If you want more pars and more distance off the tee and from the fairway, let’s make sure that you’re maintaining your lag on the downswing.
What is Lag Anyway?
On the downswing, lag is the angles created by your lead arm and club’s shaft. Ideally, you want that shaft on the downswing moving towards you. Where players go off, the shaft on the downswing moves outward, away from their body.
Visualize an L on the downswing, a sharp L, created by your lead arm and shaft. Cool. But, how do you do this? That’s the big mystery. The pros make it look so easy and recreational players really struggle.
Watch my video below to see all about creating and maintaining lag in your downswing.
The Right Sequence for Lag
The answer lies in the sequence of events. When you get to the top of your backswing, the first thing to go are your legs. It’s the dynamic change of direction, that creates the lag. During this dynamic move, your shoulders remain passive. Google “slo-mo pro swings” and you’ll notice that during their downswing, their legs are driving forward, yet their shoulders are passive, allowing the club to drop into the delivery slot.
It’s the separation between the upper and the lower body. It’s the weight transfer from back to front. As you clear your hips, the club drops down… your shoulders are passive until just below waist height. At that point, you rotate all the way through at speed.
That’s the sequencing, but many players, unfortunately, don’t have that disassociation ability. So, how can you get lag if you don’t have that flexibility to separate your upper and your lower body
The Answer: During the backswing, get your weight to the inside of your back leg and foot.. by driving pressure into the ground. On the downswing, transfer this pressure to the front side, while keeping your shoulders passive. That’s the big secret here.
This move allows the club to drop down where it needs to be while maintaining all the angles without having to worry about the disassociation. That’s a hard move for a lot of players, understandably.
So if you don’t have that disassociation, don’t worry about it. Just make sure that you:
Load downward pressure during the backswing
Make sure that your shoulders and chest on the downswing are passive before you rotate through.
And once your hands reach just below waist high, rotate aggressively through.
So there you have it. That is the secret to more lag, more distance…and more pars!
