Right (trail) hand activity in downswing

[jlaakso]

Intro

Yeah, I am beginner. Started late last summer. Swing is in progress, like a chunk of clay to be formed into a piece of art. I am fighting the same inconsistencies as all of us, fat shot, thin shots, chunks, skulls, you name it.

M.O.

I am doing research. A lot. Articles, blogs, youtube, everything. Trying a lots of things to mature my swing. I have a analytical and parascientific approach to everything I do in life. That means research, exercises, analysis, monitoring my swing via mirror, video etc. Making improvements, more research, rinse and repeat.

The road so far

I've gotten the fundamentals nearly there. Grip, check. Posture, check. Alignment, check(ish). Pressure shift during downswing, check. Rotation, not swaying, check. Problem is that the swing itself is not effortless. I have hard time just letting go and just swinging. Pretty good at pendulum swing (club making a fast pendulum at release point), pretty good at maintaining lag without wrist action (meaning hands moving faster than clubhead, not trying to actively maintain lag with wrist hinge). But consistency is not there. Well, expectation management helps some, but in my mind I wanna be a tour player

Discovery

I was just skimming through youtube and some local pro blogs for "the next big change". I stumbled upon a discussion on right (trail) hand activity and dominance. Every modern article states left hand leads, right hand just follows and controls path. For me, this philosophy feels like body rotates, left hand lags and pulls and right hand does mostly nothing. To clarify, this is my feeling during downswing. So, I thought, I have nothing to lose, let's try right hand dominance. Left hand leads of course, but just before impact, right hand adds force in-plane to the club, making a lot more momentum to clubhead. As is left hand is the anchor and right hand is shoving the club into fierce swing of it's own, while left hand moving on the swing plane, accelerating as well. Counting in the physics, of course the clubhead moves a lot faster, but the suprise was that I got a lot more control and consistency as well.

This is just me wondering in the wonderful world of golf, discovering things and trying to learn something along the way. What about you, the more experienced ones. How do you find the right hand activity?

Disclaimer: English is not my native language so terms and narrative might sound strange

 

[Rusty Dave]

My right hand and arm don't get active for me until pre-impact. For me to get a full release, I do drills that go from right hand wrist bend at impact to full extension post impact. If I don't actively work on this, my shots tend to be weak and push. I may be different but I find that the left hand and arm leads the swing but it's the right hand and arm that deliver the punch into the golf ball and post release. With a proper turn and weight shift, I produce a nice draw.

 

[-CRW-]

There is one line of thinking that some golfers are “swingers” (lead hand dominates) and others are “hitters” (trail hand dominates). A few instructors/articles say the best players use a little of both. Hogan said he wished he had several right arms because he believed that’s where power came from (for a right handed player).

I’m a left that plays right handed. My left hand wants to be dominant, but if I do that I really rip the handle forward and have less than stellar ball flight. I try to keep my right hand dominant, but use some of both.

So I’m not sure there is a better way between the possible choices. Rather, it’s going to be unique to the individual.

 

[WMac19]

I'm self taught but get around well enough.

So I have no idea if my way is technically sound. But through impact, I do fire the right hand through in dominant fashion. If I don't, I have a tendency to lose the ball right.

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[Phil75070]

I’ve consciously used my right/trail hand with good success at times but it takes a lot of concentration to overcome years and years of playing left side dominant. This thread has reminded me to go back and give it a try again.


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[Hamfist]

I see much more consistency and better striking when I have a forceful trail hand action. When I try to be lead-hand dominant, it is not good. To illustrate, there’s a reason the two-hand backhand in tennis is getting more and more common. Power and control.