How Does a Straight Left Wrist Help Your Golf Swing?

A straight left wrist can help improve your golf swing like you have no idea!

One of our women pupils, and she was typical of many, used to insist when she was learning the golf swing, that she could not hold the golf club tight at the top with the straight left wrist position.

She wanted her left wrist under the shaft and claimed that was the only way she could hold the golf club tight.

She was wrong, of course, but she had to be convinced.

So we had her hold the golf club in her left hand alone, in front of her, as tightly as she could. Then we bent her left hand backward and took the club away.

It was easy, because with her hand bent backward, the fingers automatically opened and her grip weakened. The same thing happens when the hand is bent forward; the fist cannot be clenched tight.

But when the back of that woman's hand and her wrist were in a straight line, you could not take the golf club away from her without the use of a considerable amount of force.

Actually, one reason she wanted the left wrist under the shaft was so the club could rest in her left hand.

Men have the same idea. They can open the fingers a little and the club will still be supported by the palm of the left hand and the thumb.

The strongest possible position is when the wrist and the back of the left hand are in a straight line.

How, you may wonder, can you yourself tell whether you are in the right position at the top of the swing?

Without a friend to help you, you cannot tell about such things as the amount of hip and shoulder turn. But there are ways to inform yourself of others.

For instance, you can turn your head and look at your hands.

If the left wrist has not collapsed you will see two. knuckles of that hand, no more than two. If you see three it will mean the left wrist has collapsed. You should also see only one knuckle of the right hand.

That indicates that you have a straight left wrist.

If you stop the golf swing here and look at your hands, you should see only two knuckles of the left hand, one of the right, and either a straight line along the back of the left hand and wrist or even a slight inward bend of the left hand, with the right hand firmly under the shaft. That's what we meant by keeping a "straight left wrist".

You can check the tightness of your grip by the feel of it.

You can check how close your right arm is to your side by the old test of the balled handkerchief stuck into your right armpit.

Only use a small handkerchief; anyone can hold a big one.

If you can hold the small handkerchief, your arm is close enough.

If it drops out, something is wrong.

• Golf Swing at the Top: The Problem
• Top of Golf Swing : The Magic Move is a Position!
• The Straight Left Wrist
• The Shoulder Tap

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