Impact is the moment of truth – the point where nothing else matters besides how the clubface meets the ball. Everything you accomplish in the swing is carefully crafted in order to deliver the club in a particular manner at impact. There are several things that need to happen, but the best part is you don’t need to think about all of them. I want to go through what you need to be aware of and what you don’t so we can clear up any confusion.
Think about – turning your body and swinging your arms.
There’s a benefit of being aggressive through the ball. As long as you maintain good balance, you can turn and swing as hard as you like. It’s vital to keep moving through impact. At no point does any part of your body stop moving. This is your focus; you’re your body and swing your arms through the ball all the way until you finish the swing. Anytime you stop turning or swinging you inhibit the consistency and efficiency of your impact position. Your hands usually make up the difference, but you can never rely on the hands to consistently and efficiently deliver the club through the ball. Never stop turning your body and swinging your arms.
Don’t think about – releasing the club.
There are two factors that properly release the club, gravity and centrifugal force. If you can rely on them, they will take care of everything. You never need to consciously think about releasing the club, or unhinging your wrists. Thinking about it implies that you are trying to manipulate the club. You’re trying to control clubface angle and swing path by steering the clubface with your hands. This leads to inconsistency and inefficiency. When you rely on the smallest parts of your body, your hands, to perform the swing, your setting yourself up for disaster.
Impact is very delicate. Minor differences in clubface angle and swing path can translate into a wide range of miss hits. Your goal is to figure out the most consistent and efficient methods to achieve proper impact. Releasing the club is not worth thinking about. It’s the effect of gravity and centrifugal force from the swinging of the arms. All you need to think about through impact is turning your body and swinging your arms.
Long and Straight,
Adam
