Wrist Cock on Not?
I am standing behind the par 3 seventh tee at Harbour Town Golf Links watching D.J. hit his 6 iron tee shot to the green during Wednesday's Pro-AM.
After he hit it and walked to help his amateur partners, the tee marshal walked up to me.
'I have your DVDs and really like them. Can I ask you a question?”
I said sure.
'Well, in the DVDs you talk about no wrist cock in the backswing. I just watched D.J. closely and swear he cocked his wrists in the takeaway into the mitt. Could you explain this to me, because I swear, he cocked his wrists.'
This question comes up often, and last week at the Masters, when we asked for questions to answer in our webinar phone call on Wednesday night, there were at least five asking if D.J. cocked his wrists.
I chose this wrist cock as one of the four questions I answered.
So, if you missed it, here's the answer:
'Absolutely NO.' D.J. does not cock his wrist.
It certainly looks like it, but he doesn't.
So, how can it look like a wrist cock and not be a wrist cock?
It is an optical illusion.
The hand is faster than the eye.
It is the same as a magician's slight of hand hiding the quarter.
I told the marshal:
'D.J., in lifting his arms, hands and club into the catcher's mitt, is immediately rotating his arms and hands as he lifts the club. This rotation coupled with the lift, and in D.J.'s case being 6'3', the upward lift of his arms and club is quite fast, yet smooth, and is fast enough to trick the eye.'
I noted that his flat wrist remained flat, which is proof that his wrists did not cock.
I then asked the marshal to do a test with his 'QUIET PLEASE' sign to show and prove the wrists do not break, despite our eyes saying they do.
I first explained that the lifting of the arms is from the shoulder sockets (like lifting your arms to throw a ball), not from the elbows or wrists.
I also explained that if you lift from the elbows or wrists, they would cock because that is the only way to generate enough leverage to create the lift.
But lifting from the shoulders is the only way to lift without cocking the wrist.
Finally, as you approach the top of the backswing, if you keep the speed, length and forces of the motion of the club stressing the hands, wrists and arms under control, the wrist angle can be maintained, so wrist cocking, loosing control, will not happen.
I then asked him to hold the wire sign handle in his hands, like a golf club, and lift it into the catcher's mitt, like a takeaway.
I told him to do it slowly so he can see it and feel it.
Then I had him speed it up to a regular takeaway speed.
What did he feel?
He said that lifting from the shoulders kept the elbow and wrists quiet and firm and he felt no change or coking of his wrists. I replied that the same feeling will happen with a golf club.
So, in swinging a golf club, if it looks like a wrist cock, but feels like a firm wrist with no wrist cock, then you have a 'no wrist cock backswing.'
The hand is faster than the eye, but not faster than the brain as it senses and feels the movement of your muscles.
The optical illusion fools the eye — but not the brain.
You can learn how to swing a club like this — so fast and smooth, like DJ does — in the PPGS DVD's.
It's not technically “magical”.
But your lower scores, pain-free game and the sudden silence coming from your loudmouth buddies will certainly seem like magic:
The Surge!