Casting / Early Release

Can anyone suggest an awesome drill, aid, or swing-thought to help me develop a better release? I've only been playing about 2 years and I've been fighting an uphill battle against casting. At times, I've had a reverse-pivot issue and I've managed to fix that.....I've also had a sway in my backswing which I've also managed to fix. My hope was that fixing those two problems would help the release but it hasn't.

I've tried Greg's right-hand drill...I've tried the pump drill...I've tried putting a headcover 12 inches behind my ball so I have to avoid hitting it...I've read several books and watched several DVDs and have worked hard at implementing what I've seen...I've taken individual lessons and group lessons and had my swing videotaped...I've tried weighted clubs....I've tried the speed stik...I've tried going back to basics (posture, grip, alignment...slow, half-swings working hard on proper wrist hinge)....I've searched this forum and have gotten some good tips ("how I went from casting to having lag - Detonum", "I used to cast...but now - trob2034"..."I need a drill for later release - Mariner" etc) but nothing has sunk into my thick skull.

It's driving me crazy. It's weird... To loosen up, I've swung left-handed and I don't have the problem. I assume it's the result of my hitting thousands of balls the wrong way (right-handed) and never having swung left-handed. If I thought I could switch and play left-handed, I would. I'm frustrated and sick of the problem.

Sorry for the rant but I feel like this is really holding back my ability to shoot decent scores...any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance. This forum is really the greatest. I've picked more great tips than I can keep track of.


- Andy

Look at my post in tiger woods thread "golf swing and the hips". I am by no means an expert. I am sure plenty of people will say I don't know what I am talking about. But read my post and the article to which I linked. Casting is a hard nut to crack. I am a two-plane swinger as are most amateurs so my advice works best for two-planers. Jim Flick, a top instructor, will tell you to use your arms to turn your body but I think he is a one-plane swing instructor. Using your arms to start your downswing in my opinion opens one up to casting.

A few things you can try:
1. Keeping the grip light, don't jerk the club down from the top, just let it come along with the uncoiling.
2. Drill: The pump drill: If you tried this drill and it isn't working, you aren't doing it right. Take the club to the top and stop; now, allow the club to drop into the slot until the shaft is parallel to the ground and stop. You should see a flat left wrist and a right wrist bent back. That is the position you want.
Take you address again, take the club back to the top and allow it to drop until club is parallel to the ground. Back to the top and back to parallel again, on the third time, go ahead and hit the ball, keeping the lag position of the hands then releasing at impact.
3. Drill: Butt end first: Take your 7 iron and swing to the top then on the way back down feel the butt end of the club leading the way and pointing down the target line. This creates lag and delays the release.

Jambalaya: thanks for the information. I'm going to check out the post you suggested. I think I agree with you. I have been trying to trigger the downswing with a slight hip movement, and a weight shift to the left and I'm trying to keep the hands/arms fairly passive at the start but it's proving to be a lot harder than I thought. I know it takes time but I wish I knew how much time.

Takinitdeep: thanks to you also. When I said the 'pump drill' didn't work, I didn't mean it wasn't a good drill. I'm able to do the drill and hit some decent shots with a really good snap and it feels like the release is much better. It just doesn't stay with me very long...I get out to the course and I'm back to casting. I do find myself tightening my grip on occasion so your #1 tip is a good one...I'll try that as well as the others.

Thank you both for taking the time to reply. - Andy

I struggled with this like you. The one thing that helped me was learning to cock my wrists with the clockwise rotation of my right forearm. Whenever I think about just my wrists I find the club to be unsupported at the top. That "weakness" at the top usually leads to my bad swings.

Thanks. That does help. So as you swing down into the ball, do you
also think about the forearm rotation vs. the wrists uncocking?

Thanks again.

I have suggested this set of videos to a number of people. I think it gives a clear understanding to how best get the club down and released with assistance from the hips. Give it a look.

http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction...593284,00.html

Yes and no. I want my forearm rotation after impact. If you think about rotating counter clockwise on the way down you'll probably over rotate. When you go back properly, the club should feel "light". That makes it possible to keep your wrists solid (cocked) into impact. Your hip turn or "O Factor" will square the clubface.

Thanks Brian. Those are nice videos!

The videos don't seem to work for me , but I went through the gallerys and that seems really good . Going to try that out on the range. I normally start my down swing with my arms, so hopefully this should improve my ball striking and accuracy.

Starting consciously with your arms can easily produce casting and OTT swing path. Let the hips start the downswing, this will naturally bring the right shoulder and arms down on the inside path. Hogan showed us this 50 years ago.

I do thin my shots too much for my liking. Could this be due to casting?

Thinned shots will be caused by lifting. This will be either raising your spine angle or loosing knee flex in the downswing. Work on creating and maintaining a squat position in the downswing and not looking up too early through impact.

As I understand it, the terms
"casting" and "early release" do
not stand for the same thing.
Casting takes place at the top
of the backswing and it is a
flawed first move of the hands
down. Early release can occur
when the hands are about knee
high on the downswing.

Thanks...leaving the hands passive on the way down sounds so simple but for me, it's not. I understand the need to do it that way but I am struggling to control the hit impulse.

Can you elaborate on the point you made about the proper grip? I honestly feel as though I'm gripping the club pretty well in terms of where the club is in my hands/fingers, the amount of pressure I'm holding the club with, and in terms of how my hands are positioned (weak vs. strong grip).

Thanks again - Andy