Whatever you do to create your swing it really appears that you need to start by getting your body and mind moving with a waggle. Starting your swing from a dead stop seems to hurt the consistency of any golfer’s swing. Just moving your hands and wrists may get your mojo running but you should consider the waggle that many of the pros are now using.
Jason Dufner seems to make his hands dance when he does his famous waggle. You don’t have to go to that extreme. You should consider what many pros are doing. A wrist or shoulder takeaway waggle may be just the thing you should be doing to create a more consistent swing. They are actually rehearsing the start of their swing.
Ever since I noticed Mike Weir (2003 Masters Champion) using his takeaway waggle, I wondered why he was using that unique type of waggle. Mike did a rehearsal of half of his backswing in slow motion. As I later learned in one of his articles he was just adding focus to the mechanics of taking his club back on his chosen plane.
Wrist Cock Waggle:
Now I’m noticing Michelle Wie and Daniel Im (US PGA pro playing in the Irish Open) are both completing a wrist waggle by cocking their wrist without rotating their shoulders or hips. They turn their wrists to point the toe of their club up to the sky (without any shoulders or hips movement). This is the exact move that they make to start their swing. Part 2 of their swing is to rotate their shoulders and hips as they lift their arms. This 2 part swing seems to give them excellent direction control.
Rickie Fowler simply rotates his shoulders keeping a V with his straight arms to rehearse the start of his swing. (and his head remains motionless)
Shoulder Waggle:
The shoulder and hip waggle (recently highlighted by the Rotary Swing Blog) is the waggle that Rickie Fowler and many others PGA Pros are using. Their waggle keeps both arms straight as they rotate their shoulders and hips as they start to cock their wrists. Their shoulders and arms stay in a TRIANGLE during their short waggle. It focuses on:
1. the shoulder rotation to generate power in your swing.
2. a wide arc by keep your leading arm straight.
I have been using the Fowler Waggle because it helps me slowdown my backswing and to avoid creating a rushed loop during my transition at the top.
Pete the pro on Golf-Info-Guide by Thomas Golf also points out that your leading arm should be straight (not rigid) throughout your backswing. Your trailing arm should be slightly bent during your setup as you are using your tailing arm to pull your leading FLAT wrist to create lag during your backswing.
The world of golf is moving from a wrist waggle to a shoulder rotation waggle to rehearse the start of their swing. That motion gets your mojo and brain locked into a consistent swing. Practice with your GOLFSTR+ to feel and learn the impact of your waggle. It will relax your swing and create a more consistent swing. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com
I’ll start waggling from now on, concentrating on takeaway and feeling lag. I do it from time to time, but now I’ll be quite systematic about it.
Michel Wandel. Brussels. Belgium.
We are all looking for ways to trick out mind to calm down and create consistent golf swings. You always need to experiment to see what works for you. Glad to see that you are working on your swing in Brussels.