Distance is clubhead speed. Clubhead speed is produced by body motion swinging the club in
vertical, circular and horizonal directions. With the clubhead moving in these three directions
it's important to understand why you need a proper lever system in your golf swing.
If a player were to swing with the arms only and with no wrist movement, that would be
one lever system. This would produce accuracy, but no power. A two-lever is created by
allowing the wrists to hinge. A two lever system increases the clubhead speed.
The question is when or where in the swing should the wrists hinge? Starting the
backswing, top of the backswing or on the downswing? Learning to time this action
is the key to added distance without sacrificing accuracy.
The grip has a strong influence as to when and how the wrists hinge. The grip
position will be determined by the size, strength and flexibilty of the hands.
With a strong grip, the wrists will hinge early in the backswing. With the left
hand on the top side of the grip("V" pointed towards the chin), wrists will hinge
much later. A tight grip will interfere with the hinging of the wrists as well as
restrict left arm action. The golf ball doesn't care when the wrists hinge as it
only reacts to the angle, speed and clubface at impact. The key is to never let
them unhinge prematurely( casting the clubhead) as it's commonly referred to in
golf lingo. Allow the law of physics to unhinge your wrists as centrifugal force
will get the job done quite nicely.
Wrist action in the golf swing should be a natural movement, and is, if one
can swing the club instead of trying to force a hitting action. Swinging and
hitting are opposite methods of applying power. The wrists should be used as
the hinges connecting the arms to the club. The natural outward pull of the
clubhead will create the proper wrist action throughout impact. The swinging
action has both ends of the club moving in the same direction. In the hitting
action, the two ends are moving in the opposite directions. Most people have a
natural instinct to try to hit the ball as hard as they can. Unfortunately, this
urge will get them into a lot of trouble with wayward shots and painful muscle
joints. Remember: Don't force the feel(hitting action), feel the force(swinging
action). So may the force be with you(ha)!
