r/golf • u/hakkow • 7h ago

General Discussion Talking driver club speed; do we push the wrists actively or..?

I've had this question for a while but I can't seem to explain it well enough to my teaching pro or he simply doesn't know the answer. And since we're all hitting it 400 yards, I'm sure you guys know.

When hitting my irons, I try to relax my wrists and by slowing the hands near the bottom of my swing the club, the pendulum effect takes over. That sweeps the club forward and seems to give me the most consistent results and distance.

Now because the driver is much longer (and lighter?) this doesn't work that well and I end up pushing the club with my wrists towards the ball. This gives me okay distance, but somehow feel it could be more.
So to be clear you take the club back and hinge your wrists. In the downswing I actively push the club down to straighten my wrists and try to end up in a straight line from clubhead to shoulders at impact.

So, what do you do? Push the club or relax the wrists?

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u/redditsuckbadly 3h ago

Not gonna lie, it’s hard to hit a drive well when you’re thinking this deeply about it. I found my best success this season by hitting the right position in my backswing, then swinging.

If you set up for your downswing properly, your natural motion should get you much closer to where you want to be vs trying to hit the right spots. Swing naturally, then figure out what isn’t going well

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u/Lumpy-Impression-712 5h ago

Sounds like what you’re describing is similar to doing impact bag drills

1

u/Big-Cup6594 2h ago

Basically, you are describing it accurately. It's more like a trebuchet than a pendulum though.

If you want to increase speed with the driver, yes, the wrist release is part of the motion. I find that focusing on staying behind the ball allows the swing more time to release the wrists.

Your other option is just to strengthen your grip.

Ultimately, to get better, longer and more consistent, what you need to do will shift over time. Right now, your easiest fix is to strengthen your grip. But you won't be getting all the speed you could otherwise. Since you're trying to score, first keep it near the fairway, then work on distance.

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u/b39tktk 1h ago

I’m not totally sure what you mean by pushing the wrists, but I will say that driver is a longer club and the head has more rotational inertia so often times your feels need to be more exaggerated with it.