Pete Finch – PGA Teaching Pro

One of the key problems if you are trying to develop a very late release within your golf swing is, trusting the positions that you are in. Now one of the key problems with this and one of the massive issues that people have is as that club lags down behind them, as they try and create that late release, they’ve no concept of where the clubface is within their hands. This is because that club is here down behind them and then from here it can either be very, very close, they can be open, but then again the timing to square up that clubface at the point of impact is very, very difficult to do. Now the few drills that you can use, you can use the relaxed hand drill that we spoke about with the driver. You can use the pitch shot especially to try and find out where that club face is. But you can also use an alteration of clubface position to see where your clubface is at the point of impact as well.

So very, very simply, you’ll need three balls for this drill, I’ve got one here I’m going through to it. If you take it to the top of your backswing get your right hand down into this position and this just using your normal regular grip. So getting the feeling of that relaxed right hand, getting the feeling it is that right late release and then moves through and hit the shot. And have a few shots like that just triangle the one shot with the three ball drill and just try and get a sensation of where the ball is going to.

Now on the second shot if you use exactly the same swing feelings, but address close the clubface and then take your normal grip. So you can see here at the point of address that that clubface is pointing a long way off to the left hand side and then exactly the same swing, getting that sensation there, turning through and then seeing where the ball goes and on the last one the opposite feel that that club face is quite open pointing of to the right hand side exactly the same feelings and then turning through. If you can have those swings using your different clubface positions, you will start to figure out and you will start to gain the sense of trust of which of those of clubface positions is producing the best shots.

Now what most people find is that with a normal neutral grip they play their best shots by strengthening the grip they hit it left, by weakening the grip in the clubface they hit it off to the right hand side. But by being able to play those different shapes of shot you will be able to gain a lot more trust in what is your normal grip and this new sensation. If you were practising this and you simply can’t get a ball straight no matter what you do then maybe the late release swing is not for you. But give this drill a go, give the other drills a go as well and see if it’s something that you can pop into your game.