When you learn this golf swing move, you are going to add 20 yards to your game - it's proven. The golf swing has a few power sources - the wrist hinge being a BIG one. A lot of golfers know the importance of the wrist hinge in the golf swing but they don't know HOW to hinge the wrists properly. In fact, what you think is a "wrist hinge" really isn't dependent on the wrists at all - that's where golfers make the mistake thinking they need to consciously hinge their wrists in the golf swing. The wrists will hinge naturally in the golf swing if you allow them to.
The golf swing piece I am going to show you today will make you rethink your wrist hinge and have you busting drives way past your playing partners.
What I am talking about is the CRUCIAL role of the trail forearm in the golf swing. The folding of the trail arm hinges your wrists. For the right handed golfer, when you keep upper right arm connected to your side, you will find that it naturally folds (when you are keeping your left arm straight). Also, the folding gives you massive wrist hinge for serious power in your golf swing.
Thanks for the response. I’m working my way through GSS... and will continue to do so… I just trying not to learn self-inflicted bad habits 🤣 Just because a move makes sense to me doesn’t necessarily mean it will work out in the long run 🤷♂️ I’ll probably do that V1 thing after completing GSS and the other courses relating to the driver. I may do two — one for my irons and one for my drivers. I feel like I’ve got a bit of the yips when it comes to using my driver now 🤦♂️
Welcome to the school and to this great members forum, @Zachary Gillock!! I can already see that you're going to be a great addition to this fabulous community...😆
Below is some preliminary advice I like to offer to any new members who ask. There is some direction in there specific to whichever curriculum you chose - Golf Swing Simplified or Get Out and Go Play. Many of your fellow members will spend months working on - and playing rounds with - the drill swings mentioned, as they both produce plenty of power to get around the course.
You are correct in that I do not teach any timed or contrived rolling of the wrists through impact as that does nothing for adding distance and only breeds inconsistency. Here is a YT video where I talk about this. And here is an episode where I teach the proper wrist action through the zone. However, if your face is as open as you say at impact, then it is suggesting to me that something is causing this condition earlier in the swing - perhaps some type of handsy manipulation of the club in the takeaway or backswing, or it may even be the way you are gripping the club.
Anyway, here's the preliminary advice I mentioned.
1) Regardless of a member's skill level, this swing necessitates a complete reboot for someone transitioning from a shift & lift swing (which is typically the case), and therefore it is imperative that one take sufficient time to ensure that the fundamental components are mastered. From the ground up there is nothing superfluous in the Stack & Tilt swing - in other words, everything with a purpose, and a purpose for everything. (For example, contrary to shift & lift where you may be taught to keep your trail foot perpendicular to the target line as a means of "creating resistance" in your trail side, in S&T we flare both feet out 10-20 degrees in order to facilitate a free flowing, inclined hip and shoulder turn.) I cannot emphasize this enough, as frustrations predominantly occur when students jump ahead in the curriculum without properly dedicating themselves to the foundational base upon which our consistently repeatable, powerful, low maintenance swing must be built. Chapter 1 of the Golf Swing Simplified program (GSS) and Part I of Get Out & Go Play (GOGP) both address this.
2a) GSS: One of the many great things about this swing is that you can achieve solid ball striking even at the most basic levels. This is why I oftentimes will suggest that students park themselves on Chapter 2 of the GSS course for an extended period of time after locking down Chapter 1's foundational elements. Chapter 2 reinforces the body motions and the weight-forward component, and it culminates with what I call "The Best Golf Swing Practice Drill of All Time". Work yourself sequentially and gradually through the chapter, and then commit yourself to that drill in Lesson 2.8. Learn it. Practice it. Master it. You can even use this partially abbreviated swing on the course and play quite well with it as it will provide plenty of distance. (It actually is the full swing minus just a couple of power accumulators.) Once you've got that down, you will be well prepared to move forward in the curriculum and well on your way towards taking ownership of YOUR swing!
2b) GOGP: This quick-start program is exactly as it sounds - it is designed to fast-track you out onto the course so you can have fun - and success - playing as you learn! Should you choose this path, everything in #1 above still applies, and as implied above in 2a you will still want to work through it sequentially and gradually, mastering each lesson before moving ahead to the next one. In this program, Drill #5 - The Flying Wedge is the one you'll want to park yourself on and nail down.
3) Also, as you progress always keep in mind the V1 Swing Video Analysis service, an effective and inexpensive service that I highly recommend to everyone in the school. I liken it to bringing your swing into the shop for a tune-up or minor repair. Scheduling one on a quarterly basis for preventive maintenance will do wonders for keeping things humming along nicely, and it's also a great tool for pinpointing and resolving any issues that arise. The process involves downloading the free V1 app and then submitting two videos to me through the app - one down-the-line (captured from your stance line, not the target line) and the other face-on. You'll find more information about the V1 Analysis halfway down this page on the Saguto.Golf site.
Hey @Tom Saguto, so do you have a video or advice about the unhinging off the wrists? I notice when slowly practicing my swing, after it gets hinged at the top, if I don’t unhinge it on the down swing, I tend to hit the ball with an open club face resulting in sliced bread for days. I’ve started unhinging the wrists at the beginning of the down swing; I just started trying this the last week because in doing it in slow motion, it seemed like a simple solution to my problem. But I was curious if that was correct. I’ve seen other videos of yours where *I think* you talk about not worrying about some of the more complicated “roll your wrists” stuff but I was wondering if there was something I was missing in the downswing that squares the club head so I don’t have enough sliced bread to feed a tiny 3rd world country.
FYI… I probably havent golfed in 15-20 years. I didn’t play a lot as is growing. I was terrible 🤣 And probably resembled Happy Gilmore in my temperament. But because life is too short to play bad golf, I just stopped. That said, I’ve been practicing the last couple of months with my kids (6 & 7) and watching your videos for about a 1-1.5months and I’m already worlds better golfer than I ever was then. I may even break 100… on 9 holes 😉 (I hope that is a joke). And I’m using your videos to teach my kids some of the basics. That said, thanks for making learning golf fun.
@pgiddey - That's some great stuff, and yes - maximizing our enjoyment of this great game is ultimately what it's all about!!
As I oftentimes will tell golfers in this school, it is so important to embrace the swing change process and set realistic expectations along the way, otherwise frustration is certain to occur. The “ghosts of swings past” do not die easily, and for those like you who are transitioning from a swing method that involved shifting weight into your trail side and/or lifting the club with your hands, those demons are going to take some time to exorcise! This is why I strongly recommend taking sufficient time to master the fundamental components of the first couple of chapters! I cannot overemphasize this enough, as frustrations predominantly occur when students jump ahead in the curriculum without properly dedicating themselves to the foundational base upon which our consistently repeatable, powerful, low maintenance swing must be built.
Based on your comment I believe you are working through this exactly as prescribed. You are absolutely correct in that "there is a place for everything and everything needs to be in its place"! And a significant part of this process is to develop and ingrain our own unique "feels" to ensure that everything finds its proper place through the entire motion; that's what I refer to as "taking ownership" of your swing. You can sense it in what you are working on with regard to the correct downward (not inward) bending of the lead knee and the straightening of the trail leg in the backswing, and how when properly executed it puts you on the path to effortless crispiness!
My best advice - gauging where you seem to be in the overall process (and assuming you are not snowed in or locked down at present) - is to concentrate on Chapter 2 of the Golf Swing Simplified course. Really work yourself diligently through that because it's going to put all the motions together for you, and you'll also find it easier then to incorporate that T2T into your swing. As you get to the end of that chapter, park yourself on Lesson 2.8 - The Best Golf Swing Practice Drill of All Time. Live that drill, master that drill, own that drill, and you will be well on your way to blissful KFC ballstriking nirvana. (Plus, you can actually use that drill swing on the course as it provides wonderful compression and plenty of distance.)
Keep up the great work and don't concern yourself with what your fellow golfers think; after watching you mash the ball with consistency enough times they'll be lining up to find their own cheese wedges!....🤣
Please keep me posted on your progress!
Tom
Tom,
I have been changing my swing to your S & T method. I have started at the very beginning ... its a very good place to start and am now concentrating on straightening my trail leg in the back swing and really trying to T2T. As I am a bear of very little brain and big things confuse me, do I continue to work on that part of my swing or do I forego that for the moment and concentrate on bending my trail arm and extending through the swing.
I feel that in order to get a really powerful KFC crispy shot that there is a place for everything and everything needs to be in its place. I have come to the realisation that I am still keeping my trail leg "slightly bent", a bad habit from the bad old days. The more I straighten it, the easier it is to push my lead knee ove my left foot, instead of collapsing it inwards. My strikes are getting cleaner, my distance is improving and my slicing is definitely being found more in the kitchen rather than on the golf course.
Thank you so much for your golf instruction. I am sure that my fellow golfers must think i am slightly insane when they can hear me mumbling under my breath, "quiet hands...send them to the library" Maintain the "cheese wedge" It makes the game very playful and for me less stressful. Havent enjoyed my golf so much in a long long time.