The rotation of the hands in the golf swing is a complete reaction to our fundamentals and overall swing path. When we have a good grip and swing that’s on plane, it’s common to see the arms straighten out at impact and deliver maximum power. Right after impact our hands and forearms will naturally rotate around our body and into the finish position.
There’s proper hand rotation and then there’s improper hand rotation. Improper hand rotation occurs early in the golf swing. In most cases, it’s directly upon takeaway. It’s seen where the hands initiate the takeaway and roll open creating a severe inside the line swing. Once the hands over rotate on the takeaway, they will need extreme timing in the downswing to rotate back to square and make solid contact. If you struggle with over rotating your hands, you’ll be a very inconsistent golfer. These players often have days of glory where they seem to hit it like a PGA Tour Professional, and the next day they hit it like they just woke up from winter hibernation. They try everything to correct the problem, but rarely do they pay attention to the hands. Why are they not aware of this problem? Because many were told by instructors or have a concept that the hands NEED to rotate open on the backswing. This is false as much of the rotation is just a natural occurrence of proper swing mechanics and gravity.
The following tips will help you in creating less rotation of the hands and give you better timing at impact.
This drill will assist in building body and brain awareness of how a quiet one-piece takeaway should feel. It’s important to know that if the club face stays square to the target line directly upon takeaway, the easier it will be to make square contact. As soon as the hands roll open, you will lose all your timing and ultimately get your body in poor positions in an attempt to correct the flaw. A player who has perfected their ball striking while rolling the hands open has likely spent a lot of practice hours training their swing. The only great professional golfer to have a dramatic rolling of their hands was Raymond Floyd. He had immaculate timing that took years of practice to gain confidence with. Floyd was also dominant in an era of weaker shafts, balata balls and persimmon woods where players could get away with lots of hands and arms in their swing.
The weighted ball drill is simple. Find a 5 or 10 pound ball and if you don’t have access to one, just grab a soccer ball or basketball. Get into your set up position replacing the club for the ball. All you will do is make a series of slow takeaways to your hip. You will not move anything else, just your arms. The back of the left hand (right hand for left handed golfers) will move directly away from the target. Make about 10 slow takeaways and then grab your club making the same small swings. Take note on the difference in feel. Once comfortable you can progress to hitting a few shots before picking the ball back up. Over time this will help keep your hands quiet at the beginning of your swing.
This drill will help you to feel the relationship of how your upper body rotates in the backswing while keeping your hands quiet. You will need some exercise resistance tubing, if you’re not overly strong or comfortable use the weakest resistance possible. Find a doorway and close the door on the tubing just above the knob height. Make sure the door is secure. Pull the tubing so it’s completely stretched out but not to its fullest. Next, get into your golf posture while holding the tubing. Make a series of slow takeaways while keeping your lower body dead still. What you should feel is the arms, chest and core initiating to pull the tubing tight. You should make approximately 15 repetitions and with each one focusing on the feeling of how your upper body rotates. This drill will help to strengthen your rotation and keep your hands quiet in the golf swing.
Tip #3 Shake Hands with the Target
One of the finest tips to work proper hand rotation after impact is the “Shake hands with the target” drill. When a player achieves perfect impact you’ll notice that in his follow through at about hip high, the arms and club are fully extended at the target. To feel this position, get into your golf posture without a club. Take your right hand (left hand for left handed golfers) and extend it out past your hip. Now make a motion as if you were shaking hands with someone. Then put your hands together. Feel the extension of your arm. This is an ideal rotation of the hands after solid contact.
