The Secret of Golf

Yes, there truly is a secret of golf.
Good players know it, and use it almost
subconsciously. the Golfing Machine describes
this secret as Lag.

It is simple, elusive, indispensable, without
substitute or compensation and always present.
- Homer Kelley

What is lag? We’ve all heard this term.
Lag can be defined as, trailing or
following. Golf Instruction tells us
we need to have it but why?

In this article we will focus on clubhead
lag. Clubhead lag promotes even and steady
acceleration assuring dependable control of
distance. An example would be a tour player
hitting a shot. as the player starts their
pre-shot the announcer tells us that the
player has 193 yards to the flag and that
they are going to hit a 6 iron. a 6 iron
A lot of players would love to
hit their Driver that far

In every good swing at the moment of Impact
the clubshaft is leaning forward (toward the target).
The hands are in front of the ball, and clubface,
turning the 6 iron into a 5 or 4 iron. the
average player arrives at Impact with the hands
BEHIND the ball and the clubshaft either vertical or
leaning backward. This ADDS loft and turns that 6 iron into
a 7 or 8 iron do you play golf with someone that is
always complaining that all of their irons go the same
distance? These players have a backward leaning clubshaft.

The good players use a steady acceleration, the poor
players over-accelerate. the hands reach maximum speed
before reaching Impact and this one move dissipates all of
the lag.

Here are some drills to feel, establish, and maintain
clubhead lag.

What does lag feel like? It is
exactly like dragging a wet heavy string mop through Impact.
In this drill use a towel. Wrap the towel around the
hosel of your club and place the clubhead on ground just
outside of your trailing foot. Now try to use just your
wrists to take the clubface to the ball. This move is
difficult at best and the shaft will be leaning backward.
Now replace the club but this time rotate your right
shoulder downplane to the golf ball and toward right
field. You’ll notice a distinct sensation of
dragging and a heavy pressure through the ball.

For the next drill you can simply take a piece of rope and
hold it like a club. go the top of the swing and allow the
rope to rest on the top of your right shoulder. as you
start down feel like the rope stays ofthe shoulder as
you take your hands on a direct downward line to the ball,
or a spot in front of the ball. This is called a
rope handle technique in the Golfing Machine.
As you can see, the end of the rope is lagging your hands.

The majority of golfers do just the opposite. They try move
the clubhead with the wrists. This produces a
quitting motion and the club moves upward toward
Impact instead of downward.

A properly lagging clubhead produces a strong downward
thrust which adds distance, trajectory, and
consistency.

For a great drill use a duffel bag, pillow or Impact bag.
Take the club back to waist high with the clubshaft parallel
to the target line and horizontal to the ground. Now
simply rotate the right shoulder downplane to the golf ball
and toward right field. This will bring the hands and
body to Impact position and the club will be lagging

The Secret of Golf