Release the Golf Club for Downswing Dynamics – Old School Style
Somewhere in the last decades we were supposed to be afraid of club rotation. I think this train of thought inhibits the ability to release the golf club.
What if we aren’t supposed to really “control” club rotation. What if the club doesn’t really want to be controlled? What if it’s controlled in a completely different way?
The golf club release is the most complex term in golf. It’s non granular and it comes in different variations.
I’ll use the old school release as a reference point for the below statements.
Releasing the golf club means that you unleash your power dynamics of the hands. In the beginning o the downswing the hands move quicker than the clubhead which induces a lag angle. this together with trail hand flexion and humerus (+foreram) rotation has stored power in your swing arc.
The whole point of the old school golf swing is to release the club in relation to these angles. This also creates a relative braking mechanism of the hands in relation to the clubhead and this is what you want.
And the sooner you can do it the more you can enjoy the interplay of the momentum and your body.
See this as your input speed into your swing arc engine. I think about my swing like a big circle around myself and try to apply power intentions (release intentions) early so that this input speed can be harnessed for acceleration later in the swing arc.
Back to the question – what if club rotation is controlled in another way?
If you release the club you will create a over rotating club head. I call this unleashing the beast. Well you can tame this beast in different ways than you think. You can direct and guide it in the follow through to apply a layer of blade control without strangling the power.
Long story short – unleash the club and the angles with speed and make them work way past the golf ball. Voila – the old school power dynamics experience.
This is at the core of my teaching:
Check out the Forgotten Master Moves homepage here.
The FMM Project – the swing style that I teach – has it’s overview page here.