Learn the Secret of Clubhead Lag
Part 2: Drills to Learn Clubhead Lag
From Chuck Evans
Chuck Evans Golf
Here are some drills to feel, establish, and maintain clubhead lag.
What does "lag" feel like? It feels exactly like dragging a wet heavy string mop through Impact. In this drill I used a towel. Wrap the towel around the hosel of your club and place the clubhead on the ground, just outside of your trailing foot. Now try to use just your wrists to take the clubface to the ball. This move is difficult at best and the shaft will be leaning backward. Now replace the club but this time rotate your hips, sternum, and target-side shoulder left of the target line. You'll notice a distinct sensation of dragging and a heavy pressure through the ball.
 |
 |
For the next drill, you can simply take a piece of rope and hold it like a club. Go the top of the swing and allow the rope to rest on the top of your right shoulder. As you start down, you will "feel" like the rope stays on the shoulder as you take your hands directly downward to the ball, or at the "aiming point." This is called "rope handle technique" in The Golfing Machine. As you can see in the photo below, the "end" of the rope is "lagging" my hands.
A properly lagging clubhead produces a strong downward thrust, which adds distance, trajectory and consistency.
The majority of golfers do just the opposite. They try moving the clubhead with the wrists. This produces a "quitting" motion and the club moves upward toward impact instead of downward, as pictured here:.
For a great drill use a duffel bag, pillow or impact bag like the one shown here. Take the club back to waist height with the club shaft parallel to the target line and horizontal to the ground. Now simply rotate the hips, sternum and left shoulder. This will bring the hands and body to impact position and the club will be lagging.
About Chuck Evans
Chuck Evans has been teaching golf so long that he estimates he's taught more than 175,000 players in his career. Chuck is the founder of Golf Educators and runs Chuck Evans Golf. He has has appeared on numerous golf talk shows and published instructional articles in local, regional and national golf magazines including Golf Digest, Georgia Golf, PNW Golfer, Golfweek and Las Vegas Golfer. He has been the featured instructor for educational classes on the golf swing at various PGA Sections and Chapters around the country, and also at LPGA and European PGA events. Contact Chuck through his Web site.
Previous page > Understanding Clubhead Lag and Its Impact > Page 1
