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I've been reading a lot about wrist cock lately. What it is and does and most importantly how it happens. Unfortunately, the "how it happens" part seems to be the most discussed and most disagreed on from professional to professional or instructor to instructor. I hear a lot of people say that the wrist cock should be a manual process you do with your hands during the back swing.

Professional "A" says once after you have started the backswing and the arm and club are now straight back and parallel to the ground the wrists should turn up pointing the club head straight up making the butt of the grip pointing directly at the ground. From here the shoulders and lower body should continue to turn wrapping the club around the body to finish out the backswing.

Professional "B" says the wrist cock should be a natural occurrence. You may have to do it manually when you are first starting to get a feel for what the wrists should do, but all in all it should a natural occurrence. The backswing should start out as normal and as centrifugal force is created; once the force is great enough (doesn't seem to take a lot) the wrist should automatically cock due to the force that is being generated to the club head. Basically in a nutshell, during the take away, let the club do the work and cock the wrists for you due to the force you are creating on the backswing.

I recently started swinging a club (Driver) in the yard to get a feel for what Professional B says. It seems to feel way more natural and it almost feels as if the club will release naturally and pickup the speed it needs to square approaching the impact zone. If I do the wrist cock manually it seems as though moving the hands during the backswing can cause muscles to tense quick without even realizing it, thus resulting in miss hits or less distance. As I was swung my driver in the yard (Haven't had time to go to the range yet) I did my normal swing, and man oh man was I creating some lag letting the club cock and uncock my wrists. It was very noticeable difference in club head speed as I was gripping the club as always and it felt like it was going to fly out of my hands. It really seems like doing it the way Pro "B" says you can really feel the release in the club since you are letting everything happen natural, you aren’t trying to bring the hands manually into the equation (which can cause you to tense up) and then trying to hang on to the club to long and not let it release.

Can anyone shed some light on what the correct procedure is, or which you prefer??

"Correct" is a loaded word, as there are many different ways to hit a golf ball well. "Correct" is kind of something each person has to figure out for themselves.

But, in terms of opinion, I prefer to allow as little hand manipulation as possible. The problem with hand manipulation is that at some point the adrenaline will start flowing, as a response to stress. Stress in terms of somewhere between thinking "ok, hit this 125 yard PW to leave a good two putt" or "gotta win this hole so I can take the 25 cent skin from my buddy" to "Need to hit a good drive so I can par this hole and shoot my best score ever" to "Need to hit this chip well to win the club championship"

Adrenaline has many useful functions -- makes the muscles fire faster and harder. Good for escaping the tiger on the savanna, bad for hand-manipulated golf swings. The muscles of the hand will fire quicker and stronger than usual, making it very difficult to replicate the timing one may have perfected when not under stress.

Comparatively, in a core-driven, passive-hands swing, when under stress, the larger muscles of the body may fire faster and more powerfully, but the chance it ruins the swing are much lesser. So, like I said, I much prefer a non-timing based swing as much as possible. Also, like I said, that's not to say that it is wrong to time the swing and many pros have long careers doing it, but I just think that it is an easier and more consistent way to let the hands be passive and "along for the ride".

Lastly, Michael Hebron has really only on thought on generating lag -- which is going to be similar to your Pro B above. Hebron coaches "feel like you're leaving the club behind" at the beginning of the downswing.

I am from the Hogan school camp. Wrist cock naturally happens from sound fundamentals and requires no active thought or action.. It starts with the grip and progresses through proper stance, posture, etc… Just leave the tension out of the arms and hands and it just happens if you let it.

Some PGA tour professionals don't get their full wrist cock until they actuall transition down into the forward swing (Check out JB Holmes hitting a driver Lucas Glover and Jim Driscoll). Camilo Villegas actually has about 75% (maybe more) of his wrist cock just as his hands pass his right thigh.

Cock 'em early, cock 'em late, cock 'em somewhere in between... just make sure you uncock them and release the clubhead through impact and don't suffer the timing issues that would result if you don't.

dereckbc, I see where your coming from about it being a natural occurance in the wrist. I can tell a major difference in the two scenario's now that I fully understand what is happening when the wrists come into play. I guess where I was taught at one point in time the wrists should cock up once the arms and club are parralell to the ground, thus pointing the butt of the grip a the ground, seemed natural because I had done it for so long I didn't even have to think about it. But, whether I am thinking about it or not, it was still a manual process, bringing in the the muscles of the hands which can definately cause tension in the muscles. Not to mention the downswing process I also having to time a release as well. Sometimes it felt like I wasnt letting go of the club, my body was finishing, therefore leaving the club open at impact giving some major slice action....I mean major. I then had to compensate trying to let the club catch up, but that has been resulting in an over rotation of my body and releasing to early I suppose and now I have developed some what of a draw. It's not a hard draw but I wouldn't say it falls in the category of a controlled draw either. I'm loosing distance in the air, but picking up a better roll. It's not even the distance I am concerned with really. I have the distance I need even on a miss hit. I could probably put a decent slice to down the course about 270 or 280. When its straight or controlled it's about 310-325 depending on the roll I am picking up. But, again, its not the distance I am looking for...it's the ACCURACY! Whether its the driver or the irons I want a sound accurate game. Not that I play my clubs short distances (They are sort of long compared to some) If a Pro could play a Par 3 that was 230 yards with a 6 iron and I have to play a 4, it doesn't matter. As long as I'm in the hole before everyone else. I'm hoping when I get to the range this natural wrist cock with help, allowing the club to release where it should and letting the hands just hang on to the club for the ride, taking out any guess work and timing issues on where and when the club releases.

Could it be that if you do not get enough shoulder turn or lift that it will be impossible to get the cock you desire? If you are not flexible enough or have a certain swing style wouldn't it be necessary to consciously cock the wrist? We have to consciously cock them with short pitch shots.

I guess it could be necessary for you to have do it rather than it be natural if flexability was an issue or swing style. I would say my flexability isn't and issue. The swing style shouldn't be as well. I'm thinking if the swing style was somewhat short the wrist action would not be natural, something the player would need to do on there own. However, for someone with a more average or long backswing where the club is parrarlell at the top of the swing or somewhat past it should be more of a natural action to the wrist. I have an average sometimes little bit long back swing when I really want to stripe one. Letting the wrist movement occur natural I can still feel the cocking and loading club after my lower body has already started to turn back for the downswing. Sort of like twisting a rubber band maybe. Like, my lower body starts to coil on the backswing followed by the upperbody and shoulders, and then the lower body starts to uncoil as the upper body are finishing coiling up at the top. The result I get is like a whipping motion I guess. The top is finishing coiling up and the lower has already started to uncoil. Resulting in the larger core mucsles of the lower snapping the the upper back through and then allowing the larger core muscles of the upperbody to really load the club shaft and generate lots of force and power.

Well if the fundamentals that Hogan preaches are followed especially keeping the right elbow down, arms close to the body, and both elbows pointing at the respected hip pocket throughput the swing: You have no choice but to cock and uncock your wrist.

Go GOOGLE "HOGAN SWING VIDEO" and you will quickly see what I mean. Or better yet buy his book 5 Lessons. It is cheap and probable one of the best and easiest to understand and implement.

In his book, I think he points out that at the top of the back swing the left thumb points at the right soulder which pretty much requires a wrist cock. I don't recall him ever using that term or something like it. Its pretty obvious in his illustrations. It is a simple and well explained description of what Hogan thought was an effective, repeatable golf swing.

Wrist hinge wrist sminge..lol..Im like JB HOLMES..When i swing my driver..i get very little wrist hinge..mainly because I use my lower body and my core to power my golf swing...You would just have to see..

With my irons and wedges is a little different story..kinda..I say its just personal prefference...Whatever feels comfortable and comes more natural and not "forced"...

Don't think so, I have the book in my hands now, and have worn it out over the past 35 years or so.

He does talk a lot about the hands when it comes to grip, and using them to Waggle. but during the swing the only thing he emphasizes is supination of the left wrist at impact. Here is a quote from page 100/101

In the sequence, there is one position of such single importance that it warrants closeup study. This is the position of the left wrist and hand at the actual moment of impact. At impact the back of the left hand faces toward your target, the wrist bone is definetely raised. It points to the target and, at the moment the ball is contacted, it is out in front, nearer to the target than any part of the hand. When th eleft wrist is in this position, the left hand will not check or interupt the speed with which your clubhead is travelling. There is no danger either that the right hand will overpower the left and twist the club over, it can'tAs far as applying power goes, I wish I had three right hands.

To get into this position requires the fundementals he teaches, especially right elbow facing down toward your right hip pocket, and starting the downswing by turning the hips, not sliding them.

What I like about Hogan is he practiced what he preached and you can see it in his film clips. Especially the ones he shot professionally as instructions all available on the web. It is an easy swing to master and repeat and stands the test of time of techniques used today. He was the first to talk about the Swing Plane. Raise your hands and you break the window pane glass.

I will definately pickup a copy of that book. I enjoy Hogan everything. Just look at my sig as well. Everything except my woods and putter are Hogan. I have the old model (3 or 4 years) Hogan Staff bag, even have a nice stock pile of the Hogan Tour Deeps still setting around. The equipment is great quality and provides great feedback as well. I conducted my own study here recently with Hogan and other tour players today. Comparing there swings and techniques. It seems as if he had an almost perfect fundamentally sound game. Sure in his day he was considered a power hitter and could strike the ball very well, but lets face there lots of guys on the tour like that today. The thing I see that was different with Hogan was everything was in check and match perfect to his swing style. His grip and setup, his balance, tempo, and he made it look sooooo smooth. They talk about how still his head was during the swing and lot of times it was very still maybe moving a fraction of a inch. What a great player. I will definately have to pickup that book though.


“There is no similarity between golf and putting; they are two different games one played in the air, and the other on the ground.” Ben Hogan

Well IMHO if Hogan were alive and in his prime today, it would be Tiger who? You know the guy in a disatant second place ranking.

Hogan was extremely consistant, more than any tour player today IMO

I'm with Martini on this...

Anything that doesn't change your grip pressure is what I go by...a forced wrist cock where the club is manipulated is tough to repeat, however an early wrist cock performed by pushing the heel of your left hand (for rightys) to the ground on the takeaway is much easier to repeat...Nickalus kept loose wrists and cocked at the top of the swing...one drawback to a late cocking of the wrists is that you can lose control of the club at the top and not have a clean top position...again, hard to be consistent with that fault...the main thing is that you are able to repeat the action, and somewhere along the line they get cocked...a loose grip helps with this as well as allowing time at the top to lead from the bottom...

Do you have a good picture of what that right elbow looks like at the top of the backswing? I have been working a lot with the position of my right arm in relation to my body and especially how far the right gets from the body. There seems to be a natural tendency for mind to fly a little bit. It is not too far out but I just don't know. I think letting it fold pretty soon in the back swing helps.