waggles and other rituals

Maybe this is frivolous, but I wonder about it anyway. I see a lot of people waggle the club as part of their pre-shot routine. I do maybe one little waggle, to release any tension in my hands. Then I do something else: I like to do a couple of takeaways, up to horizontal or beyond, then lower the club back down to address position. Somehow doing this gives me a feel for the swing path. My golf partner says it looks like I'm "threatening" the ball.

Is there anything to recommend one waggle (etc) routine over another, apart from the importance of doing the same thing every time?

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

The purpose of a pre-shot routine is to instill confidence while over the ball. Nothing more. A waggle does nothing other than calm you before your shot.

Ben Hogan thought that the waggle was a good indicator of the shot that you wanted. If you wanted a full blast, you'd do a relatively quick waggle - sharp, agressive. For a feel or touch shot, it'd be a softer waggle.

I find a full waggle does two things: It helps to check tension, and it shows me if I've absentmindedly gripped the club too strong or weak (as a full waggle through will show some clubface movement if you're anything but neutral).

I used to do the half takeaway (à la Mike Weir), but I'm pretty confident in my swing path. The only thing I do now is line up beside the ball, take a practice swing, adjust for the divot (if necessary), step up, tiny waggle, and fire away.

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PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter

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.

I do a chop with my wrists. up and down. then line up my club face and then setup then hit it.

The half takeaway is pretty important for me, since one of my cardinal errors is to swing back too far inside, especially if I'm getting a little tired or careless. So doing a takeaway that gives me an "up and out" feeling is a good way to correct that.

I haven't found consistency on practice swings yet. Sometimes I feel like I want one; sometimes I don't. But generally, if I'm swinging a wedge, whether it's a full swing or something less, I take a practice swing. That's probably true of the 8 and 9 irons as well. Reason: I find that with the shorter irons I, if I'm not careful, I don't sole the club properly, but set up with the heel raised a bit. This is a sure recipe for a bad push, if the toe hits the turf first and twists the club face open. It used to mystify me how I'd hit those terrible pushes with my short irons, when the direction of the divot was straight toward the target. When I figure it out, I became very careful about this, and started taking practice swings to check it. For some reason, I'm less likely to make this mistake with longer irons, so I don't always take a practice swing. And when teeing off...no consistency about practice swings there either. Can't decide whether they help or hurt my real swing.

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller