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Do YOU release the golf club?

Do you release the club?

  • I deliberately release the club

    Votes: 10 38.5%

  • The club releases by itself

    Votes: 16 61.5%
  • Total voters
    26
Khamelion said:
From what I am being taught and Bob is going to tell me otherwise, but none the less:-

  1. On take away club goes back to waist height.
  2. At waist height, you hinge your wrists and continue your back swing.
  3. Down swing starts and you drop the club, the feeling is the club head is behind you and your right elbow tucks in at the wasit.
  4. You then start your hip turn with your left hip (for right handed golfers) starting to pull back and your left leg starting to straighten, back of left shoulder still pointing at target.
  5. With club now lagging behind, the butt is pointing at 1 o'clock of target.
  6. Arms swing through and wrists unhinge at the ball, impact.
  7. Left leg straight, heel planted, left arm straight, club face square.
  8. On follow through club head feels as if it is going out to 1 o'clock.

The unhinging of the wrists is my understanding of release, the longer the club the earlier you have to do it.

Although all the points above are listed, it all happens so fast the result feels simultaneous, it's getting all points in order and getting the synchronicity correct. Points 5, 6 and 7 happen almost together.
Click to expand...

Why do you want the clubhead to be going out to 1:00 o clock in the follow through. It should be returning to around 11:00 o clock. Doing what you suggest will promote hooks, pushes, shanks, thins, tops and all manner of poor ball striking.
 
Last edited:
Ok i didnt Vote as im not really sure exactly what or where the release happens.....

But..... This is what i think it may be........ When i first started my lessons i had an out to in swingpath...... Roughly swinging 5 o clock to 10 or 11 o clock on a clock face......

My pro in trying to get me swinging properly and swining in to out wanted my to feel like i was swinging from 7 o clock to 1 o clock and Feel like im turning the club head over through the shot..... I think this is maybe what the OP is asking of everyone......

If this is whats supposed to happen then its exactly what im struggling with.......I find it very hard to get that club out to 1 o clock and finish high.... Iv always had a shortened finish with the swing before the lessons......

I struggle with thins, shanks and Pushes....All being my bad shots...... If i try not to swing to 1 o clock i feel like im swinging the way i did before the lessons and i get the pulls and snap hooks.....

So before everyone jumps down the OP's throat for asking about release...Maybe he is effectively trying to change a swingpath.....Where the club goes from open to square to closed in the swing which i think is what the term release means.....

Then again i could be talking *****.....:ooo:
 
SocketRocket said:
Why do you want the clubhead to be going out to 1:00 o clock in the follow through. It should be returning to around 11:00 o clock. Doing what you suggest will promote hooks, pushes, shanks, thins, tops and all manner of poor ball striking.
Click to expand...

It's a feeling that the club heads out to 1 o'clock, this is what i'm being taught, not saying that it works for everyone, but for me feeling like the club is behind me on the down swing and feeling like I'm putting the club out to 1 o'clock on the follow through is helping me with my in to out swing path.
 
Khamelion said:
From what I am being taught and Bob is going to tell me otherwise, but none the less:-

  1. On take away club goes back to waist height.
  2. At waist height, you hinge your wrists and continue your back swing.
  3. Down swing starts and you drop the club, the feeling is the club head is behind you and your right elbow tucks in at the wasit.
  4. You then start your hip turn with your left hip (for right handed golfers) starting to pull back and your left leg starting to straighten, back of left shoulder still pointing at target.
  5. With club now lagging behind, the butt is pointing at 1 o'clock of target.
  6. Arms swing through and wrists unhinge at the ball, impact.
  7. Left leg straight, heel planted, left arm straight, club face square.
  8. On follow through club head feels as if it is going out to 1 o'clock.

The unhinging of the wrists is my understanding of release, the longer the club the earlier you have to do it.

Although all the points above are listed, it all happens so fast the result feels simultaneous, it's getting all points in order and getting the synchronicity correct. Points 5, 6 and 7 happen almost together.
Click to expand...

I believe points 3 and 4 should be in the reverse order.

Downswing 'driven from ground up' (Pete Cowen's Spiral Staircase) or at least hips before arms. Arms before hips tends to promote any or some of the following faults - early release, casting, OTT, getting stuck.

I actually agree with what you are saying about 1 o'Clock - for an in-to-out seing.. But it's a feeling rather than reality. In reality, it's travelling on an arc toards 11 or even 10 o'clock, which is why it ends up over the left shoulder..
 
Last edited:
I currently swing very much from the inside (between 6 and 7) and exit around 11. My pro and I have been working on this, when I approach at 6 and exit between 11 and 12, this results in a nice powerful draw. It feels as if I am cutting across the ball with an open face but actually I am coming from the inside and squaring up, thus using all the clubs loft at impact rather than de-lofting it.

I used to exit around 1pm but I entered at around 8 and this did not work for me, even now if I exit at 1 I hit a bad shot. I need to aim to exit between 11 and 12 and enter just inside 6.

Everyone is different, maybe I am an odd one out but it works for me and I trust my pro based on they way I am improving.
 
Last edited:
Khamelion said:
It's a feeling that the club heads out to 1 o'clock, this is what i'm being taught, not saying that it works for everyone, but for me feeling like the club is behind me on the down swing and feeling like I'm putting the club out to 1 o'clock on the follow through is helping me with my in to out swing path.
Click to expand...


This is exactly the way im being though Pal...... I understand exactly what your trying to ask the Forum...... For me this is the hardest part of all..... Im 6 months into the changes and it still feels awkward....Its so tempting to go back to the way i was before but then that would be a waste of time and money........
I think we have to go from one extreme ( out to in ) to the other ( In to Out ) before there is a happy middle ground found....
Its not easy though !
 
Seems like my OP is shrouded in mystery.

The only reason I started a topic about release is because there are so many different thoughts out there (i.e. google land) about it including;

1. It's the breaking down of the wrist angle- vital for longer clubs, particularly slicers.
2. It's the breaking down of the wrist angle- don't do it!
3. It's the breaking down of the wrist angle- it happens naturally
4. It's the turning over of the club
etc.
etc.

I hit my irons very well but have so far spent a year playing golf, owned 7 driving clubs (drivers and 3 woods) had 4 driving lessons, watched 10,000 videos and only last weekend did I manage to work out how to hit my 3 wood straight out the sweet-spot.

How did I do this? After my downswing transition, I forced my club to catch up with my hands. This felt 'flippy' which I know is bad, but I don't reckon that I am actually getting flippy, but a video session next week will reveal. I'm also hitting the ball farther than ever.

Is this a 'release'? I don't know..... but what I do know is that I'd like to learn more about 'release' as up until now I've been told that it's a dirty word, something to not think about and have even been told that we should never release the club.
 
Foxholer said:
I believe points 3 and 4 should be in the reverse order.

Downswing 'driven from ground up' (Pete Cowen's Spiral Staircase) or at least hips before arms. Arms before hips tends to promote any or some of the following faults - early release, casting, OTT, getting stuck.

I actually agree with what you are saying about 1 o'Clock - for an in-to-out seing.. But it's a feeling rather than reality. In reality, it's travelling on an arc toards 11 or even 10 o'clock, which is why it ends up over the left shoulder..
Click to expand...

I should have a 2a in there, in that the down swing starts with a very slight lateral movement of the left hip and shoulder towards the target, it then after this movement that the club starts the downswing with the right arm tucking in.
 
Khamelion said:
From what I am being taught and Bob is going to tell me otherwise, but none the less:-

  1. On take away club goes back to waist height.
  2. At waist height, you hinge your wrists and continue your back swing.
  3. Down swing starts and you drop the club, the feeling is the club head is behind you and your right elbow tucks in at the wasit.
  4. You then start your hip turn with your left hip (for right handed golfers) starting to pull back and your left leg starting to straighten, back of left shoulder still pointing at target.
  5. With club now lagging behind, the butt is pointing at 1 o'clock of target.
  6. Arms swing through and wrists unhinge at the ball, impact.
  7. Left leg straight, heel planted, left arm straight, club face square.
  8. On follow through club head feels as if it is going out to 1 o'clock.

The unhinging of the wrists is my understanding of release, the longer the club the earlier you have to do it.

Although all the points above are listed, it all happens so fast the result feels simultaneous, it's getting all points in order and getting the synchronicity correct. Points 5, 6 and 7 happen almost together.
Click to expand...


What is this - the bible of the golf swing ! Says who ?
There are numerous other ways to swing and hit a golf club. You can mix and match most of those movements in any order you want
Cock your wrists to start the swing, or cock at the top of back swing, or cock them to create lad during the downswing, or don't cock them at all.
Ec etc etc
 
sev112 said:
What is this - the bible of the golf swing ! Says who ?
There are numerous other ways to swing and hit a golf club. You can mix and match most of those movements in any order you want
Cock your wrists to start the swing, or cock at the top of back swing, or cock them to create lad during the downswing, or don't cock them at all.
Ec etc etc
Click to expand...

No its not a bible of golf swing, and everyone swings differently, but if you watch the pros, what I put above pretty much matches up the fundamentals of their swing, regardless of idiosyncrisies, quirks or personal traits.
 
I would say the release is a position around two feet past impact where both arms are fully extended and the clubface is as far away from your head as possible.
 
SocketRocket said:
I would say the release is a position around two feet past impact where both arms are fully extended and the clubface is as far away from your head as possible.
Click to expand...

The release is getting the club face back to square ready for impact, most golfers do not need to think about it as for most it happens naturally, but for some it a thought path that has to be grooved in to become second nature.

Me for instance I got the release after impact and I was hitting the ball with an open club face, however through practice and drills I can for the most part get the release timed for impact and have the club face back to square.
 
99% of the time I just swing the club but on the odd occasion when I feel that I've got ahead of the ball/swing I quicken the hand action to allow the club to catch up... force the release(?).
 
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