Everyone wants to hit the golf ball farther and straighter. So what is the answer? Create Lag! This is what the good players and pros of the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tours do to hit the golf ball so far and straight.
OK, create lag. What in the world is lag in the golf swing? The easiest way that I can explain it to you here is that it is pulling the golf club with your body as opposed to pushing the golf club with your hands and arms.
Imagine that you are holding a bucket of water. As you try to swing the bucket of water, how will you go about making this happen? You will start turning your bigger muscles to make it happen. This will allow you to keep the water in the bucket. If you try to use your hands and arms to make this happen the water will start to come out of the bucket and get you wet!
Is there a drill that can help you create lag in the golf swing? Yes there is. Pick a target and address the golf ball as you normally would. Now for a right handed golfer, take your thumb and index finger of your right hand off of the golf club. Making your thumb and index finger to look like a gun will return the best results. Do not get lazy and let these two fingers start to curl back around the grip of the golf club. This will defeat the purpose.
So now you are asking, how does making my grip into a gun going to help me create lag in my golf swing? Think about it for just a second. Your thumb and index finger help you do most everything that you do during the day. You employ these two fingers to help you hold a fork, writing with a pencil or pen and many other things. Simply put, they are used to taking over whatever task you are trying to do. Taking your thumb and index fingers off of the golf club they cannot join the action. This makes the club heavier to you and allows the golf club to drop from the top of your backswing. This will force you to turn towards your target or use a larger range of motion, unless you enjoy hitting behind the golf ball!
When this is done correctly you will feel the golf club placing more pressure on the straight index finger since you are now pulling the golf club. That is the feeling of lag in your golf swing that you have created. Once you have done this drill and are comfortable that you now understand the correct feeling of lag in a golf swing, you can curl your fingers back around the grip. However, this time I want you to make your thumb and index finger touch. This allows you to get the same feeling without answering the questions on the golf course from your golfing buddies about what you are doing.
Understand the "gun grip" as I have come to call it, is legal and you can use it on the golf course. I have had students play very good eighteen-hole rounds utilizing the gun grip to create lag in their golf swing.
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