How To Release Your Hands Through Impact

The most important point in the golf swing is impact. Learning how to release your hands is critical to better ball striking, power, accuracy and consistency.

Most amateurs (myself included) have never learned the very fine movements of the lower arm, wrists and hands through impact, and when you do, you’ll be amazed at how different it is from what you’re doing now.

If you look at the picture and the yellow arrow, you MUST come into impact with a bent right wrist! There is no discussion or debate on this. 99% of all amateur golfers do not do this. It is a delaying of the release of the club via the right wrist, going deep into the downswing.

We’re going to focus on the critical area of 2 feet before impact, and 2 feet after impact. As this is where all the PGA players look virtually the same, even if their backswing and start of downswing look different.

Take a look at pre-impact below. Notice how the right upper arm is connected to body, with the right elbow directly in front of the hip.

The lower right arm (forearm) is rotated counter-clockwise, with the right wrist bent back on itself. This is a very powerful pre-impact position, loaded with a ton of lag.

This is a position you can work on in front of a mirror in your home or office. Get in this exact position, and look at it intently in front of the mirror, then look down at it to get a different view of it.

I want you to really feel this position. Get it implanted in your brain. The more you can get this in your head, the better it will automatically happen when you swing.

Now that you have this ingrained, lets take it to the “moment of truth”…impact!

Look at the below picture and see what the right lower arm (forearm), wrist and hand has done, during a proper golf swing release.

In looking at the above picture, you first must realize this golfer has rotated (pivoted) through impact, to get to that position. This was not an independent move of just the arms.

Look at how much the hips and shoulders have rotated to get there. This is critical to know when you do this drill in front of a mirror. With that being said, one of the only changes in these 2 positions is the extension in the right elbow, which nearly straightens the right arm.

But also notice the turning down of the last three knuckles of the left hand. This is very much a Ben Hogan move (bowing of left wrist at impact) which produces amazing compression on the golf ball.

Doing this drill will “educate your hands” as to the exact motion for a powerful impact. I’m confident to say, most, if not all amateur golfers have not achieved these positions, and when done correctly will feel quite different.

Want To Speed Up Your Learning

In the above pictures, the golfer is using a unique golf swing wrist release aid that is not on any other website but this one.

+Mike Pedersen