I'm not sure which thread I was reading earlier this morning (by the way really glad I found this forum). But in it was a swing thought to hold the wrist cock until it basically felt unnatural.

I played an absolutely horrible round of golf today, but that was the main thought that I tried to have just before each swing especially with my irons. When I executed, it was absolutely AMAZING. I easily gained 30 yards.

I fight a seemingly losing battle pulling the ball with my irons. So much so that I line up a good 40-50 feet right of the intended target. The shots are nice and straight, just a dead pull. When I executed the wrist cock thought, the shot was pure taking a nice little divot after the ball, and it actually flew right where I was aiming, albeit too far.

I have been told on more than one occasion that I am casting the club. It did not occur to me that holding the wrist cock would not only give me the distance I should get from each club, but would also fix the casting issue at the same time. But that's exactly what it did.

So, I'd like to give a GIGANTIC THANKS to whomever posted that thought. And in retrospect, I guess it wasn't actually a horrible round of golf. It was a round in which I learned something very important. Now I just need some time on the range (tomorrow) to work on this idea a little more.

Thanks again!

I don't know if it was my post or not you read, but I have mentioned on more than one occasion that I use an early wrist cock to start my back swing, and use a late release to get more distance with all my irons. I gained 15 yards of carry with all my irons when I started using the early wrist cock, and Iv'e been doing it ever since. Glad you found us, and the post on this.
Since Casting is releasing the club way early in your downswing, it only makes sense holding your wrist angle until late in your swing , would get rid of the casting issue. With some time at the range, you should be able to get DIALED IN for distance again with your new swing with your irons. Keep us posted on your new found distance and iron play.

Don,

Can you expand on the early wrist cock? Distance with my irons is one of my major issues right now. The late release explanation would be appreciated as well.

Thanks,

Bryan

Bryan, I start the back swing, by cocking my wrist, that's what I mean by eary wrist cock. That's how I gained 15 yards with all my irons. Late release is just that. You hold the angle between your left arm and the shaft of the club, as you start back to the ball. You hold that angle until your hands are below HIP height, and then RELEASE it. You don't try to hit the ball by forcing your wrists to straighten, you JUST LET THE WRISTS RELEASE the angle between your left arm and the shaft. If you watch the pros on tour, you will see that a late release is what all of them use.

Thanks Don. I'll give that a try. To be honest, I'm not sure at what point I release the wrist cock. I'll have to pay closer attention to that this weekend. 15 yards would put my irons right where I want them to be.

Bryan, welcome to the site! Be sure to get in on this month's giveaway now that you're a registered member and on the Top Poster's list. You can click on the link floating across the marquee at the top of the page for contest details. Enjoy your time here, we're glad to have you!

Yes Welcome Bryan.

I've heard many times, pros try to hold their wrist cock as long as possible and that generates more whip at impact. So it's worth a try.

Don, do you have an exaggerated wrist cock do you think? I'm wondering if some of the distance is related to the club face getting delofted as you get more wrist cock. I know when I press the shaft forward at the start of my swing, it in fact delofts the iron which would give me more distance. Either way, distance is distance so more is better...right? Ha!

The swing of the future (in my opinion) is that of Steve Stricker. There is no exaggerated wrist cock, in fact, less wrist cock than a lot of golfers. I am of the belief that the less moving parts to worry about, the better the results.

I think that with too much wrist cock, you get into a 'timing' situation which could prove bad for the swing. You may get more distance, but how often are you going to sacrifice accuracy? AJ Bonar had that idea of rolling the club face open and then squaring it at impact. He had told of the incredible distance this had caused. Again, if your timing is off, like the wrist cock, you're going to spray the ball. Keep it simple.

-Rob

Couple of years ago I took lessons from a guy who I believe had me doing this. No question I picked up yards with the irons, however I wound up with some pain in the left wrist so I stopped doing it.

Scott; I don't have any more wrist cock than the average tour player, I just start it at the beginning of my take away. My ball flight with my short irons, is very high, so I doubt I'm delofting my clubs any. And the last two days at the range, I've been taking very shallow divots, so that would indecate very little forward lean to the shaft, and no delofting of the clubs. Today I was hitting very high 50* wedge shots, that were going 127 yards or so. Hit the flag itself on top of the stick with one shot, and it's 127 yards to the flag. Hit a good number of shots past the stick, and not too many short.