Arm, Wrist and Hand Movements in the Downswing

Golf Master Tips, Arm Wrist and Hand Movements in the Downswing - In the early downswing, the arms are passive and the entire power package (loaded left arm flying wedge and loaded right forearm flying wedge and right shoulder) gets pulled down to waist level as a result of the pelvic shift-rotation movement that initiates the downswing. 

One can see that phenomenon happening in Stuart Appleby's downswing images - see above. Note, in image 3, that the right elbow is still bent at a right angle, and note that the right forearm is still at right angles to the left arm flying wedge. 

Arm, Wrist and Hand Movements in the Downswing

For the power package to remain intact, the right shoulder must be actively moving downplane and the right upper arm must be actively adducted towards the right side of the torso, so that the right elbow can reach its pitch position in front of the right hip - image 4. 

Swing power is generated during the early downswing (images 1-3) by the pivoting torso, which pulls the left arm downwards-and-forwards towards the ball. PA#4 release occurs in the mid-late downswing (images 3-5) and during this release phase (unloading of PA#4) the passive/inert left arm has enough energy to freewheeltowards impact, and through impact to the end of the followthrough. 

The passive/freewheeling left arm pulls the club, which releases passively via a centrifugal action (release of PA#2) - image 4/5. In the late downswing, the left arm passively externally rotates and the left forearm passively supinates, so that the flat left wrist faces the target by impact (release of PA#3) - image 5. 

The swiveling of the straight left forearm and flat left wrist/hand into impact is called the release swivel action, and it occurs passively/naturally/automatically. A golfer doesn't have to contrive/force this phenomenon to happen, because the left arm naturally wants to swivel back to its neutral position - the natural position of the left arm when it hangs naturally in front of the left shoulder at address. In the neutral position, the left arm is neither internally rotated or externally rotated, and the left forearm is neither supinated or pronated. Image 5 shows Stuart Appleby's left arm/forearm in its neutral position at impact.

During the mid-late downswing, the right elbow must straighten with enough active isotonic force, so that the right hand can keep up with the left hand - images 4/5. During this phase of the downswing, the right palm is applying a small amount of push-pressure on the left thumb at PP#1 to keep the left arm straight (extensor action). 

However, the right arm must not straighten excessively fast in the mid-late downswing, so that it forces the left hand/grip to move faster than the left arm is already pulling the left hand/grip downwards-and-forwards towards impact. 

This is a critical point! The left arm/hand has already acquired enough energy to move at the "correct" speed during the mid-late downswing, and a golfer doesn't need to apply an additional push-force with the right arm/hand to move the grip end of the club at a faster speed. 

If a left arm swinger has an irrepresible urge to use the right arm in the mid-late downswing to speed up the movement of the grip end of the club by applying an additional push-force (at PP#1), then it usually signifies that the left arm was not moving adequately fast due to an inefficient pivot action. 

A left swinger swinger must correct this problem by improving his pivot-drive action so that PA#4 is released with sufficient force, so that the inert/passive left arm has enough energy to freewheel through the impact zone without any need for an additional push-force.

View this left arm-only swinger's video again if you need a visual reminder of an excellent left arm swinger's pivot-drive action - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUTk7m5PozQ

That left arm-only swinger doesn't need a right arm to supply an additional push-force to the grip end the club in the downswing. His left arm is pulling the left hand/grip end of the club sufficiently fast through the impact zone - due to a very efficient release of PA#4 that is secondary to his very efficient pivot-drive action.

So, what should the right arm be doing in the mid-late downswing and followthrough from a swing power perspective?

Ben Hogan, in his book [3], used an analogy that can give a left arm swinger a "feeling" of what the two arms/hands should be "feeling" in the mid-late downswing and followthrough.

Two-handed basketball pass - from reference number [3] 

Ben Hogan stated that when a person performs a two-handed pass of a basketball from the right side of the body towards a target placed about 10' in front of the body, that the person should "feel" that the left hand is moving at exactly the same speed as the right hand.

Ben Hogan used this "two handed basketball pass" analogy to state that the left hand must hit as hard as the right hand through the impact zone.

I prefer to not think of the left hand's action as a "hit" action. Imagine the above analogy with a slight difference - imagine that there is a 6" cloth strap handle attached to the front of the ball (attached at the two ends of the 6" cloth strap) and that the ball thrower could slide his left hand under the strap - see curved red line added to the above diagram. 

Then, he would experience a sensation of the left hand pulling the ball when he pivots his torso counterclockwise to the left and throws the ball towards the target. To perform the throw action with maximum fluidity/efficiency, the right arm/hand must be simultaneously pushing on the back side of the ball with enough push-force so that the thrower never experiences the "feeling" that the ball is being pulled forward faster (by the left hand) than it is being pushed forward (by the right hand). In other words, while the left hand is pulling the ball, the right hand must be pushing the ball and the forces need to be relatively balanced for the throw action to be maximally smooth.

I believe that a left arm swinger should experience the same "feeling" in the late downswing and followthrough - the "feeling" that the left hand is pulling the grip end of the club (due to the release of PA#4), but that the right hand is pushing against the left hand/grip (at PP#1) with enough push-force so that the right hand can always keep up with the left hand. 

I previously used the term "switting" in my review paper on How to Power the Golf Swing, and the word implies that the swinger is trying to produce more swing power by adding an additional push-force to the swing with the right arm/hand - beyond the push-force needed to allow the right hand to keep up with the left hand. 

The term "switting" does not mean that a left arm swinger should not use any right arm/hand push-force in the downswing, because an efficient downswing action requires the right arm to straighten with enough isotonic force in the late downswing to allow the right hand to always keep up with the left hand.

It is actually quite surprising how fast the right arm must straighten in the late downswing and followthrough to allow the right hand to keep up with the left hand as the hands pass through the impact zone.

In fact, some golfers do not move their right shoulder far/fast enough downplane and/or do not straighten their right arm fast/actively enough to ensure that the right hand keeps up with the left hand. The end-result is that the right palm loses contact with the left thumb/grip (at PP#1) in the early followthrough.

Phil Mickelson as a right-handed golfer - due to reversing the capture image obtained from a swing video

Considering Phil Mickelson as a right-handed golfer, note that Phil Mickelson's right palm has lost contact with the left hand/grip. The reason is that his left hand is moving leftwards so fast (during the followthrough phase of horizontal hinging) that the right hand cannot keep up with the left hand - despite the fact that the right shoulder has moved downplane and the right arm has fully straightened. The same phenomenon can be seen in VJ Singh's and Fred Couples' swings. Why does it happen?

In my swing video lesson, I demonstrate (using badminton racquets) how fast, and how far, the left hand moves inside-left in the followthrough if a left arm swinger uses horizontal hinging.

Author demonstrating the natural movement of the left arm during the followthrough - capture images from his swing video lesson

In this composite photograph, I am using a badminton raquet to demontrate the natural movement of the left arm during the followthrough phase of the swing. I am standing erect for demonstration purposes, and I have placed a clear sheet of rigid plastic in my left armpit. 

The rigid plastic sheet represents (symbolically) a vertical hinge in my left shoulder socket, and a reader needs to imagine that the left arm moves inside-left during the followthrough phase of the swing - as if there is vertical hinge joint in the left shoulder socket joint. 

During this movement of the left arm, the left upper arm/left forearm/flat left wrist and clubface move at thesame rpm. That means that the back of the flat left wrist remains vertical to the ground during the followthrough phase of the swing. At the end of the followthrough, when the toe of the club is pointing upwards and the clubface is parallel (or close to parallel) to the ball-target line, the back of the flat left wrist will be vertical and parallel (or close to parallel) to the ball-target line - image 3. 

Note that there is no independent rotation of the left forearm during the followthrough phase of the swing. If the left forearm supinated/rotated independently during the followthrough phase of the swing - independent of the left upper arm's rotary movement in the left shoulder socket - then the back of the flat left wrist would face the ground soon after impact. 

That phenomenon should neverhappen during the followthrough phase of the swing, and it only happens during the finish swivel phase of the swing (which only happens after the followthrough phase is completed).

Note how far the left hand has moved inside-left during the followthrough phase of the swing - from its position in image 1 to its position in image 3. A golfer needs to realise that the right hand has to move the same distance in the same period of time.

Author demonstrating the movement of the right hand during the followthrough phase of the swing - capture images from his swing video lesson

At impact (image 1), the left wrist is flat and the right wrist is bent (the two badminton racquet faces should actually be parallel to each other at impact). Image 2 shows the position of the left hand at the end of the followthrough phase of the swing - if a golfer uses a natural horizontal hinging action.

Images 3 and 4 show the range/amount of movement of the right shoulder, right arm and right hand that is required during the followthrough phase of the swing. In other words, the right hand has to move fast/far to get to the end of the followthrough with a slightly bent right wrist (which is desirable), and the right shoulder must move very actively under the chin to ensure that the golfer doesn't run-out-of-right arm. 

If the right shoulder doesn't move far/fast enough due to a slightly sluggish post-impact pivot action and/or if the right arm doesn't straighten fully post-impact, then the right hand will not be able to keep up with the left hand (as can be seen in the Phil Mickelson photo demonstration) or the right wrist will passively straighten in the late followthrough. 

It is acceptable, although not necessarily desirable, to allow the right wrist to passively straighten in the late followthrough, as long as it doesn't prematurely straighten through impact. If the right wrist straightens prematurely, prior to impact, it will produce flipping of the clubshaft. 

A golfer must always avoid flipping by ensuring that the right wristnever straightens pre-impact, during impact or immediately post-impact, and he must ensure that any passive right wrist straightening (if any) only occurs in thelate followthrough.

Some golf instructors incorrectly advise golfers to actively straighten the right wrist through impact.

Laird Small's power release idea

Laird Small is a top-100 golf instructor, who incorrectly believes that the right wrist must actively straighten through impact - see his "key move" in the above photo from Golf Magazine. He believes that a golfer must actively slap the ball with the right hand to release the club properly. 

I think that he is 100% wrong! A golfer should never use that active slap hinge action during impact. First of all, it requires perfect timing to avoid flipping through impact, and secondarily, it doesn't really add any power to the swing.

So, how should a golfer execute what Laird Small calls a "power release"?
The word "release" is one of the most confusing concepts in the world of golf instruction, and if you ask 10 golf instructors what they mean by the term "release", you will likely get 10 different answers.

I will explain what I mean by the term "release".  There are two factors to consider during the "release" action - the movement of the clubshaft and the movement of the arms/forearms/wrists/hands.

There is little controversy regarding the appropriate release of the clubshaft. Virtually all golf instructors believe that the clubshaft should centrifugally release in the late downswing (due to the passive release of PA#2) in a swinger's action, so that the clubshaft becomes straight-in-line with the left arm soon after impact. 

However, major disagreements exist among golf instructors regarding the biomechanical actions needed to induce the "release" phenomenon.


Consider Hank Haney's (another top 100 golf instructor) opinion regarding the "release" action.

Hank Haney's opinion regarding the right hand's "release" action - from reference number [2]

In his recent book [3], Hank Haney makes the following statement with reference to the right hand - "the right hand should be fully released through the ball in order to achieve the most solid and powerful hit". I think that he is totally wrong for many reasons. First of all, he demonstrates a downcocking motion of the right wrist as representing the "appropriate" right hand release action. 

However, I believe that the right wrist should never be in an upcocked position in the latedownswing - just prior to impact. The right wrist should only be dorsiflexed (bent backwards) at that time point in the late downswing. Secondly, the right wrist should never straighten through impact (as suggested by Laird Small) because that would predispose to flipping if the timing-of-right hand release is incorrect. Thirdly, there is very little potential power in the release of the right hand, because the bent right wrist should not be thought of as a power accumulator, that can generate swing power when released.

Swing power is generated by the release of one-or-more of the four power accumulators - PA#4 (release of the left arm through the pivot-drive action); PA#2 (centrifugal release of the club through the passive uncocking of the left wrist); PA#3 (roll-over of the left hand through impact) and PA#1 (release of the bent right elbow). 

 In other words, the "release" phenomenon should be thought of as the release of swing power through biomechanical actions, and those biomechanical actions involve biomechanical movements at the level of the left shoulder socket (release of PA#4), left wrist (passive release of PA#2), left forearm (release of PA#3) and right elbow (release of PA#1). 

There is no "release" phenomenon involving the right wrist, which should remain bent through impact. It is only acceptable to allow the right wrist to passively straighten in the late followthrough, and it should never actively (or passively) straighten during impact or immediately post-impact. 

The endpoint for the complete release of the four power accumulators is the end of the followthrough (when both arms are straight - position 3 in the next upcoming photo of Aaron Baddeley's swing).

I think that Hank Haney, like many top 100 golf instructors, is also wrong regarding the biomechanics involved in the release of PA#3.

The release of PA#3 is the roll-over of the left hand into impact. At impact, the back of the flat left wrist/hand must be vertical and level and facing the target. To get to that position, the flat left wrist/hand must undergo a roughly 90 degree rotation as the club moves from the delivery position (third parallel) to the impact position, and this represents the release swivel action.

Release swivel phase (1-2) and followthrough phase (2-3) of Aaron Baddeley's swing - capture image from his swing video

The release swivel phase of the downswing occurs between position 1 and position 2 in the above photo. During this time period, the clubshaft is releasing and becoming more straight-in-line with the left arm due to a passive uncocking action involving the left wrist (release of PA#2). However, the clubshaft is also rotating so that the clubface will face the target at impact. 

The major biomechanical action causing the roughly 90 degree rotation of the clubface and the back of the flat left wrist/hand is a left forearm supinatory movement. In other words, the rotary movement is primarily happening at the level of the left forearm, and the fulcrum of the movement occurs at the level of the left elbow. 

The left radius bone rotates (swivels) over the left ulna bone, and that action represents the left forearm supinatory action. The endpoint for the left forearm supinatory movement occurs at impact - when the left forearm is in its neutral position (when the left forearm is neither supinated or pronated from its natural/neutral position). There should be no further supination of the left forearm beyond its neutral position during the immediate post-impact phase of the followthrough.

Many golf instructors, like Hank Haney, seemingly believe that the left forearm must continue to supinate (beyond its neutral position) post-impact.

Here is Hank Haney's description from his recent book [2].

Hank Haney demonstrating the the release action involving the left hand - from reference number [2]

Hank Haney states in his recent book [2] with reference to the above photo sequence - "b. Hinge the left wrist as you swing back. c. Square the back of your left hand at impact. d. Your left hand continues to supinate through the ball."

I believe that Hank Haney is wrong about the left hand continuing to supinate after impact. If the left hand continued to supinate after impact, then the back of the left hand would face more groundwards - because supination is a rotary movement involving the left forearm, where there is independent left forearm motion occurring below left elbow level. 

However, that independent left forearm supinatory motion doesn't happen in a good golfer's followthrough. What actually happens is that the left upper arm, left forearm, flat left wrist/hand rotate at the same rpm (as a single unit) due to external rotation of the left humerus in the left shoulder socket, while the left shoulder socket is moving inside-left after impact - and this action is called a horizontal hinging action. 

During a horizontal hinging action, the back of the flat left wrist/hand should remain vertical to the ground, and it should never face groundwards (which would predispose to duck-hooked shots if a golfer's timing was off).

I suspect that Hank Haney, like many other golf instructors, acquired this "belief about a supinating left wrist" from Ben Hogan's groundbreaking golf instructional book [3] where Hogan described what he thought was happening to his left hand through impact.

Hogan's left hand supination diagram - from reference number [3]

Hogan thought that his left hand continued to supinate post-impact, and he produced the above diagram showing the back of the left wrist/hand facing slightlygroundwards during the post-impact followthrough phase of the swing. 

Although Hogan described the "rotary feeling" as a supination action, his flat left wrist/hand actually remained vertical to the ground when he employed a horizontal hinging action. Hogan also used the term "supination" when referring to his left wrist at impact, but that arched position of the left wrist (where the wrist bones are raised) is due to the wrist being in a state of palmar flexion, and not a state of supination. Supination is a left forearm action, and not a left wrist action. 

The left wrist's positional alignment is not affected by the biomechanical action of supination - and the left wrist and left hand are affected equally by a left forearm supination action, because the supination action involves the rotation of the forerarm radius bone around the longitudinal axis of the forearm ulna bone.

Hogan's left hand movement through impact - from reference number [6]

It is difficult to find good quality photos of Ben Hogan's left hand movement during the followthrough phase of his swing, and the above photograph is the "best" photo that I have ever found.

Note that he is using a horizontal hinging action during the followthrough phase of his swing - note that the toe of his club is pointing straight-up and note that the clubface is horizontal to the ground. Most importantly, note that the back of his flat left wrist/hand is vertical to the ground, and he has not supinated his left hand beyond its neutral position - note that the radial border of his left forearm is facing skywards (and not leftwards). 

However, the left hand has continued to rotate post-impact due to a horizontal hinging action, which happens, from a biomechanical perspective, at the level of the left shoulder socket - and where the entire left upper arm, left forearm and flat left wrist/hand rotate at the same rpm. There is no independent supination of the left forearm, which would be disadvantageous, because it could produce over-rolling of the left hand and predispose to duck-hooked shots if a golfer's timing was off.

I have never previously discussed the issue of "timing" in my previous review papers, but "timing" is of critical importance in a left arm swinger's swing action.

There are two terms that require a precise definition - "tempo" and "rhythm" - and I will describe my use of those two terms from a golf instructional perspective.

I believe that the term "tempo" refers to the overall speed of the swing - how long it takes a golfer to complete the backswing and/or downswing. Golfers who have a fast tempo complete the backswing and/or downswing phase of the swing faster. It is an individual swing characteristic - similar to a golfer's walking speed. Some golfers naturally prefer to walk faster than other golfers, and some golfers naturally prefer to swing faster than other golfers.

I believe that the term "rhythm" refers to the synchronous coordination-of-movement of the i) piovting/rotating torso, the ii) swinging arms and the iii) the swinging clubshaft from an angular rotational perspective.

I think that a golfer should think of the golf swing as a rotational movement and the idea is to execute a perfectly synchronised swing - where there is a "feeling" that the arms and clubshaft remain in front of the rotating torso at all times throughout the downswing and followthrough. A golfer should avoid having the arms traveling faster/slower than the rotating torso (from a rotational perspective) and he should avoid having the clubshaft traveling faster/slower than the arms (from a rotational perspective) - especially in the impact zone (between the 3rd and 4th parallels).

Consider a visual example of "rhythm".

Two golfers - from reference number [7]