Padraig Harrington isn’t just a three-time Major winner. He’s also a member of Golf Nerd Hall of Fame. No, that’s not a real thing, but if it was he’d be in it. King of it, even. There’s no bridge he won’t cross, or no idea too radical for him to try in the pursuit of improving his game.
https://twitter.com/LukeKerrDineen/status/1052562987909705729
It makes for some great advice for the rest of us. Paddy’s YouTube channel is filled with him dispensing little gems, helping the rest of us play a little better.
Earlier this week, apparently in the idea phase before dropping his next batch of videos, Paddy went on a brief but fascinating Twitter rampage. It started with him sharing a picture of himself at impact…
Thinking about some new tips for #paddysgolftips on YouTube. I’m releasing the club as much as possible here but a static picture could be used to argue I’m holding the angle. Don’t be fooled,the majority of players would be better off feeling like they are releasing from the top pic.twitter.com/d5d9IBVGqH
— Padraig Harrington (@padraig_h) December 2, 2022
Don’t hold the lag
As you can read about the comment, Paddy says that even though his hands are ahead of the ball here, he warns not to be “fooled” that he’s trying to hold the lag. He’s trying to release the club as fast and as hard as possible, because contrary to what you might think, that’s how you release the energy your body has created into the golf club. It’s the feeling of moving the energy outwards that helps maximise your speed.
‘Use your bloody hands’
An emerging crop of new school golf swings rely on the opposite of using your hands, which has brought the idea into vogue in golf today. Swings like Viktor Hovland, to Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson, rely on a bowed lead wrist with lots of torso rotation, which they use for devastating effect.
But the rest of us don’t boast the same athleticism to match those movements, which is why Paddy ends with a simple message: use your hands more! Trust them, and you’ll see some quick gains.
The only thing that can square the clubface is your hands. If you’re not happy with your current game, maybe focus on letting your hands(and arms) dominate and let your body adapt to them rather than believing your hands will follow your body movements.
— Padraig Harrington (@padraig_h) December 3, 2022