You Can't Get Lag For Free..! You Need These Moves First...
I always get asked by golfers how they can increase and get more lag in their shot. Firstly what is lag? It simply means lagging behind, like if you throw a ball or a javelin your arm lags behind your body and then you propel the object through like a slingshot. The same concept will apply to your golf swing the club head lags behind your arms and body, but firstly you will need a few key moves in place before you can have any chance of maintaining or increasing lag in your shot because you cannot do it without the following moves in place and a simple understanding of the swing mechanics. This is what lag looks like which is basically the angle you see between my left arm and club shaft in the downswing which is around 90 degrees.
Increasing or maintaining your lag can certainly add 2 - 3 clubs extra distance depending at what stage your golf is at. The great thing is it does provide a tremendous amount of effortless club head speed if done correctly and this will have a big impact on how well you contact the ball which is the #1 thing that got me addicted to golf and i'm sure you all agree with me on that.
You never forget the feeling of a perfectly struck effortless golf shot and there is zero enjoyment from hitting poorly struck golf shots, especially with low clubhead speed from throwing away your lag too soon as a result of poor swing mechanics and not having the right understanding or concept of the golf swing.
I believe the more golfers that I can get to understand the following 3 secrets delivered in a proven simple easy to understand step by step system coming out in September 2020, you will hit solid golf shots with precision and accuracy and this can lead to you knocking a bunch of strokes of your current score, and you can actually look forward to and enjoy playing golf with your friends without fear of embarrassing yourself or your playing partners.
We have all been there at some point in our golfing lives going through a bad patch, some lasting longer than others but there is a solution that I am putting together for you. Compiled over my lifetime from beginner to pro to coach to inventor of the GForce Swing Trainers I finally have the answers you are looking for.
1) Understand simple swing mechanics
This is the engine of your golf swing so you need to fine tune it inline with your physical limitations which I can show you.
2) How to generate effortless speed with no tension
This is a result of good sound swing mechanics.
3) How to consistently strike the ball out of the centre of the club face
This is a result of effortless clubhead speed, we need a freely swinging fast moving clubhead. A good analogy is twirling a ball around on a piece of string which when done correctly will take very little effort and a tiny amount of adjustment to connect with the ball. You can see this concept in the video I made below and how you can apply this to your golf swing to create effortless clubhead speed, get more distance and greater accuracy promoting consistent solid centre contact.
So in a nutshell the golfer through a simple understanding on how the body is designed to move efficiently which is also the key to prevent injury, creates tremendous effortless speed from (1) a centred body rotation, (2) hinging the wrists on the backswing which creates the lag angle, (3) weight shifted forward of original starting position before (4) a perfectly timed smooth transition which increases the lag angle, pulling not pushing the club handle down towards the ball stores the lag, keeping the right arm tucked in close to the body (wide backswing to narrow downswing creates speed and increases hip rotation speed)
And then (5) the Release, the left side of the body extends up and the golfer is actually pulling up on the handle of the club. Both of these upward movements cause the lagging clubhead to release downward towards the golf ball. All of the stored lag unhinges the wrists and unloads the shaft squaring the face and accelerating the club head.
A perfect example of all of the above happening is with the tour player below in slow motion using the GForce flexible shaft 7 Iron. Put this on repeat and watch over and over again reading what I just talked about. The biggest take away should be the centred rotation going back, waiting for the whippy flexible shaft to load up and the weight shift forward or original starting position before the club transitions into the downswing, every tour player does this and so can you.
The short follow through demonstrated by the tour player here is a great drill used by players to help feel the correct sequencing and unloading of the GForce shaft to square the face. This drill will prevent the ball from missing to the right, which is common when you first use the GForce Swing Trainer because most golfers are trying to power the club through too much with the arms or body which leaves the face open. The GForce Swing Trainer helps you sequence your golf swing and gives you instant feedback at the sametime because you can actually hit balls with it at flat out speeds..
WARNING..When using the GForce Swing Trainer if your misses are to the right never compensate by trying to close the face by rolling your hands, this is very destructive which is why it is so important to keep switching between clubs so you can see the changes working in and you are correctly loading and unloading the GFORCE shaft. Also look here in this link for drills and checkpoints I put together from years of customer feedback to make sure you are on track Drills & Checkpoints
What is lag and how does lag in your golf swing work?
Over the years in my quest to find answers to the golf swing I came across some really useful information. The image below from www.tutleman.com is one of my favorites because it models the golfers lag angle (90 degrees) created by left arm and club shaft at the top of the swing moving into the downswing. This is essentially what lag is in your golf swing and how it would look and work.
When fully hinged the club head would lag behind the hands in transition and halfway into the downswing the built up energy would than cause the lagging club head to swing forward unhinging the wrists, you can see this happen when the string in the image disappears.
When the the stored lag releases when the string is removed and the swing is allowed to unfold naturally you can see the blue circle (golfers arms/hands) slow down and the red circle (club head) speeds up, that is how an efficient golf swing works with the correct sequencing transferring energy from body to club.
This picture shows a good player using a flexible shaft heavy weighted head swing trainer. It's a great image showing the correct downswing sequence just before the release, right elbow into the right side, arms connected, left leg posting up, hips opening and shoulders square and clubhead lagging behind the hands, arms and body. There is stored energy in the shaft which through proper sequencing will unload accelerating the clubhead and at the same time squaring the face.
You can't maintain or increase lag without this secret move.
The #1 reason why golfers lose their lag in the transition and downswing is because their weight has not shifted to their front foot before starting down. This is also the #1 reason why golfers swing over the top from out to in because they have to throw away the lag to try and square the face.
As a golf coach and developer of golf swing training aids I am not going to lie to you but there isn't a single golf training aid, golf swing trainer or golf club that will automatically create lag for you, certainly not in just a few swings. You can stand there all day long trying to increase your lag (angle between left arm and club shaft) but if your weight is not in place you will never do it. The same goes for perfect tempo and timing which comes from a good body rotation (Pivot) so if you don't have that in place then you will never be able to improve in those areas either.
The #1 single most important thing is to have a very clear understanding on the swing mechanics. And with that using a golf swing training aid can then certainly make some big changes to your swing.
My company is about educating golfers on the swing in a simple easy to understand language and provide useful golf swing trainers to help with the areas that are difficult to teach a golfer such as timing the transition, improving swing tempo and rhythm, understanding the feeling of the correct release.
I would suggest if you want to increase your lag you need to address your weight shift in transition first and then using the GForce Swing Trainer will help you stop rushing the transition because you need to wait and feel the shaft loading on the backswing while at the same time you are shifting your weight to your front foot before starting the downswing. Its difficult to time this move but that is why the flexible shaft is so good at helping you with feeling and timing this.
To give you a clearer understanding on how to improve your golf swing follow this simple 5 step system which I created from using 3D swing data from the world's best players and how you can use the GForce Swing Trainers to help with Timing the swing improving Tempo and Rhythm.
This video is essential for you to watch otherwise you might find learning the golf swing very difficult. Before you use the GForce Swing Trainer or any golf club or training aid you need to learn how to power your golf swing and how to get consistent solid contact. This is down to 1) centred pivot and 2) turning your shoulders down to towards the ground as this helps to maintain your spine angle improving your contact with the ball. This is the only chance you have of using a training aid or golf club effectively because they don't do the job for you like they claim :-)
Theses are the 2 most important parts needed to play amazing golf and get enjoyment from striking the ball out of the centre of the clubface over and over again. If you come up out of your spine angle you will never consistently strike the ball, and if you don't pivot correctly (stay centred) you will not generate effortless clubhead speed and have to make up for lost speed by forcing the club through with your arms, something the GForce Swing Trainers will highlight for you..!
The pivot is also responsible for your swing Tempo and Rhythm, just like a clock pendulum works based around a good pivot which is what gives it great rhythm, tempo and timing. The GForce Swing Trainer will highlight any flaws in your Pivot, Shoulder Turn, Rhythm, Tempo, Timing, Transition, Lag, Release, Sequencing and Speed. Along with my online instruction and swing trainers I can make you a better golfer or I will give you your money back if you are not happy with my swing trainers, and my instruction is completely FREE on my channel..!
I got all my swing data backed up from the past 20 years coaching from https://www.gearssports.com/ the world's best golf swing motion capture system in the world with swing data from the best players on tour and 1000's of amateurs to compare against to bring you the best and most accurate information for FREE..! no sign up, no credit card, no subscription, nothing..! watch me or switch off I will not bombard you with useless trash but just a small selection of accurate simple easy to follow videos from my 20+ years of research.
My Recommendations
This simple easy to understand book by Michael Neff founder of Gears Golf and pioneer of 3d golf swing analysis back in the early days 2004 with TaylorMade Golf. I wish I knew this guy back then when I was struggling as a coach to find good information. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drive-Like-P...
I recommend 2 companies where I gained a lot of my knowledge from over the years and recommend. These guys were the pioneers of online instruction. https://rotaryswing.com/
This is the first move and the most important one to make. Using Gears 3d to backup my findings it is clear to see some of the key moves you need to do in the takeaway to set yourself up for consistent and enjoyable golf.
Good pivot (centred turn) left shoulder turning down towards the ground maintains the spine angle giving you a more consistent strike and spine tilting towards the target..! We can see this in Rory's swing which backs up my findings. The pelvis returning back to the starting point on the backswing creates tremendous width on the backswing which is key to generating speed on the downswing.
These are simple moves that anybody can make and implement with my online help and tools :-)
A continuation of the takeaway the left shoulder continues turning down which maintains the spine angle, left wrist remaining flat and hips pushing forward towards the target. This creates a tremendous amount of width on the backswing which is the key to creating clubhead speed. Also the right arm folds taking the club to the top of the backswing and the wrists hinge in preparation for the transition.
Using the GForce Swing Trainer helps you with the tempo and rhythm needed to smoothly make these moves into one flowing movement which we see all the best players doing, synchronising the arms, body and club which makes your swing more efficient and less jerky. The GForce shaft lets you know if you are doing it wrong by over flexing at points throughout the swing which you can instantly feel and makes you aware if you are doing something wrong, and because you can hit balls with it you get double feedback from the ball flight and feeling of the swing eliminating destructive swing thoughts.
A common flaw for golfers is to get out of sync early on in the swing and this makes it very difficult to correct which causes manipulations destroying your chances of consistency. The GForce Swing Trainers help with the perfect swing tempo which was discovered from John Novosel research on swing tempo from the world's best players. You should go and check out his book and findings which is interesting and gave me a lot of ideas. https://www.tourtempo.com/
Your swing tempo should be 3:1, so that means the backswing should take 3 times longer than the downswing, and 2:1 for short game and putting. Your swing tempo is natural to you so you need to find it and dig it out, it can be slow, medium or fast as long as it is 3:1. There are some tempo apps available but i remember my best golf was played when i had song in my head that matched my natural tempo, so find some good music, put your buds in and just hit balls without thinking and focus on the tempo of the music.
Here are the 4 swing tempos from the book with one new one I added who is currently hitting it a mile...try them out and see which one suits you.
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU 18/6
FAST 21/7
MEDIUM 24/8
SLOW 27/9
This is the #1 cause of swinging over the top resulting in a out to in swing path which causes slices, hitting the ground before the ball, thinning, topping the ball, poor contact, loss of speed and lag which is the angle created at the top of your swing between your left arm and club shaft.
One of the biggest reasons for developing the GForce Swing Trainers was to help my students with timing the transition because they were always in a rush to get the club down to the ball. The problem with this is that their weight (pelvis) had not shifted forward of the golf ball which is essential for the perfect transition.
One of the important parts of using the swing trainer is to feel the loading the flexible shaft in transition, but not overloading it which can be from a rushed takeaway and backswing or forceful transition or casting. Everything needs to happen smoothly, rhythmic and timed something which the flexible GForce shaft will help you to do instinctively.
Having your weight (pelvis) forward and keep it moving forward at the same time as pulling the grip in a straight line towards the ball is key to get your hands, arms and club down to sync up with the body so they can rotate through together at the right time. Your hips will automatically respond to this movement and turn out of the way increasing clubhead speed :-)
Chris Ryan Video Recommendation https://youtu.be/9HonmK8RjVs
A couple of my blogs from a few years ago with some concepts around the weight shift and what I could feel in my swing and see in tour players.
https://www.gforcegolf.com/blogs/news...
https://www.gforcegolf.com/blogs/news...
Sling Shot Counterbalance Video https://youtu.be/An10EH6fHrU
If you followed the last few videos you are now in a great position to release the club which increases clubhead speed and squares the face without you having to manipulate the club. Your wrists will still be cocked at this point with the right elbow tucked into your right side and arms connected which is really going to help your hips rotate out of the way before you propel the club through.
As Chris Ryan talks about in his video I recommended here https://youtu.be/9HonmK8RjVs we need the club to kick out towards the ball unhinging the wrists at the right time. To do this we need to pull on the grip end of the club not push it, you can see this when Chris demonstrates moving the club on the ground efficiently, also watch how his hand slows down to make the club kick out and connect with the ball, this is just like the arms decelerating which I talk about in the video and show the grip speed using Gears 3d motion capture.
Your left side also needs to extend up as you pull up on the grip of the club. When you watch good players closely look at their left knee as they come into the downswing and impact area because it will go from been flexed to straight, this really helps the hips clear out of the way combined with keeping the arms connected and close to your body like how an ice skater spins quicker when the arms are tucked closer to their body. Its free hip speed if you do it correctly which I can help you with in my explanations in this video steps series.
The biggest fault on the release I see is if you push on the grip instead of pulling. Pushing means you keep accelerating the grip to long so this decellerates the clubhead and prevents the correct natural unfolding release of the wrists. A decelerating club head means you have to make up for lost speed by forcing the club through with the arms and it is also the biggest cause of the chipping yips if you struggle with that.
Practice the Stopper drills I demonstrate in the video and alternate between the swing trainer and your normal 7 iron, 3 shots with each and the result you are looking for is a straight flight and good solid strike. If that is not the case do the checks starting with the setup, then takeaway, backswing, transition and release in this video series. If you strike the ball better with my stopper drills which I am confident you will just go and play golf that way..! you don't actually need to fully follow through just look at Tommy Fleetwood :-)
Good Luck, and don't forget to get in touch with any questions :-)
stuart
www.gforcegolf.com - All Rights Reserved | Copyright 2020