Why You Need This:

How envious would you playing partners be, if you could build massive lag in your golf swing? I bet they wouldn’t like it when you start out-driving them by 30 yards either!

In this video I break down the motions that create lag in the golf swing.

We start out with very simple movements and gradually add to them.

If you are ready to start gaining lag, lets get started!

What's Covered: A lag progression set of drills.

Golf Pros Featured:

Instructors Featured: Clay Ballard    

Video Duration: 7:20

Video Transcription:

OK, so in the last video we talked about the speed trail and how momentum is going to really dictate where the club goes in your golf swing, and we’re going to talk about how we always want to keep the force in front of the mass, especially in the downswing, especially when we have forward shaft lean and lag through contact.

I’m going to go over a great progression to help you do that.

We’re going to start out by simply turning the club upside down and making some swings with just the right arm only, the left arm only, we’re going to turn the club the normal way and do some right arm, left arm only.

Then we’re going to put the hands together and gradually progress from a starting position all the way to a full swing in this drill, and working on lag every step of the way.

So this is great to do in your living room for the first three quarters of these drills, then you can go out to the driving range and work on it after that.

So first let’s start out with the club upside down, I’m just going to use my right hand. Now as we talked about it, if the club is moving to the right, if the direction, the force is going this way.

Ideally if we’re going to maximize the momentum of the club we’re going to keep the mass of the club back here lagging behind.

So if I’m swinging this way with my arm, just a little mini swing, my handle is going to be lagging behind, and as I change directions now the momentum of the club is going this way.

The momentum of the handle is going this way, and as I change directions back this way with my hand, as long as my wrist is loose, that momentum going in the opposite direction is going to create some lag in my wrist and now the force is in front of the mass going back the other way.

So the same thing is going to happen both ways, simply swing your club upside down, really nice and loose with the wrist and you’re going to notice that’s happening.

As I’m going forward, force leading the mass. As I change directions the momentum of the clubhead is going to be going that way, my hand changes directions, now I have lag going this other way, and I’m simply swinging back force leading the mass again.

So you’re just going to do about 100 repetitions, making a little bit of a weight shift between your right foot and your left foot, and staying loose with your hands in your wrist and you’ll see I have lag, I have lag.

Lag, lag. So my force is always leading and it’s naturally creating some lag. Then go ahead and do the same thing with your left hand.

Before we go and do that, let’s talk about how in the downswing that setting, that’s what’s going to create lag, knuckles back toward my elbow, and my wrist angled up, and then I’m going to be releasing that as I’m coming through contact, fully release as I’m coming into the straight line release.

Let’s go ahead and do the same thing with the left hand here. Force leading mass, changes direction and the momentum of the club creates lag.

Then my wrist is going to be bowed, and as I’m coming through contact, again this would be releasing, and the momentum of the club head would be releasing trying to catch up with my hands, then it’s fully released in the straight line release.

So you’re simply going to do this about another 100 repetitions, just back and forth, a little bit of weight shift, keeping the left wrist nice and loose and relaxed as you’re going through there.

After we’ve done that, we can now put both hands together, we’re just going to go ahead and flip the club the other way around, and you’re going to do these same things.

This isn’t exactly a golf swing yet, this is just feeling your wrist nice and loose, and making sure that your club is lagging behind no matter which direction I’m swinging.

So I’m a little flippy here, that’s completely fine, we’re over doing it to get the feel of creating lag.

If you’re going to pause this at any point, you’ll notice I have a lot of lag, either way I’m going I have lag. So my hands are naturally setting because the momentum of the clubhead.

So now let’s go ahead and make this a little bit more realistic in an actual swing, and then we’ll start to hit a few balls here in a second.

I’m first going to start out with a little half swing, and as I go back now we can see why it’s very important to not set that wrist early.

If I set the wrist early, as I change directions, the momentum of the clubhead is already set and it’s automatically going to want to start releasing.

If I have very little wrist set, so you can see how my thumbs are down, I have very little wrist set, as I change directions now the momentum of this clubhead is pulling it back for lag.

That’s what we’re going to do in a real swing, very little wrist set, and then as I change directions I’m going to have lag.

Then I want you to come on through, releasing everything at the straight line release, and then we’re just going to come up to a nice easy, easy full finish.

Let’s go ahead and do that again. So I’m going to do a half swing, very little wrist set, as I change directions the change of direction starts with the weight shifting to the left, the hips shifting to the left.

That’s going to be the first, then my hands, then the club are going to be coming. So let’s do that again.

Super slow motion, weight shift to the left, lag, then everything’s releasing, I’m going to come to a nice easy finish.

I’m going to do this again kind of the normal speed, there we go. We see that club start to lag behind.

Once you’ve gotten this far into the progression, you can start to hit some little mini chip shots doing this, I don’t want them to go more than 20 or 30 feet.

We’re going to go back really slow, very little wrist set, as I shift to the left I’m creating lag, and then I’m going to release it.

So very, very easy strokes. That probably flew about 40 or 50 feet in the air, really compressed because I had some forward shaft lean and that ball came out low and really, really solid.

Now, between every repetition, between every shot, I’m going to go ahead and do a few more slow motion repetitions and maybe go a little bit longer in each one.

So that time I went back half way, this time I’ll go back a little farther, I’m working on the same thing. So very little wrist set.

Now as I’m changing directions the momentum of the clubhead is still pulling it back, I’m going to have lag, and then I’m releasing it as I’m coming through there.

I’m going to go a little farther, maybe this one is going to go 60-70 yards, and this an 8 iron, so a quarter swing here, quarter of this full speed.

There we go, that one probably went closer to 100 yards, but the keys I’m focusing in on there are very little wrist set going back, and then as I change directions, the momentum of the clubhead creates lag, and as I come through I’m letting that release.

I’m not trying to hold on, I don’t want to do this and then hold on through contact, that’s the worst thing you can do because you’re not getting any speed out of it.

I want to have that set and then immediately release that, like we talk about in the stretch-shortening cycle in the lag section.

That’s really going to help you to do that. That’s going to get you speed, and then from there you’re just gradually going to go fuller, and fuller into the swing, until eventually we end up with a good full swing.

Let me go ahead and go full swing slow motion, very little wrist set as I go all the way to the top, big shoulder turn not quite setting as I’m starting down, then it’s going to max out and then immediately I’m releasing it to the full straight line release.

If I can do that in a full swing, it should look something like this. You notice how my hands are staying nice and soft, and I’m creating that lag in the downswing.

There you go. That’s some good lag on that one, nice forward shaft lean, came out low and pretty well compressed.

Work through this progression, it’s going to help you guys with your lag.

Good luck, it’s pretty hot out here so I’m going to head into the house, I’ll see you guys later.