How to flick your wrist through impact for a better swing

It’s trendy these days to try to eliminate excessive wrist action during the swing, but it’s important to recognize that your wrists play an integral part in helping you generate extra clubhead speed and square the clubface for a pure strike. In fact, in good swings, the wrists actually “flick” through impact.

Here’s how it works: As the clubhead approaches the ball, your right wrist is bent backward while your left is flexed, or bowed (photo 1, above). Yet, at some point following impact, the opposite is true: Your left wrist is bent and your right wrist is flexed (4). The only explanation for this is that the wrists do indeed “flick” at the bottom of your swing. A great way to develop a feel for the flick is to practice swinging the club using just your wrists back and through the impact zone, then slowly integrate your body into the motion. You’ll quickly see and feel how the flick is central to a solid strike and longer shots with every club in the bag.

Brian Manzella teaches at English Turn GC in New Orleans, La. (@brianmanzella).

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