How the wrists REALLY work (what 93% of amateurs don't know)

Mark Crossfield, golf professional, talking how the wrists work in the golf swing and how this simple idea can help you hit longer, straighter golf shots.

►Subscribe today. To start improving your golf game, its FREE

► Hit #Subscribe & #HitTheBell, so you don't miss out on any new videos!

► Find Mark across social media

Welcome to the Mark Crossfield Golf Channel! If you're looking for world-class golf instruction and honest equipment reviews, you've come to the right place.

Mark is the original professional golfer content creator with a passion for helping others improve their game. On this channel, you'll find various videos featuring golf tips, advice, and drills to help you play better golf and reduce your handicap. From fixing your slice and hook to driving the golf ball longer and straighter and improving your ball striking, Mark has over 25 years of coaching expertise to help you become a better golfer.

In addition to instructional videos, you'll also find equipment reviews to help you make informed decisions on the best gear for your game. Whether you're a beginner looking to get started in golf or an experienced player looking to take your game to the next level, Mark Crossfield Golf has something for you. Tune in and start your journey to better golf today!

Music by LabelGREY

[granty]

Mind blowing. Saw this at 6.35 am waiting in the car park. 7.15 am first Tee shot, normally 210/220 yards... Boom! 250 yards.
Every club felt so much more powerful.. INSANE!

Thanks Mark C.... 🎉

[d.s.]

Wrist angles were the one thing that was really holding me back as a 10+ year self taught golfer. Watched some of your videos about wrist angles halfway through last year and it ended up taking 3 full stroke off my handicap over the remainder of the season, from an 12 to an 9. Thank you for what you do Mark. No nonsense lesson videos are what made me the golfer I am.

[TeddyCavachon]

The key wrist action in the downswing which accelerates the club head is the change from thumbs-up radial deviation to thumbs-down unlar deviation. I first became aware of this when I decided to try learning to swing like Ben Hogan using his Five Lessons and by screen capturing videos of him and watching them frame-by-frame after 20 or so years of trying in vain to emulate the swing of Jack Nicklaus learned from his book Golf My Way back in the mid 1980s.

In 1980s and 1900s the mantra was “sustain the lag” through impact and the idea that maximum acceleration of the club head only occurred after impact. The X factor was also in vogue in which the goal was to minimize rotation of the hips in the backswing instead maximizing how far the shoulders could coil the torso muscles around the hips in the backswing.

Hogan’s swing style was based around moving hips/shoulders and hands together in the takeaway against the resistance of a squared back foot, which creates a huge amount of torque in the back leg and buttocks if done to the point the back leg straightens. Something else Hogan was known for was the “waggle” of the club up and down in his pre-shot routine. Initially I thought this just a drill to relive tension in the grip, but one day doing it a ball got it the way and it flew 20 or so yards dead straight with just the wrist action.

Studying Hogan’s videos frame-by-frame I realized that he was allowing the club head to “waggle” down around the hands in the downswing instead of trying to “sustain the lag”. In the downswing at the point his hands passed over his back leg they slowed to nearly a stop but the club shaft became a blur indicating it was accelerating around the hands. His trail wrist could be seen changing from maxed out radial deviation and extension into ulnar deviation and neutral extension /flexion (i.e., allowing the swing force acting on the club head mass to pull the trail wrist straight with the trail forearm).

Hogan had the habit of cupping (extending) his lead wrist at the top of the backswing which apparently was something he need to do to bring the club shaft parallel and club mass over the center of balance at the top after his 1948 car crash. Then in the downswing he changed the lead wrist from extension to maxed out flexion which also created palm-up supination. But what was also happening in the lead wrist was change from radial deviation (thumb up lag) to thumb-down ulnar deviation.

To the naked eye or watching video at actual speed it appears to be the same as a conventional lagging swing, but by watching and emulating the wrist action frame by frame then in real time I realized Hogan in the last foot or so of the downswing before impact snapped the club down into the ball with the same waggle action seen in his pre shot routine. I realized the biomechanics were similar to how a hammer, axe, and bull whip and even a baseball in a pitcher’s hand increases acceleration and striking force. There was an immediate improvement in my ability to compress the golf ball onto the face of the club in full swings which resulted in more distance, green stoping spin off the face of my wedges and irons and even a difference in the feel and sound of impact.

I started whipping the club head down around the hands so rapidly the club shaft would bend forward and cause the club head to snap off at the hosel which led to an understanding of the sensation of “hitting / breaking through the wall” I had read about but never really felt. I realized that times when the shaft bowed forwards and snapped the head off the club it was because my back foot was still grounded.

Again watching Hogan’s swing frame by frame I studied how he moved his back foot and realized the correlation between the back foot being grounded, that restricting hip turn to about 45° open just as the hands were passing over the back leg and the club starts whipping down around the hands. Keeping the back heel down until the hips can’t turn any more (hitting the wall) is like driving a car 80 mph and tapping the brakes and that is what was triggering the club head mass to whip down around the hands in Hogan’s swing. Just as that occurred he started a very controlled lifting of the back foot, peeling it off the turf heel-to-toe as if attached with velcro and not turning it onto the toe until well past impact. That coordinated lifting of the foot frees the hips/shoulders and hands to catch up with the speed of the arms and club head preventing the club head from bending forward to the point of failure (which may happen with “waggle action” if the back foot isn’t released.

[jeffmartinez]

This is it! I've seen other videos about this motion, but this was the first (that I've seen) which recommends such a forceful action. Mark, what I love is that you simplified the entire golf swing into 2 primary forces that we need to recruit. One force is the loading and unloading into the ground, and the other force being the torque around the center of the grip, created by the hands working in opposite directions. I found this video a few days ago, at the depths of my frustration, 5 a.m. and unable to sleep because my newly purchased swing radar said I was only getting 78-85 mph. After I watched this video, I got out of bed, and gave it a try. I was definitely someone who was dragging the handle through impact, so forcibly releasing the club was a brand new concept for me. I always thought that the "release" was supposed to be a passive action, but this video clearly drives home the point that the "release" should be aggressive, forceful, and maybe even violent! Needless to say, this concept flipped the switch for me, instantly. My swings began to hit the 95+ range, with a few over 100. Some of my fastest swings felt like I was barely trying or working very hard. What a great feeling! And also, to my surprise, controlling the low spot with my irons became so much easier than when I was dragging and holding on. I can even rip my 4 iron now, without worry of hitting it fat or off-center. Just: load, jump, fling! Wow, it's so easy, it feels like cheating. This video should be mandatory viewing on day-1 for all new golfers! Thanks, Mark!

[namlocnz]

Hips and wrists are what I've been trying to work on, the timing of your last few videos has been perfect! Legend.

[zephyr]

Mark one of my favorite videos to watch is the slow motion tiger woods swing where it is a view from the side and behind him in synch. Would you be willing to do one of yourself explaining what you are feeling during the slow motion swing? Really appreciate everything you do.

[jimmystewart]

I’ve been looking for a good showing of how the wrist and hands truly work Good stuff thanks

[titan]

probably the best info and block of instruction I've ever received

[oneshotrally]

State of that Club Mark! If I rocked up for a lesson with clubs like that the club pro would spend 20 minutes drilling me on the importance of clean grooves and face 🙂
Great vid as always, thanks.

[Osterhjm]

Hi Mark, can you explain and show the difference between the jump and early extension? Thx 😊

[johnhailstone]

once again brilliant. I've been working on this myself. Pulling and pushing the grip. It works that's for sure.

[John-nlkt]

Best swing and most natural on YouTube ✌️

[epicragegaming]

last time i helicoptered my club it got stuck in a tree and i bought a new set of irons lol. can't wait to practice this. thanks for all the videos over the years.

[bosco]

Great video. Im a lefty that swings righty. I think this going to help my lack of release. Any other tips for the lead hand dominant golfers?

[lewiswilliams]

Great video. Giles Gill has a great video on how the wrists work

[Simeon-the-Magnificent]

Mark I remember watching one of your old videos saying the face doesn't roll over through impact it simply follows your pivot

[briank]

Good lord, is everyone tired of Mark and Alex Elliot saying 93% this 95% that as if they statistically analyzed golfers. Stop please. Love the content Mark

[SolomonLi]

“Helicoptering the club”… I admit I never had, but I get the feel. LOL. The physics on the club movement is solid though. When you’re swinging a baseball bat the fastest part of the bat is always at the end, but the feeling of the hands is just as you described. As always, good stuff Mark!

[paulgoulding]

Sometimes, " helicoptering " your club is very satisfying. Especially when it goes farther than the ball. 😇🤣

[antonwillis]

I’m not sure what I’m doing but I tried this as soon as I start that down swing and it works so much better for me than trying to focus on having my body in front of the club