Lagging the club

I need some assistance in lagging the club. In some shots I need to gain extra distance from the club without using a higher club. What I've been doing is placing the ball further back in my stance thus delofting the club on impact. Is this the same thing as lagging the club or lagging is something else? When I place the ball back in my stance I find that it is difficult to control the club and get errant shots as a result. Would appreciate any help.

I've never heard of the term "lagging the club" but I've heard of "hitting late" where the clubhead remains behind the hands in the downswing. Check out greg's right hand drill in the lessons sections and that will give you an idea of why a late hit is necessary.

As for ball position, that's a tricky one. There are 2 schools of thought. The first is that every shot should be played off the left heals and the right foot moves in for shorter clubs. The 2nd is moving the ball further back in the stance as the loft increases. I stick with the first because the 2nd option seems to breed incinsistency, in me at least. It's far easier me to move my feet by the correct amount rather than moving a little ball and I think your eyesight also plays tricks on you when setting up.

Interesting enough, my local CPGA pro and I talked (and worked) lag last night (I'll be updating my lesson post shortly).

Lag is created when the hands are still at the top of the swing, but the hips have started to clear. There's a picture of Joey Sindelar showing great lag.

The first picture is of him at the top of his backswing - hips pointed away from target, hands and arms high.

The second picture is of him starting his downswing - hips square (pointed towards the ball), hands and arms still high. In fact, in the pictures, his hands and arms are in the same position in the second picture as they were in the first, but his hips have gone back to square.

This is lag. By the time Joeys' hips are pointing towards target, his hands will be in the impact zone.

What you're describing is delofting the club. Lagging shouldn't be done to get more distance on a given shot - it should be part of your swing.

If you want to feel lag, swing a heavy club (ie momentus) or swing 2 clubs together, and fire with your hips first towards target to start your downswing. If you swing hips first (and not down with your hands/arms), you will feel the club(s) lag behind. It kind of feels like the clubs are still going 'up' on your backswing while your hips have started the downswing.

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A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

And of course everyone's favourite trick.

Swing to the top and stop.

Have a friend grip the clubhead at the top of you backswing to stop it from moving.

Turn the lower body slowly, round and past the target line.

I don't have any friends...

Dont have any friends? Maybe you should use a stronger deodorant.