Why You Need This:

In this video we will test your Straight Line Release on video and see if you are hitting the key checkpoints. For level one I give you several checkpoints to be sure to do correctly. Keep up the hard work on the reps!

What's Covered: In this video we will test your Straight Line Release on video and see if you are hitting the key checkpoints. For level one I give you several checkpoints to be sure to do correctly. Keep up the hard work on the reps!

Golf Pros Featured:

Instructors Featured: Clay Ballard    

Video Duration: 6:54

Video Transcription:

Hey guys, and welcome back to the straight line release section, this is the Level 1 test. This is the time to put the rubber to the road. Let’s actually test it out on video.

What we’re going to be doing here, we’re going to make some practice swings where we pause, and we’re also going to be making some practice swings where we just go through the entire motion. We’re going to videotape those on camera.

So go ahead and throw a camera pointing directly back to the center of your body. You’re going to go frame by frame, I like to use an app called Hudl Technique, and we’re going to be able to actually draw some lines on there as you’re coming through contact.

So let’s imagine that this is my ball that I’m hitting on the ground, it’s going to be basically off the logo of my shirt, my left ear, as I’m at address. We’re going to be practicing when we’re releasing this club.

We know in the lag section we talked about we want to have some lag as our left arm gets roughly parallel to the ground, could be a little higher or lower, but roughly parallel to the ground. That’s kind of where we’re maxing out our angle of lag.

From there, we’re releasing that, and that’s going to get fully released as we’re about 45 in front. If you took a line from my chest and drew a 45° angle out in front, you’re going to see that that is going to be when my club is splitting that line, and my club is basically splitting my forearms.

So a good, simple way to test this as we worked on in earlier videos, is we put a ball on the ground, and I’m going to put another ball about four feet in front going directly down my target line.

When I come down into contact, I’m going to hit my ball and then as I go into the straight line release my club should be pointing roughly directly at that ball out in front, four feet out in front.

Now the way we know if we’re doing our straight line release correctly, I’m going to measure when does the angle of my club first bisect my forearms?

This would be the angle of my club going forward, you can see if I drew a line down the shaft of the club. Then I drew a line down the center of my forearms, you can see how those are very split apart, that would be a lot of lag.

Well if I was to release early, you can see now, my club would be splitting my forearms. So my club is going right up between my forearms, that was when I would say I’m getting to my release. Whenever the club splits the forearms, that’s when you’re in your release.

So if you’re releasing early, you may see that back here, that would be kind of the flipping motion. Your club flips your forearms way too early. If I do it correctly I’m coming down, my club is in front of my forearms, and I’m not seeing that split in my forearms until out in front this way.

That’s a great position to be in when you’re in that straight line release. Got to get that club to release out in front, that way impact just gets in the way.

So a few things I want to check on this to make sure it’s doing correctly, first I want to check exactly what I just talked about. When does my club very first split my forearms? Here’s another great way to look at this.

So imagine I’m gripping the club here, this would be my lag and then this is when it first splits my forearms just like that. If I do that early, it’s going t be back here. So that’s a great way to check that.

The second thing I want to make sure is, if I’m looking from down the line, as I’m 45 out in front, let’s imagine I’m going to the ball out here, now my hips and my shoulders, my hips are going to be about 45° open, my shoulders are going to be a little bit open to where my chest is now facing out to that ball in front, and my shoulders are going to stay in their posture.

I don’t want my shoulders to be level like this, I want my shoulders to stay in their posture, and I’m going to be pointing that ball out in front. If I’m looking at it from face on, it’s going to look like this.

So my hips have opened up, they’re basically pointing at that ball, my chest is pointing at that ball, and I’ve stayed in my posture in my swing as I’m coming on through.

If I can do that, check when the club splits the forearms, the very first time that should happen is when I’m up here at this ball, and then check your hips, your shoulders, and your posture of your shoulders. Those things are correct, you’re nailing that straight line release.

Go ahead and do about 3,000 reps, don’t be overwhelmed by that number. Spread that out over several weeks, a month, a month and a half f you need to, take as much time as you need.

What we really want to do is do enough reps correctly to build that muscle memory so we never have to think about this again in the future. So go ahead and do the reps, let’s go ahead and do one where we pause, let’s get those correct.

We’re going to check it on camera, everything looks good, then we’re going to do one where we do a practice swing.

Not even going to worry about hitting a ball, and we’re going to pause our film right at the second where we’d be 45 out in front, and make sure all those lines are angling up correctly, that’s going to count also.

So we’re going to do 3,000 total. We’re not even going to worry about hitting a ball in this first section, we’re just going to get the motions in there, get those correct, then we’ll add the ball in Level 2.

So good luck, work hard, I’ll see you guys soon.