This week’s blog topic is called, “What Is Lag?”
Lag in simple terms is the angle created between the club shaft and the lead arm (closest arm to the target) in the downswing. When we create lag, we are creating and storing energy to be released through the golf club and onto the golf ball. This can become a very complicated area of the golf swing but let me try and give you a simple overview.
Common Faults That Prevent Players From Creating Lag:
- Pressure Shift: Players that have a poor pressure shift or change of direction in the downswing will tend to struggle to create much lag in their golf swing. Players with a quick change of direction with the lower half can create the opportunity to generate more lag.
- Hand Speed In The Downswing: Golfers who reach peak speed with their hands in the downswing too early. Many will have heard this referred to as “casting.”
- Palmy Grip: If the club is held too much across the palms of the hands, then setting the wrists and creating potential lag will be very difficult.
- Excessive Force Applied With Your Trail Hand: The trail hand (furthest from the target) tends to push across the grip resulting in the club slowing down but also the trail arm straightening out of sequence.
- Open Club Face: Casting in the downswing becomes compensation to try and square the clubface.
What Are The Benefits Of Lag?
The main benefits would be potential increased clubhead speed and therefore distance and control of when that lag is released that will affect the quality of impact. Lag will tend to also have an impact upon the swing path of the club and the angle of attack, and timing of this in conjunction with how other segments of the body are moving is key and can have huge benefits on the quality of strike.
Is Lag Always A Good Thing?
To be honest, chasing more lag is not always a good thing and can hurt many players who want to achieve more of it. Producing too much lag; golfers tend to unintentionally cause the face to open which results in poor club face control. We can also cause the arc of the swing to become too narrow which can directly affect the quality of strike. It is important to work with a coach when making changes like this, as the results are not in isolation and will have impact on other areas of the golf swing.
I hope that has given you a little more insight to a golfing word we often hear thrown around. As always check in with me if it’s something you would like to chat through further in helping you toward playing your best golf!
– Coach Tim