Padraig Harrington "Use The Wrists"

[oiler45]

I watched the two part Padraig Harrington golf tips video on using your wrists and hands in the golf swing. I find Paddy a fascinating guy and his explanation seemed to make sense to me. He maintains the "forward shaft/hands ahead" position is a dynamic move and using your hands to hit the ball does not equate to a scoop or flip. He says if you hit the ball first then ground the shaft will naturally be leaning forward and your hands will be ahead of the ball. He also says 75% of swing speed comes from your arms and wrists. He says a young tour pro who carries the ball 300 yards does not have to use their wrists as forcefully as an amateur hacker like me who needs the extra speed and face control.

Anyway - the proof is in the pudding (or in the dirt at the range). I hit a couple large buckets while only focusing on "hitting" the ball with my hands and wrists. It seemed like an easy, simple concept and I had one of my better range sessions that I've ever had - ball first contact and a divot with my irons and straight, consistent drives. I'm not claiming a huge distance increase as I'm not a long hitter at best of times.

Went to the course yesterday, walked on as a single and committed to this new swing thought. I hit the ball extremely well and it seemed super simple and easy to do. I tend to get bogged down in swing thoughts, positions, technique etc. so this felt good.

Anybody else try this swing thought for any length of time? I'm hoping this isn't a honeymoon or a one of - I'd like to hear any comments or experiences from anyone who has tried Paddy's approach to the swing. Thanks

 

[KD1]

 

It took him 35 years to realize this? If only he'd taken a lesson from Monte in his cargo shorts 15 years ago!

[sjcc]

I don’t believe you have a point here. He’s just sharing his years of knowledge, not something he woke up today and had an epiphany….

 

PH wins by tour 

PGA Tour	6
European Tour	15
Japan Golf Tour	1
Asian Tour	4
PGA Tour Champions	9
European Senior Tour	1
Other	11

[Valtiel]

1 hour ago, oiler45 said:

I watched the two part Padraig Harrington golf tips video on using your wrists and hands in the golf swing. I find Paddy a fascinating guy and his explanation seemed to make sense to me. He maintains the "forward shaft/hands ahead" position is a dynamic move and using your hands to hit the ball does not equate to a scoop or flip. He says if you hit the ball first then ground the shaft will naturally be leaning forward and your hands will be ahead of the ball. He also says 75% of swing speed comes from your arms and wrists. He says a young tour pro who carries the ball 300 yards does not have to use their wrists as forcefully as an amateur hacker like me who needs the extra speed and face control.

Anyway - the proof is in the pudding (or in the dirt at the range). I hit a couple large buckets while only focusing on "hitting" the ball with my hands and wrists. It seemed like an easy, simple concept and I had one of my better range sessions that I've ever had - ball first contact and a divot with my irons and straight, consistent drives. I'm not claiming a huge distance increase as I'm not a long hitter at best of times.

Went to the course yesterday, walked on as a single and committed to this new swing thought. I hit the ball extremely well and it seemed super simple and easy to do. I tend to get bogged down in swing thoughts, positions, technique etc. so this felt good.

Anybody else try this swing thought for any length of time? I'm hoping this isn't a honeymoon or a one of - I'd like to hear any comments or experiences from anyone who has tried Paddy's approach to the swing. Thanks

 

I've linked that/those videos probably 100 times as IMO it is one the main pillars of a good golf swing that MOST people screw up. Decades of bad sound bites about "using the big muscles", "getting the hands out of the swing", and "getting wide to make a big turn" has littered the fairways with bodies of average golfers who shut down their hands/wrists and make piss poor golf swings as a result.

IMO every single person picking up the game as an adult should start with this general lesson because the epidemic of poor hand usage and over-swingers/over-rotators starts with not having a clue how to properly use your hands and when. I've long maintained that if you can't make a half swing with close to 75% power of your best full swing like Padraig shows, then you don't really have a full swing yet and shouldn't be attempting one. You have a flailing sequence of excessive and imbalanced/poorly matched up intuitive moves that you get lucky with enough to not quit the game forever. 😅

[KD1]

51 minutes ago, sjcc said:

I don’t believe you have a point here. He’s just sharing his years of knowledge, not something he woke up today and had an epiphany….

 

PH wins by tour 

PGA Tour	6
European Tour	15
Japan Golf Tour	1
Asian Tour	4
PGA Tour Champions	9
European Senior Tour	1
Other	11

 

He said in the linked video it took him 35 years to figure this out... also, these is jokes! nobody takes me seriously around here. Hehe 😢

Edited June 27 by KD1

[RayPlan]

3 hours ago, KD1 said:

 

He said in the linked video it took him 35 years to figure this out... also, these is jokes! nobody takes me seriously around here. Hehe 😢

I take you seriously...ish

 

3 hours ago, Valtiel said:

I've linked that/those videos probably 100 times as IMO it is one the main pillars of a good golf swing that MOST people screw up. Decades of bad sound bites about "using the big muscles", "getting the hands out of the swing", and "getting wide to make a big turn" has littered the fairways with bodies of average golfers who shut down their hands/wrists and make piss poor golf swings as a result.

Focusing on the hands has been really valuable for me recently. Everything flows through the hands since they're the one thing connected to the club. Credit to @virtuoso for this wisdom.

 

3 hours ago, Valtiel said:

IMO every single person picking up the game as an adult should start with this general lesson because the epidemic of poor hand usage and over-swingers/over-rotators starts with not having a clue how to properly use your hands and when

I picked up the game as a kid, but still fell into these nasty patterns.

 

3 hours ago, Valtiel said:

 

3 hours ago, Valtiel said:

I've long maintained that if you can't make a half swing with close to 75% power of your best full swing like Padraig shows, then you don't really have a full swing yet and shouldn't be attempting one. You have a flailing sequence of excessive and imbalanced/poorly matched up intuitive moves that you get lucky with enough to not quit the game forever. 😅

It's amazing what you can get the body to do without really even understanding what you're doing. Flailing is exactly right, lol

[sundaypins]

16 hours ago, oiler45 said:

Anybody else try this swing thought for any length of time? I'm hoping this isn't a honeymoon or a one of - I'd like to hear any comments or experiences from anyone who has tried Paddy's approach to the swing. Thanks

 

If it makes sense to you give it a run and see where it takes you.   But we really need both, body and arms.   Arms provide speed, body locates where the speed is in time.  

[oiler45]

I agree Sunday - the difference to me is the focus. If you use the example of throwing a ball, we focus on our hand that is holding the ball. We look at the target and make a throwing motion thinking of releasing the ball at the right time with our hand. We don't think of "turning our body", "holding the lag", "rotate to a proper finish", "transfer our weight" etc etc. All those things come naturally and we don't think about it.

This is what I'm trying to replicate - we will see.

[sundaypins]

23 minutes ago, oiler45 said:

This is what I'm trying to replicate - we will see.

 

+1

 

Padraig Harrington's tennis ball drill | The neighbours will love this one 🎾 Another tip from our captain. | By Ryder Cup Europe | Facebook

 

 

[airjammer]

For me personally this has always been a fleeting intent and little success over the long run. Also, Padraig has been measured on 3d and he is an outlier when it comes to how he uses his wrists.  
 

I’m not a teacher but most of the people on the range seem to have way too much hand motion going on because their body isn’t anywhere close to a reasonable impact position and their grips are generally too weak so that requires more forearm rotation as well. 
 

Only successful people I see using mostly hand motion are seniors who have lost a bunch of mobility but have 40+ years of educated hands.