The last 20 years or so has been the ‘dark ages’ of golf instruction as we were all sold many bad, misleading, and even dangerous ideas.
‘Hold the lag!’
‘Flat left wrist at impact.’
‘Stretch the X-factor.’
Thankfully computing speed has advanced so much since then that we can now conduct meaningful scientific studies into the truth with force plates, 3d imaging, electronic grips that measure forces, etc.
The Mike Austin concept of ‘throw the clubhead from the top’ which was echoed by Jack Nicklaus has been validated.
All this time while others have been trying to maintain lag or drag the handle, I’ve been desperately trying to throw away lag as early as possible.
Mike used to share a great story about how he went into the pro shop as an 11 year old on a rainy day, and asked the head pro for a lesson. The pro said, “See that mashie niblick over there. Take it out to that mud bank and bury the head of it in there. But if you come back with mud on your sleeve I’ll kick you right in the rump!”
I’ve recreated that feeling with an exercise I use all the time with my students to train them to throw the clubhead freely past the hands without pulling it. Mike called that ‘stabbing the beast’ or ‘ringing the church bell.’
Here is a video detailing that great drill to help you feel the correct release and its proper timing. Watch:
NO, it’s not a cast as soon as you combine it with the Austin pivot. The left arm will get advanced into the ball by the turning torso while you uncock the wrists and throw. It only appears to be a cast when it is isolated!
With this free release method, Trackman numbers start coming out optimally too. Your angle of attack will turn more upwards, your ball speed will spike (even if you were hitting dead center before) about 2-4 mph, your launch will go up while your spin rate goes down. Here is a great example:
This is just about as long and straight as a golf ball can be hit in neutral conditions at this clubhead speed.
You’ve got everything here: super high smash, high launch from upwards AoA, and low spin from getting squared up on time. On video, this student showed very little excessive face rotation through the impact zone. In otherwords, the numbers above were not fluky or by accident.
I’ve seen scratch golfers go up over 30 yards by simply getting them to release properly – without adding clubhead speed!
Whatever speed my students swing at, you can bet they will be near the top of the optimal distance chart. And none of them will have mud on their sleeves!