Trying to Create Lag?

fupresti

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This term comes up so much and after my own work with a teaching professional, it seems to be one of the most confusing and misunderstood ways to create power in a golf swing. My own desire to accomplish this lead to problems with fat pulls and thin pushes.

Why do you believe this technique is believed to be the holy grail and do you fully understand the concept and how to implement it the right way?
 
Last year one of my goals was to create "lag" it was a trainwreck, so I went back to grip and rip it
 
No idea what it really is and if it creates my power, I have no clue how I do it
 
There was a time when I thought about it, but no more - it didn't end particularly well. I just hit the stupid ball now haha
 
I bet Canadan can explain this very well, he yells at me about it all the time
 
I'm in the same boat as a few of you...I tried focusing on it and it wrecked me. Went back to just smooth swing and it worked itself out.
 
it's a big problem with my swing, and the few people i've worked with have all mentioned it. i'm so bad at it and when i try to do it it leads to wildly inconsistent contact, so there's no possible constructive reason i should try to explain how i try to do it. from what i've read, lag is more something that occurs naturally with proper sequencing.
 
I have a quick tip I tell people on the range or the course that helps them understand if they have enough lag in their swing. Pick up a club and swing it like a bat in baseball, free and loose. Then continue to swing back and forth as you lower the club closer to the ground till you reach the ground and are swinging back and forth like in a golf swing. It's great to hear when they say, "That's what it feels like?" Simple test.
 
add me to the i got messed up with trying for lag crowd. its not even in any of the discussions my instructor and i have. i look at it from the standpoint of having a good swing will lead to the necessary lag.
 
This term comes up so much and after my own work with a teaching professional, it seems to be one of the most confusing and misunderstood ways to create power in a golf swing. My own desire to accomplish this lead to problems with fat pulls and thin pushes.

Why do you believe this technique is believed to be the holy grail and do you fully understand the concept and how to implement it the right way?

I personally think that when a golfer thinks of creating lag, they are less likely to cast. So while they are generating more club head speed (power) when they "create lag", they are essentially only doing that because they stop casting.

Just my opinion though.
 
I personally think that when a golfer thinks of creating lag, they are less likely to cast. So while they are generating more club head speed (power) when they "create lag", they are essentially only doing that because they stop casting.

Just my opinion though.

It's not so much about not casting, its more about casting at the right time/in the right sequence.
 
It's not so much about not casting, its more about casting at the right time/in the right sequence.

I was speaking more about the golfers who cast early. When they cast early, they lose club head speed and consistency. When they focus on trying to create lag, they will most likely release the club later in their swing and more towards the proper release point (or as you say casting at the right time/in the right sequence).
 
I don't think of lag as the Holy Grail. I think lag is a byproduct of doing other things right. When I was taking a lot of lessons about this time last year I asked my coach about lag, and his response was Relax and hit the ball hard, and you'll get lag. Trying to force more lag than your swing wants will screw up your timing.

I still think it's good advice, and I hit the ball my best when I follow it.
 
Having lag is like playing with fire. Too little and you're cold, too much and you burn yourself. When you try and make more fire naturally, you can control it and benefit from it. When you try and help it and force it like if you pour gasoline on a fire, you lose that control and it can get wildly out of control.
 
I don't think of lag as the Holy Grail. I think lag is a byproduct of doing other things right. When I was taking a lot of lessons about this time last year I asked my coach about lag, and his response was Relax and hit the ball hard, and you'll get lag. Trying to force more lag than your swing wants will screw up your timing.

I still think it's good advice, and I hit the ball my best when I follow it.

Not sure about the "hit the ball hard" part, but I agree that lag is a byproduct of having a correctly sequenced swing from good positions. Attempting to "hold lag" will result in disaster. (*Note: my opinion was formed by speaking to PGA pros, it's not just me talking out my you-know-what...)
 
Not sure about the "hit the ball hard" part, but I agree that lag is a byproduct of having a correctly sequenced swing from good positions. Attempting to "hold lag" will result in disaster. (*Note: my opinion was formed by speaking to PGA pros, it's not just me talking out my you-know-what...)

What he meant by hit the ball hard is more to have a full release through the ball rather than just swinging hard. I struggle(d) with swinging through the ball rather than my habit of hitting at the ball. So my coach's suggestion that I swing hard necessitates swinging through the ball more.
 
What he meant by hit the ball hard is more to have a full release through the ball rather than just swinging hard. I struggle(d) with swinging through the ball rather than my habit of hitting at the ball. So my coach's suggestion that I swing hard necessitates swinging through the ball more.

My coach has me working on the same exact thing.
 
I worked pretty hard to change my swing a bit and that meant actually having lag in it. When I started putting some serious time into practice and lessons my hands where behind the ball at impact, total scoops. For the most part now I actually have a bit of lag. I will say that all of this work and drills did lead to me basically leaving the club face open and holding that lag too much. I had to work on 'flipping' the club at impact, I actually struggle with that more now. Fortunately its a better problem than the scoops.
 
There's a fine line between releasing the club and flipping, that's for sure
 
There's a fine line between releasing the club and flipping, that's for sure

I agree. Maybe release would be a better word but the drill I usually use is an exaggeration. You saw it first hand on Sunday, most of my shots until the last 10 where basically all to the right and a few yards off.
 
I believe creating lag and being able to hold that lag until the hands are about waist high is the secret to getting the most effortless power out of your swing. I developed lag as a youngster helping split 10 cords of oak each year that we used to heat our house. Little did I know that spending several hours each week with a splitting maul starting at age 7 would make swinging a golf club that much easier when I took up the game at age 13. Here's a good illustration of a typical golfers lag vs. Hogan's.


Casting.jpg
 
Lag is where my power comes from. So many golfers have a cast in there swing and if they could learn proper lag, technique they could really help themselves to be a better golfer and get more distance with to much extra effort. With that said, it's hard to teach the fell of a good lag in your swing.
Knowing where your low point is in your swing, hitting down on the ball and keeping your hands in front of the club head to that low point in your swing....that's a good start. Once you allow your club head to release, breaking your wrists and the club head gets in front or your hands, the power goes out the window.
 
This term comes up so much and after my own work with a teaching professional, it seems to be one of the most confusing and misunderstood ways to create power in a golf swing. My own desire to accomplish this lead to problems with fat pulls and thin pushes.

Why do you believe this technique is believed to be the holy grail and do you fully understand the concept and how to implement it the right way?
I actually just got this clicking in my swing last week.

My understanding of the physics is, when you lag the clubhead behind your hands the club face stays in contact with the ball longer (think microseconds) because it's still accelerating. So instead of the ball slowing the clubhead down, the clubhead speeds the ball up even more.

If I think about hitting the ball, my lag falls apart. Getting it right, at least for me, is a matter of keeping focus in my hands and trusting that I'll hit the ball. I think it's turning me from a hitter into a swinger, but dear lord is that a leap of faith. You have to just trust that you're doing the right thing to get the club to reach the impact zone square and at the right level. It's also a different motion with your body, so if you're not trying to build a swing from the ground up with lag in it like I am, you're in for a serious uphill battle.
 
I agree with the comments above that lag is better thought of as a component output of a swing rather than a singular input.

If you do a club fitting with the Mizuno Shaft Optimizer, it measures a couple of components of the swing:

Club Head Speed: How fast the club head and shaft are moving during your swing.
Tempo: How quickly you transition from your backswing to your downswing.
Shaft Toe Down: Measures how far the shaft bends in a downward direction during your downswing.
Shaft Kick Angle: Measures how far the shaft bends forward during your downswing.
Release Factor: How and when the club head and shaft are released during the downswing (Lag)

The last 3 factors are measured from 1 to 10 with the last (1) being high lag and 10 being little/none. My values were 76, 5,1,2,1 so there is a lot of lag in my swing. It is good for power but I have to say that a lot of lag is a problem if I don't actively turn through my swing. If I get stuck, I end up having to hold off quite a bit and that is not a pretty result.

So, IMO, if you increase the lag in your swing it is not a singular element but it needs to mesh with other elements of the swing to be effective. If there's a lot of lag in the swing, you have to make sure that you square the clubface or it will be a disaster.

Added: My comments may not be as clear as they could be (I may edit in the AM) but I am polishing of my last caipirinha of the night in Istanbul - it's 1 AM here. Kind of telling about this golf addiction that I am on THP now)
 
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