Catch and Release

I'm 41 and have been playing golf since I was 10. For the longest time I never really understood what a release was. I heard people talk about it but if you had asked me to define it on paper I would have failed. Here is what Dictionary.com has to say:

To free from confinement. To be free of anything that restrains.

Without getting into what it is exactly that the hands, arms or body do in a release, let's put a definition to how release applies to a golf swing. If the goal of a golf swing is to create motion and translate it to a golf ball, than a release could simply be defined as the non-hindrance of that motion. I think it is a little more than that though.

In past posts I have said that release and lag are inter-related. The better/deeper your lag the better your release.

You can experience this by swinging horizontally. With a good golf grip: create an angle which is the natural result of a good grip and then as you are swinging back and forth continuously create a deep lag on your down swing/forward swing and notice as your hands get to where the ball would be how the centifical force takes over and your arms will actually slow down while the club whips through. If you tie the words "catch and release" you might start to understand how lag and release are inter-related.

Become aware of the horizontal nature of a golf swing. Thanks to a friend of mine Jon B. who let me watch a tape made by Jim Hardy called "The Plane Truth for Golfers" I have become more aware that golf is a 'Side-line' game. Jim likens golf with Baseball and Tennis where the ball is to the side of us and contrasts it with 'In-Line' games like Bowling, Darts or Billiards.

Because golf is a side-line game off he ground, we have to consider both the horizontal and vertical natures of the golf swing. Think about the horizontal aspect of the golf swing sometime when you are doing the 4 foot tee drill (swinging continuously back and forth horizontally) and let it seep into your golf swing.

I have stated that the biggest problem with golfers is 'flipping it' or that there is an element of "trying to help the club get back to the ball' which hinders your centrifical force. Helping the club to get back to the ball hurts your golf swing and shot results. It's not that you do not use your hands-they are on the club. Is is just that most golfers over-use them and they over-use way too early in the downswing. This is why Pro's are always asking you to relax your hands and arms . This is the biggest part of the counter-intuitive side golf. This is why most golfers hit it poorly. This is why on little swings that are not sitting up that they are hit either fat or thin.

The hands in the golf swing need to be used like they would be used to throw a baseball. When you throw a baseball a long way you hold it lightly and have a lot of body action and the hands are the last thing to react and are reacting to a lot of coordinated body movement. one of my favorite sayings in is: "When the body stops the hands take over--so... keep your body/arms moving".