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Thumbs Up for Better Ball-Striking

BY MARK IMMELMAN

Consistently long and straight golf shots are a product of various factors, but probably the most important of those is an efficient and effective release of the golf club.  

If the golf club is released properly, you will be able to achieve maximum speed in the club shaft and the clubhead. The increase in speed will in turn improve your golf shots…! 

Thumbs up for a good shot

A very easy way to ensure that you speed up that clubhead during the golf swing is to hinge and unhinge and re-hinge the wrists effectively  

A simple tip once coined by legendary golf instructor, Davis Love Jr, to help with the correct wrist hinge was as follows: "Keep your thumbs up during the golf swing." Thus, for better, more effective golf swings, keep this adage in mind: "Thumbs up for a good shot!" 

This very positive image will help both your ball striking and your confidence, as the term "Thumbs Up" is widely regarded as a positive way to describe a situation or an item.  

Ensuring the Correct Wrist Hinge

In order to hinge those wrists correctly by getting into the "Thumbs Up" position, strive to point the thumb of your left hand to the sky midway through the back swing. Now because the golf swing is symmetrical, you need to ensure that you also strive to achieve that "thumbs up" position midway through the follow-through.  

If this is done correctly, you will feel an increase in the speed of your clubhead as it is cocked and released during the golf swing. 

A Helpful Drill

Along these lines, another interesting idea that will help you to achieve the correct wrist hinging action is to imagine that the shaft of your golf club is filled with water. Thus, all you want to try to do to ensure the correct hinging of the wrists, is to "pour the water out of the grip end of the shaft" on both the back- and the through-swings.  

Alternatively, stick a tee peg into the bottom end of the grip and use this tee as a pointer during the golf swing. Once you have moved the club away, strive to point the tee at the golf ball midway through your back swing. As you do this you will notice that your have hinged your wrists through approximately 90°'s and you are in a "loaded" back swing position. 

Hinge and unhinge your wrists effectively and you will notice how with less effort, your shots will begin to fly with added penetration and extra zip!!

Good Golfing!