in a good way? I’ve been working on doing a similar thing and have been finding success
1st of all NICE SHIRT! 2nd, just curious to know if you are setting up open on purpose as well? hips, shoulders and arms look like they are aiming way right, almost more so on the "blocky" shots...
When I do this I hit behind the ball every time. I am a low ball hitter, but when I feel like I take the club back straight or a little outside I hit a nice high fade or draw depending on alignment.
I don't think your right, watch Speith. Release should happen naturally, but early release is horrible. The key is positioning through the swing, hold off release until the power un releases caused by shifting weight into left and up. Notice where Speiths hands and shaft finish behind his neck, whereas your hands are out further. I don't think you should consciously try and release at a particular time.
Alright now that I’ve watched, how would you go about adding dynamic loft to a driver of let’s say the attack angle was neutral/flat? I have a hard time getting my driver in the air even on my better swings
Would you ever consider switching to a fade? I played a draw the last few months and found it to be a lot harder to control. I just started to play a fade again and it seems a lot more repeatable and controllable.
Posting this before watching, I swung a driver on trackman about -0.5 degrees downward, and with a 10.5 head only had 11 of dynamic loft. Curious to see an explanation that might help
This has just about ruined my game. I started playing when i was 31, and could drive the ball decently far from the beginning, and gained more speed for the first few years. Now that i feel im a better golfer ( played 6 years now ) i struggle more and more, even though i feel like im a better golfer My dynamic loft with driver is as low as 6 sometimes, and they just come out very very low. Same with irons. 7 iron is 17-18 degree dynamic loft. I got a TON of lag, but its just gotten worse and worse with my ballflight, because in my mind, when i try to release, everything just hooks Its a very hard habbit to get rid of, and its honestly destroying my game
I get stuck that same way... not releasing the angle because you hold it so long... hills bs.. but normally I end up hitting it pretty straight. Now I'm releasing too early and chunking everything. Why do we play this stupid game?
I just started on this last week because my bad shots would end pulls or weak block fades. I've been trying to focus on where the butt end is when I start releasing it.
That’s my thinking, unless it is done via the turn. I think you can link up the release to the body pivot by feeling that club head “whoosh” as a result of good downswing pivot instead using hands/wrists/arms.
I had this realization about 3 weeks ago when I was playing with a friend's lag shot. I was holding it off too much. I have arccos and my average drive this week was 21 yards longer. Unfortunately, i have to relearn my distances now
This reminds me of how I learned to play golf so many years ago… Golf My Way by Jack Nicklaus. He said of his downswing, “…. as soon as my weight moves to my left side I release the club with my hands and arms to ensure a full extension through impact”… words to live by. Good stuff Matt!!
Great comparison between swings. Dynamic loft of your “released” swings is less than on your “hold the angle” swings. Likely due a more open face on the hold off swings. Goes to show you don’t have to artificially try to hold onto angles to get shaft lean and compression. Those released swings are what we’re used to seeing! 👍🏼
I think this is so important, and the youtube-instagram-wanna-be-golf-instructors always pushing "hold the angle and rotate" is probably hurting a lot more average golfers than it helps.
Man I legit am going through the same damn thing 😂. I started golf December last year and I went from doing a violent flip (I’m an avid tennis player so think of it like a tennis forehand wrist flip action) to trying to just time it properly while using my chest to cover the ball while using my hands and it would end up in blocks and pushes. But at this point my club head speed with the 7 iron was like 95mph and it felt quite natural and not forcing the swing speed, but my tendency was to block the ball a tonne. This was because of my wrist position at the top which was cupped which made it pretty much impossible to close in time. So I watched both of the txg vid on compression and now I feel like I’m not releasing ENOUGH and my swing speed dropped to like 87-89mph. However it did fix my compression issue from flipping and blocking as it fixed my wrist position at the top. This pretty much validates my thoughts completely. I haven’t been coached at all on my swing and it’s been a solo journey but these kind of vids help so much for people in different parts of their swing journey. Keep it up matty!
As I have gotten older almost 60 I have really had to work on the release to maintain decent distance. The one thing that helps me is a mini practice swing making the swoosh sound so when I do my full swing I can feel the release - great video and breakdown thank you.
I just started doing this. I pull the handle too much and this new way is really helping.
Edit: Dan Alton has some good videos on the "folding point". Meaning where the club folds on the backswing that's where the release is on the downswing. It's helping me out from dragging that handle through impact.
Spot on stuff Matt. Donated a couple weeks back about my drives just falling out of the air from lack of spin, was just dragging the handle through impact you suggested I may benefit from basically this drill. I worked on this drill/feeling and helped immensely
Awesome video Matt. Love your comments around 6:50 where you provide the very important caveat that this isn't for everyone! A lot of people (myself included) get flippy, and blindly following everything that you do (for your specific swing tendencies) isn't necessarily the best course of action. I love the way that you're providing such amazing instruction and guidance, not just tailored for you, but for all sorts of golfers, of all skill levels. Having followed along with your journey, I've started doing a bunch of your drills, and my swing has never been better... I've gained 10-15% distance on my irons, and my partial wedge shots have never been better. Keep it up Matt, you absolute stud!
This is not specifically addressed in the video, Matt, but I find this exact situation when I am dealing with injury. I have a nagging right wrist injury (I'm a lefty golfer) which, when painful, makes releasing my angles properly very challenging. I typically hit strong, high draws with my irons but I find, on painful days, I tend to hit huge slices and weak fades, at best - I feel, and suspect, that my limited range of motion (especially in flexion) makes releasing very hard so I just hold it. So, for me, the release is what allows the face to close to my slightly-in-to-out path. One solution I have found on the golf course is to move the ball slightly further forward in my stance to give me a bit more time to release the club even though it is painful. Anyway, great video!
Great subject & so relevant, thx Matt👍. Also worth a mention that you always stress ‘this isn’t for everyone’ & that is so true which makes it an excellent thing to reiterate. Golf is so far from a one size fits all sport!
Great video Matt this is exactly the issue I’m having at the moment especially the hooking with my driver I am a lefty also .
I`ve been experiencing the same. Thanks for the spark!
Catching up on your channel, subb’d. Coming back from a long layoff and some injuries as well as getting older I am feeling this as well, more as an overall tension in my swing and especially my wrists. I’ve felt I was hitting at the ball instead of swinging the club. Gained back some of my lost speed and stopped the low launch knuckleball but lots more work to do.
Thanks Matt. You have just tons of talent. Best to you.
Recently found this out about my swing. I believe it comes from being a hockey player. It’s a struggle because all the years I’ve played hockey has grooved my swing (holding too much lag) into muscle memory. I noticed that my torso is so much faster than my arms that if I start my lag release on the downswing my arms is still slower and it’s not casting/flipping. Earlier release works great at the range but when I get out on the greens, I revert back to my hockey swing. I need to over exaggerate to get the feel vs real to getting the right timing. Definitely compressing the ball more and not getting low flying darts. Going to add ‘staying long’ into my drills. Thanks Matt!!!
Thanks Matt, I’ve also felt a “reduced tension” pre and mid swing has helped create a more predictable release for me.
Found the video for you from AthleticMotionGolf channel. It's called:
Increase Your Hand Speed While Shallowing The Club
Good luck.
Great info. I do not let my trail arm go past the lead hand. something to work on. Thanks Matt!!!
Great to see this as most content is about casting/releasing early (and understandably so) and as someone who has exactly this problem - causing my local pro a few headaches! - this is great content Matt and would be great to see any tips/analysis of this type of issue.
Similar to what I've been feeling recently...last year I incorporated a lot of rotation into my swing, after suffering from hooks, which I think led to me holding onto angles. Works okay if I'm rotating well on a particular day, but I'm noticing huge blocks/an open club face if I'm not. Was at the range the other day and the only drives I was hitting straight was when I was overexaggerating my release. Trying to find that happy medium now. Good stuff as usual Matt.
Thanks for taking the time to talk about both feels!
Great commentary Matt, I find your "thinking aloud" (if I can call it that) really insightful. Maybe a topic / theme to pick up in your next session with LC?
Hi Matt. Love your work. Been follwing your fitting vids for a long time. Thought I would leave a comment to help out. The drill you are following here only highlights artifact of other issues.
You have the same flat swing issue I was facing a few years back, very much below the swing plane of tour pros. It is caused by your right arm not extending (feeling of straightening out) in the downswing. There is a video by AthleticMotionGolf called something like Magic Move. It's a silly name for the vid, but they have 3d capture to illustrate the point I am trying to make. I saw you do drills to move body first and somehow hold arms at the top. That type of drill also reinforces the issues you have, which is to have overly active body movement. You are forcing your body to open and hoping your hands will align themselves for you to achieve it. Opening the body steepens your club and the only chance you have to make good contact is to lay off the club at the top.
Instead you have to move your arms in a way to help your body open at impact. Lowering your arms its called. Rory does this drill everytime during his range sessions, if you ever get a chance to see him at a tournament range (Pump Drill he calls it).
The AMG guys show that every tour pro makes conscious effort to accelerate the arms and hands as rapidly as possible right at the top of the swing, lowering and shallowing the swing rapidily. This movement allows you to open your body, a steepening move.
Basically, my point is that there is nothing passive about the arms in a tour pro golf swing. Don't take my word for it, look at 3D capture and compare your numbers, or overlap you swing with one of a tour pro. I can guarantee that your hand acceleration from the top of the swing is way slower than a pro.
Your right arm is passive and laid off, and your swing is entirely driven by your rotation. Hope this helps.
Exactly what ive been working on for so long. I used to drive the ball 310yds easy when I wasnt as good. But ironically the more i play golf and get better, this type of problem have been creeping up alot. My habit of holding on to the angle not wanting it to go left made me push, pull and robbed my distance. I’d be happy to even carry 280yds nowadays. Its so hard to force myself to actually “hit” aggressively at the ball.
Really interesting video and incredibly well produced as always. I've been playing around with a release "flick" at impact with irons and noticed a different ball flight (more spin) and they seemed to be more consistent.
You’re the best golf guy on the tube by miles bro!
Been struggling with the same stuff. Gonna get to work tmr on some of this. Watched a crossfield vid about almost casting and throwing the club away from target to start downswing. Great shirt today, matty !
Thank you. I will try this Thursday. Hopefully this works.
Would never have occurred to me that holding onto angle would reduce clubhead speed so much. Good to have both windows in your game. You should do a Tiger nine window challenge video.
More meaningful stuff Matt. Keep up the great work 💪
Most people who slice is releasing too late. When u release the club head the face is closing. Most slicers handle drag cause face to open, or glancing impact because the low pt and widest pt of their swing is at the ball or before the ball. If u release too early usually is a massive pull or hook.
Thanks for that comment about the feel that Larry recommended for feeling too flippy.
I guide the club into the ball with less release as well.. but my path is out to in.. so I kind of like it for direction and the fade. However if I don’t release with long irons they will cut 15+ yards.. and it’s too much. I’ve practiced hitting draws and fades interchangeably, that’s been helpful but it’s such a balancing act. Interesting video
I’ve also been struggling to release the club, found myself being careful, tentative, but today at the range I decided to try and just let it go, and forget being careful. It worked a treat, and strangely accuracy improved. Well done Matt.
Great video Matt. I'm actually finding I feel the exact same way as you lately. Feeling like I'm really holding onto those angles and getting a bunch of big blocks. Definitely going to try what you are talking about and get that release a bit earlier.
Also, completely off topic, but love the shoes! Puma is one of the few companies I've been able to find larger sizes in Canada and the pair I bought at the end of last year were super comfy. Going to try them a few more times I think!
This is a great golf channel. Congrats 🎉
Wow, we have the same issue, thank you for the info!
On Padraig Harringtons page he has a really good video on releasing and using the wrists in the swing, I had been working on a very rotational swing but was losing speed,with the added wrist release (not arms) the ball speed jumps a good %age
I would love to see you run through this with Larry. I’m particularly interested in a discussion of the sequencing of release. There is a rear elbow angle to release. The wrist extension to release. And the wrist deviation to release. All at once? In any particular order? What other conditions of the downswing should be met before releasing?
Condition would be you move your lower body properly to sequence from the ground up… if you do that, you can release the club from the top immediately.
@@-TroyStory- A lot of thought is that using ground force actually is what sets the power accumulating angles. You’d have to set your angles really early to release them at the top. I think if you look at a lot of the best players in the world, they are using the transition to set the angles in the wrist and elbow. DJ, Rory, Rahm. You are going to see a lot of bent right elbows and radial deviation right up close to impact.
Just my $0.02 and a reference to your other swings, it looks like your arms shoot out towards the ball on the takeaway more so than normal, club gets flat early and then you have to hold it because a release could be a steep/fat shot, or pull hooks. The reverse of what you’re doing would be like Akshay Bhatia.
Love the videos where you’re working on your swing. Is there any way we could get a face on camera in the future? Especially for this video it would have been very helpful
Been hitting a push/block for a while now. Thinking it was me holding onto the angle for too long in the swing I tried releasing a touch earlier. Helped for a little bit, but the push block came back. Ever since trying the trail arm drill to outrace the lead arm and practiced that feeling I've found the ball starting on a straighter line. Thanks for giving me a bit more insight 🏌️
Matty my boy I’m working on this exact thing but in a different way! I work with Dana D and to stop my handle dragging we’re really working on speed out front making the whoosh right at the ball and then trying to snap the shaft off my back. But doing it by really using your front foot to turn then jump off the ground kinda what you were working with Larry with awhile back
This in funny coinsidece. I just came back from Trackman studio and did similar kind of training. I hit more than 300 balls with irons so I wanna share some thoughts.
First of all, I am around same skill level as you are, 0 hcp. Averaging 88mph 7 iron club speed with trackman and my path is ~1° in to out.
I have kind of beeing strugling with same issue. I have been trying to find the balance between realeasing the club and holding angles. And the one thing that changed everything for me was opening my setup. I mean opening me feet a little which ables my hips to open propperly during backswing. That fixed my timing issues for good.
So that is something I would recommend you to try. Becouse you propably know this very well, but relying your timing with realeasing your wrist actively is a bit like gambling. It might work today and not at all tomorrow.
Cheers from Finland!
Looking forward to seeing you on a course soon! If you’re able to work on this a bit you could shoot some *scores*
Nice Matt, thanks
You can hear the difference between the released vs non released. There was a thud on the release and more of a clunk on the non release.
I was trying to get more forward shaft lean at impact and I think it screwed up my release.
ive tried getting more saft lean as well. it didnt help. what helped my ball striking was focusing on a smooth release and completeing my shoulder turn. i suggest doing drills that incorporate a follow through
I worked on this with Tyler a while back.... My feel was immediately letting the angle go as soon as the down swing happens. It fixed just about everything and I gained about 6mph club speed. It's just extremely weird feeling... As most proper things do 🤣
I have worked so long on a bowed wrist and turning hard through the ball that I have almost no release whatsoever - I literally hold the angle with a shut face till the club is back to parallel and the lead elbow has to chicken wing because the arm hasn’t rotated at all. I think this would help a lot with distance and ball flight as the club gets way too delofted this way, and woods and hybrids are nearly useless with their low flights
Second swing looked much better. First swing seemed like arms were getting pulled in to save the face but the face wasn’t turning over. Second seems much more natural
I tend to be flippy. Nice to learn that I need to hold my angles for a little longer.
It's really pretty impossible to see what is happening in real time at impact. Maybe some slo mo from face on.
For me, it is having the hands and angle in the right place when releasing. I'm a swinger, not a hitter. Light grip pressure.
I get the timing of the release, or try to, and let the club go. I just line it up. If I try to turn it over or hold it back, it slows down.
My wrist are just a well oil hinge. I let the club do the work. It just has to be lined up at release for it to end up in the right place
when it is pointing out towards the green/fairway. I am holding on to it, though just enough to control it, then let it go.
Longer clubs you can feel the sensations better.
This is where I’m at today as well. I Worked on backswing, tempo, and impact in the garage all winter. Now struggling a little and looking for a “feel” to get through the ball and release without hanging on too long. I find release is one of the lesser talked about topics on RUclips. If you can get all the prior components of a swing grooved a release thought seems like a good single swing thought to bring to the course. Anyone have any tips or thoughts?
Hey Matt - super interesting video, especially in relation to TXG's video on compression and the video with Mac discussing how he squares the club face. Good Good also had a recent video talking about wrist angle, discussing the DJ-esque bow. Seems as though you feel like you're just on the extreme side of this right now. Fair conclusion?
yes for sure, most people if anything need to feel stronger wrist conditions and less flipping - just for me I tend to really hang on to the angles for too long
I have the same problem. As much as my coach preaches more hip rotation, I have a bad tendency to hold onto the club and not release which results in bad contact. My swing thoughts are turn (hips) then release to right(inside out).
Matt I have recently noticed the same fault creeping into swing but seems to have improve strike by concentrating rotating hips on downswing and limiting slide on hips.
heh I use to be like that but I'm the opposite now. Not flippy but trail arm rotating too much over lead arm causing some pull hooks. Been working getting closer to the ball and keeping trail hand more palm up at impact
Awesome video Matt, was wondering if you had any tips/drills for someone struggling with a massive slice? Driver has always been the best club in my bag with a 5 yard fade, but my last 3-4 rounds i have been slicing it off the planet. thanks in advance
I definitely know that you can have too much lag. I tend to not release at all and just hold it off all the way through. I find I release the driver better than irons for some reason. Wedges are the worst.
Great video
Wouldn’t it be better to feel the release/whooshing of the club head via the body pivot (kinda like a catapult) instead of using hands/wrists/arms? Seems like the latter will be far harder to time, even for someone like you know tends to drag it through more.
Could you make a video on applying this to long irons and woods? I’m currently struggling to get my longer clubs off the ground despite catching them fairly clean
It's like you were watching me play golf this weekend
To me it looks 1. Like a more comfortable swing but also almost like you’re trying to almost rotate your hands through the ball like a controlled (I hate to say it) slap. But in a good way? I’ve been working on doing a similar thing and have been finding success
1st of all NICE SHIRT! 2nd, just curious to know if you are setting up open on purpose as well? hips, shoulders and arms look like they are aiming way right, almost more so on the "blocky" shots...
it's a bit of a bad habit, i think because i've been missing shots left I start opening up
@@GolfLiberty makes a lot of sense... if the conscious brain wasn't bad enough that stupid subconscious is also messing with our swings...;)
When I do this I hit behind the ball every time. I am a low ball hitter, but when I feel like I take the club back straight or a little outside I hit a nice high fade or draw depending on alignment.
I don't think your right, watch Speith. Release should happen naturally, but early release is horrible. The key is positioning through the swing, hold off release until the power un releases caused by shifting weight into left and up. Notice where Speiths hands and shaft finish behind his neck, whereas your hands are out further. I don't think you should consciously try and release at a particular time.
Alright now that I’ve watched, how would you go about adding dynamic loft to a driver of let’s say the attack angle was neutral/flat? I have a hard time getting my driver in the air even on my better swings
Going to try this out today. I find I do block or push alot of shots, my apex is also reaaally low which i have to work on too.
Would you ever consider switching to a fade? I played a draw the last few months and found it to be a lot harder to control. I just started to play a fade again and it seems a lot more repeatable and controllable.
Posting this before watching, I swung a driver on trackman about -0.5 degrees downward, and with a 10.5 head only had 11 of dynamic loft. Curious to see an explanation that might help
This has just about ruined my game. I started playing when i was 31, and could drive the ball decently far from the beginning, and gained more speed for the first few years. Now that i feel im a better golfer ( played 6 years now ) i struggle more and more, even though i feel like im a better golfer
My dynamic loft with driver is as low as 6 sometimes, and they just come out very very low. Same with irons. 7 iron is 17-18 degree dynamic loft. I got a TON of lag, but its just gotten worse and worse with my ballflight, because in my mind, when i try to release, everything just hooks
Its a very hard habbit to get rid of, and its honestly destroying my game
After releasing are you still reaching out in front of you or does your club get left quicker
Would you recommend the same for a handle dragger type swing?
You're better than you think you are
At what point did you want to feel that you started to release the club?
I get stuck that same way... not releasing the angle because you hold it so long... hills bs.. but normally I end up hitting it pretty straight. Now I'm releasing too early and chunking everything. Why do we play this stupid game?
I just started on this last week because my bad shots would end pulls or weak block fades. I've been trying to focus on where the butt end is when I start releasing it.
Seems like a more efficient motion for sure. Does it rely more on your timing?
That’s my thinking, unless it is done via the turn. I think you can link up the release to the body pivot by feeling that club head “whoosh” as a result of good downswing pivot instead using hands/wrists/arms.
Dude I can help you! I’m the exact opposite!
I had this realization about 3 weeks ago when I was playing with a friend's lag shot. I was holding it off too much. I have arccos and my average drive this week was 21 yards longer. Unfortunately, i have to relearn my distances now
Don't forget to like!
GC Hawk?
👍
Give me some of your lag because i have none.