June 7, 2020- by Steven E. Greer
Over the last month or so, I have learned more than I have since I started The Golf Project four years ago. It began by realizing that the spine tilts in the backswing and downswing.
Then, I noticed that I was coming over the top in the transition. I tried a whole bunch of things and realized eventually that the wrists control the transition.
When we take the club back, we redial deviate the wrists. If that position is maintained in the downswing, the position of the clubhead will be too high off the ground to make ball contact unless the golfer dips his torso.
Also, to keep the shaft in a flat plane in the downswing, the left wrist has to be flexed like Dustin Johnson. The right wrist is also extended. But for a flipper, or a golfer who release early, those wrist actions are the opposite of what they are used to doing.
I am a lifelong flipper and am fighting to eradicate those tendencies. I bought the Precision Impact wrist training gadget and it showed me for the first time what all of the movements feel like.
This gadget also has radial and ulnar degrees of motion as it locks the wrist in extension. It gave me an idea. I start the transition with ulnar deviation. This pushes the shaft flat and the clubhead is closer to the ground. This means the spine needs to tilt less and the golfer can be more upright at impact. Some people, like Chris Como, have discovered this too. He throws a wood ax down to the ground behind him to visualize this motion.
When you ulnar deviate, it creates force vectors that glue the feet to the ground force a big body turn into impact. Watch my balance in the video. All of this creates low hands, a tight right elbow, and a consistent club path into the ball.