wrist cock

I tried making some practice swings with Gregs right hand drill and the feeling was great. As soon as I went to hit some balls however I found it very hard to make any sort of proper contact, they were all out of the heel and thinned! Is this just because it's something I not used to doing in my swing (have always been a bad caster of the club, I dont know if this means anything) or am I simply doing it wrong. I dont know if I'm cocking the wrists too early, could this be a contributing factor to the poor strikes? Should I persevere?

If you are consistantly hitting the ball thin and off the heel, this may just be a reflection of the fact that you used to have other compensations in your old swing such as lifting the head and falling towards your toes that you had to do to get the club to strike the ball. Now you've changed your swing, yuo might also need to change other subtle things to ensure that you strike the ball pure everytime.

As to whether you should persevere, it depends. If you think that the drill helps you and that in the long term you'll get a better swing out of it, then yes.

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Thanks a lot thats a very good point

An early wrist cock usually promotes a late release.
A late wrist cock usually promotes an early release.

Too early of a release
- creates a flatter swing bottom - sweeping and not descending
- might cause fat shots or more grass getting caught between the ball and clubface.
- might also cause thin shots if the swing bottom happens too early

Too late of a release
- creates a more descending blow.
- might cause topped shots or fades if done too late. This can usually be fixed by moving your hands to make them almost even with the ball at setup.

This probably says more about the level of my ability than anything else, but I've been striking the ball more solidly by avoiding a wrist cock.

I realize that a proper wrist cock will add distance, but with me, thinking about the wrist cock invariably led to breaking my left wrist forward (flipping the wrist, I play right-handed) and inconsistent striking and disastrous loss of distance. I went from a 100 the previous week to an 86 yesterday on the same course.

Bill

Hi Bill, so are you saying that you only cup the right and not cock it? That's an interesting point because I also encounter lots of problems with my wrists once I try to cock them, leading to over-active wrists mainly. I wonder how crucial is the cocking of the wrists actually, while we all know that cupping of the right wrist is essential.

I too have problems with cocking of the wrist. when I do I play army golf, you know, left left left right left. so I too keep from cocking of the wrist. It doesn't look rite but I hit the ball solid and very consistently. I guess the object of the game is to get in the hole. Not the perfect swing. use what works on the course. at the range I do continue to try to get the wrist cock down and working.

Simon,

Whatever right-hand cup I have at address ("Hello, ball" ) is what I try to maintain with no additional left wrist cock. I realize that more cocking of the left wrist will, ideally, mean more distance. However, at my level of ability, any attention to additional cocking/cupping correlates with poor striking/distance. I know that shouldn't be, but I don't have the hours to put into practice or the money to pay for lessons.

My concentration is on keeping my left wrist firm so that I don't flip it. My striking is more consistent and my distance is acceptable (about 140 yards with a 7i; 220-240 driver including roll). Perhaps later I will venture down the cocking/cupping road, but my concentrating on the firm left wrist allows me to play the game enjoyably.

Best,
Bill

Ah, just the discussion for which I was looking. I realized that I have been cocking the wrists very late in my swing and tried to remedy that this week. What a difference. Cocking the wrists early really helps with lag and ultimately power. Of course the problem I am having is timing of the wrist cock. Where in the swing to begin the cock, how fast, etc.

So, I would like some more discussion on the wrist cock. How to think about it, how to time it, problems that may crop up. I for one chunked more shots than usual and while I eliminated some of my blocked shots, when I did block a shot it when way right. But, I definitely like the feel of an earliear wrist cock. I was cocking at the very end before.

Wrist cock should come naturally as long as you dont DEATH grip the club!!!

Even tiger just lets it happen naturally, you dont want to FORCE anything in the golf swing.

I agree. Since my post above a few months ago, I don't consciously think about the wrist cock at all. I naturally have some, but the more conscious stuff I bring into my swing, the more tension it brings with it. And we know what tension does to a golf swing.

On the other hand, if you have a lot of time to develop a good change to you swing and can ingrain it till it becomes second nature, then you will overcome the tension, it would seem. I don't have that kind of time.

Hope you the best.

Bill

If you make a controlled takeaway then just allow the butt end of the club to trace the projected ball to target line during the back and down swing, your wrists will cock and uncock without any need to think about it and you will stay on the correct path and plane..

Hi all,

Yesterday I was watching the tour professionals at the practice tee during two hours and a big amount of them were sometimes stopping the backswing at hip height or weist height and pay full attention on their wrists, hands and club position.

This position must be critical, don't you think so?

Toni.

I have to disagree with this statement. Why is it natural to cock the wrists earlier in the swing? I noticed the people with whom I regularly play with don't do it properly. One in particular was doing as I, cocking the wrists at the end of the swing. If all of the movements we talk about were natural we would all be pros and wouldn't need any instruction. Once we are conscious of cocking the wrists earlier it only looks natural when we practice it and make it part of our swings.

Hi Jamb,

Yes! But sometimes we get into problems by ignoring some of the natural movements due to the wide range of conflicting information given in golf.

An example of wrist cock and release:

Take a driver and hold it just below the head in your right hand. Put a piece of mud or plasticine on the end of the shaft, then swing back and through with your right hand in an effort to flick the mud off the end of the shaft.

You will probably have cocked and uncocked your wrists in perfect timing to create maximum head speed. Also, what did you do with your wrist as the shaft reached maximum speed?

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Best Regards
Brian

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