Do you waggle the club before you start your swing? Well, if you're not careful, you can easily be changing your grip without even knowing it, which can lead to hooks that have no clear explanation.
If you are unaware that your waggle has caused your club to move slightly in your hand, you may never be able to identify why your club is shut at impact without the help of a camera or another pair of eyes.
The next time you are on the range, try to be conscious of your pre-shot routine. Are you regripping the club too much? Are you doing anything with your hands right before you take the club back?
A little waggle is good as long as your grip pressure is firm enough to keep your club in the same position in your hands throughout the swing. You see me waggle regularly, but I'm always trying to maintain the grip pressure I've locked in before I've finished setting up to the ball.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
Comments
Perpendicular shaft or the center of mass of the club head?
Dear Surge,
You are great. You have made my golf swing meaningful and useful
and a lot of fun. I wanted to suggest something, just a thought I had. I
discovered that my heaviest club head, my sand wedge, feels lighter when
the center of mass of the club head is perpendicular to the ground but
the shaft of the club is not at the top of the swing. So, using feel as the point of reference is preferable to checking the shaft verticality. I'm making this point because of what you said about the waggle and losing grip position. If you are swing a heavier club, it seems there's more chance of your grip being adversely affected. What do you think? Thank you. And especially thank you for your help all these years.
Waggle and the Closed Clubface
Surge, thank you for doing a daily video on this subject, as it is definitely relevant to my game. I am a pretty consistent ball-striker and play a straight to baby draw shot using the PPGS swing. I tend to "toe in" the club just a smidge as part of my setup routine, which is what gives me a slight draw when I swing with good PPGS mechanics. (As an older golfer with reduced clubhead speed, getting that baby draw helps a little with distance.) When I struggle, I tend to over-draw the baIl. I have noticed a time or two that from initial setup through the waggle, the face gets a bit more closed, especially when I am feeling some tension about a possible hook. Getting a good grip and clubface position actually becomes a struggle sometimes. After watching your video, I now know I am not crazy and not the only one facing this issue! I now have a new understanding of the dynamic and hopefully (when the dreary cold weather goes away) I can develop consistent pre-swing mechanics to avoid the inadvertent closing of the face.