Doc’s Pro Lesson: Where The Hell Should My Wrists Be?

Two of the best pro tips I’ve picked up down through my years of reading and writing about golf concerns the wrists. Used properly, the wrists are extremely powerful. As they hinge and unhinge, force is unloaded from the wrists to the golf ball.

Because the wrists can hinge up and down, rotate and move side to side, poor use of them results in not just weak shots but errant ones too.

Here are two very simple tips I use to help me set my wrists properly.

1. Many golfers collapse their left wrist at the top of the backswing, the right hand climbs over to compensate and a weak slice results.

A great way to get clear in your mind the right position of the wrists at the top of the backswing is to hold a book (instead of a club) with your two palms facing each other. Now move the book to the top of your backswing keeping your left palm flat on it and allowing your right wrist to fold back. THAT is the perfect position in which to get your wrists before the downswing!

 

2. On the downswing, some players get too eager to unload the wrists and end up scooping the ball as the wrists flip and the clubhead passes them through before making contact.

Imagine holding a tennis racket in your left hand and hitting a backhand shot. That is exactly how your left wrist should be when hitting down on the ball; firm and bowed a little. Ben Hogan called this “pronating” the wrist and always said it was of critical importance in contacting ball before turf.

Once you get the feeling of where the wrists should be at the top of the backswing and at impact, you’ll enjoy more powerful, more accurate shots using their full power.

 

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