A proper release is a key component of any solid golf swing. Without it, you will never maximize your consistency and results.
But what exactly is a release? It’s the way you allow the clubhead to pass your hands through impact. Do it correctly, and you can create tons of power and create the conditions for a consistent clubface through impact. Do it incorrectly, and it can create tons of problems.
For more on how to practice a proper release, check out the video below from GOLF Top 100 Teacher Dave Phillips of the Titleist Performance Institute.
Rather than teach golfers to “hold angle,” Dave Phillips prefers to teach them to practice release.
— TPI (@MyTPI) November 19, 2025
Here he demonstrates a favorite drill that he learned from @padraig_h which helps train proper timing and pattern of a golfer’s release. pic.twitter.com/jTTW8bl15B
How to groove a proper release
When it comes to grooving the feel of a proper release, Phillips says he likes to use a drill he learned from three-time major champ Padraig Harrington.
“It’s the ‘hit-and-hold’ drill,” Phillips says.
Executing the drill is simple. All you need to do is make your normal swing, but right after impact, feel like you’re abruptly “stopping” the clubhead.
“If you can hit the ball and stop right here,” Phillips says. “What it actually gets is it gets your angles out and it forces you to get the club in the right position.”
When you feel like you are stopping the clubhead right after impact, it puts your wrists in the correct release position.
“I don’t want to hold on [to my wrist position] and stop it,” Phillips says. “It puts too much stress on the shoulder, the elbow and the wrist.”
If you’re struggling to feel the correct release pattern through impact, give this drill a try. Not only will it teach you the feels of a proper release, but it’ll make you a better ball-striker, too.
