This weeks subject is wrist positions in the backswing and in particular how to improve your positions very much at the top of the backswing.
A very high percentage of the greatest players that have walked the planet all show similar left wrist positions in the backswing. Coincidence… I think not, getting this correct positions in your wrist can help you stabilise the club head through impact helping us hitting longer and straighter shots.
I have been studying left wrist positions over the last few years with many of my pupils and I agree with many of the articles written by the top teachers in the world suggesting there is a right and wrong position at the top of the swing.
Greats like Hogan, Trevino, Norman, Faldo, Woods, Speith and Mcilroy all show the same characteristics in the left wrist at the top of the swing. I often use the terminology ‘flat left wrist’ when talking about the top of the backswing and in key movements in the downswing.
Below is an example of what I believe is correct and incorrect at the top of the swing. In the left hand picture your can see that the left wrist has a lot of angle, which opens the clubface and gets the wrist into a weak position. The right hand picture displays no wrist angle (a flat left wrist).
The Tray Drill
This is one of the best drills I give to pupils because it teaches us so much good without technically trying to divulge too much information. We are ultimately focused on getting a better left wrist position with this drill but we actually use the right hand to get the perfect position as this helps guide the left wrist more easily.
As you can see you can do this drill with the club or without, but always setting up in your normal golf posture and using your bottom hand on the grip. Right hander’s, take your right hand upto to the top of the backswing, imagining at the very top your trying to balance a tray, not spilling any of the contents on the tray. To help focus the mind try to imagine something very important on that tray, I always like to ask my pupils what that important item would be, most common answer has to be a tray of wine with wine glasses on… funny how this can really zone in my pupils to get that perfect wrist position at the top. All you simply do then using your club is try to feel the exact same wrist positions in both your left and right hand. Do this for 5 minutes a day at home and those patterns will change for the better!!
