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Ross Aug 08, 2017
Thanks for becoming a Member! There has been much discussion on wrist hinging here in the forum and some blog posts too (just search and you’ll find).In general… if you hinge, you’ll have to unhinge and that usually turns into a flip and a miss hit… and you don’t gain anything by hinging, SINCE we don’t throw the club through impact, we rotate and trap the ball with the entire body. We want a nice solid shaft in line with the front arm, and flat to bowed out front wrist, while making contact with the ball.
Now you can do anything you want… if you can hinge into the right impact position at the top of the backswing, and then hold that back down into impact, GREAT… but most hinge the face wide open, then get the opposite reaction on the downswing, and end up flipping for a non solid, miss hit because they’re trying to square the face on the downswing.
Ross Aug 19, 2017
The Shoulders do all the work on the backswing. Then the body’s core (unwinding) bring the arms down and around to the finish. The arms never help or move independently. They don’t actively move away from the body (reach or stretch out) . Maybe through inertia they “elongate” (if the golfer didn’t setup the arms correctly with elbows close together), but the point is that you don’t use the arms to reach out or pull back in. There may be a slight pinching between the elbows “holding” or slight tension in the wrists to “maintain” the setup shape to the top and back down through impact. You want to feel the Shoulders do the work on the backswing, then just unwind and feel the body’s rotation bring the arms back down and around. There is a “harmony” in this move… again like throwing a ball… the body unwinds to move the arms/club through in one continuous move all the way to the finish. It is kind of like the body is swinging the arms, but if the arms/hands try to help, the body will stop and it ruins the move. Hope this helps.Ross Aug 21, 2017
If you’re a Member, I have many Chipping Pitching lesson videos that explain this. If not you can go to YouTube – DUPLESSISGOLF and I have a Chipping Lesson Video.1. Feet close, weight mostly left, ball just inside front foot.
2. Shoulders only for Chipping (FYI…I prefer Pitching in most cases)
3. This is not a quick answer because you need the whole routine:
~ From behind the ball, visualize tossing the ball to a spot and imagine the ball rolling and taking the break and finishing in the hole. Then setup aligned to that spot, and then using only the shoulders, hit the ball at the speed you visualized, to the spot on the green you picked. Ideally you will watch some of my Lesson Videos where I explain this in detail.Ross Sep 03, 2017
The elbow getting stuck behind the back hip can happen for different reasons (and combinations of the reasons I will mention)1. You did not wind up correctly on the backswing (shoulders first from top down), so you did not remove the “slack” in your back muscles*. This usually means, you moved your hips and shoulders together on the backswing so, on the downswing (since there is slack in your back), the hips could start unwinding leaving the shoulders behind and the elbow gets trapped.
2. On the backswing the arms/hands got involved and helped lift up, or pulled the arms way back across your chest behind you (disconnected) so on the downswing, the arms can’t catch up.
3. The elbows are not staying close together and get separated (maybe chicken wing back elbow) so on the downswing the back elbow gets trapped.
This is why the Ross Move helps, because it helps teach the student to feel the body being patient bringing the arms/club back down in front vs. the body/hips just racing away leaving the arms/club behind.
One important thought is … a shorter backswing makes it easier to return back in front. I tell my students when they feel the shoulders finish on the backswing, start the downswing. No extra lifting, hinging, bending or arm/wrist… focus on shoulders controlling the backswing**
About grip pressure both hands/wrists can work equal and you do not need a death grip… you need the correct sequence of body movements trapping and pulling (with the body unwind not the hands and arms pulling) through impact and accelerating all the way to the finish (not just at the ball). It is much easier to keep the shaft in line with the front arm if the body keeps turning to the finish… if it stops, the club wants to flip.
* On the backswing, the shoulders can turn some without the hips moving at all. This means the hips and shoulders can move independent of each other causing HUGE golf issues. I call this independent leeway “slack”. When you windup shoulders first and remove the slack in the back muscles, a continuity is created like winding up a rubber band… so on the downswing there is harmony unwinding together.
** On a full swing the shoulders turn first and the shoulders eventually turn the hips a little… but it is the shoulders moving the hips, not the hips turning on their own.
Ross Sep 02, 2017
You want to check that your back elbow is not getting trapped behind your back hip. That can force a flip. The Ross Move (and Ross Move Drill) can help. Make sure your arms have gotten back in front of the body as the body, rotating, drags the shaft through as you hold the shape. You may have to start with the front wrist bowed out a bit to help hold. The gap drill can help.Also, make sure the ball is forward and your weight is 60-70% on your front side. Practice very short pitch shots (Fix Wrist Drill) keeping your wrists fixed on the backswing, and then all the way to the finish… then lengthen the shot until you find where you’re starting to flip.
Keeping the shaft in line with the front arm is not an easy thing. Most golfers have the urge to throw the club head to help… practice/warmup with the short pitch to show your body what you want to do. Become familiar with the correct move.
Ross Sep 12, 2017
If my memory is correct, I recall Laura Davies would leave the ground too. It is almost like jumping rope in a way, where the body leaves the ground, so the arms can swing the rope under.Ross Sep 11, 2017
Hi Dan
We do use the ground for both winding up and unwinding.What I think you’re referring to is straightening out the front leg. In general this is contrary to what we do. This move essentially helps generate speed having the arms/club pass the body at impact. They’re sending the energy “up” so they can swing their arms through against the body vs. how we rotate and trap the ball using the body and arms unwinding.
Moral of the story… if you try this move, your distances will be very inconsistent, and the ball will be all over the place unless you have exceptional talent and can consistently square the club face… and then you still can’t trust it. You also may hurt your front knee if your front foot is flatfooted and you turn through fast .
One other thing, many top players have different swings for different shots. You usually see this “up” move with Driver or a very long or hard-hit shot.
Ross Sep 22, 2017
Unwinding the golf swing will happen at different paces depending on the shot. If you take a very short backswing, then using the body to unwind (like throwing a ball), your rotation and arms and club should all finish together (or) your body will unwind at a pace that everything finishes together (at the same time). You should feel your body’s unwinding rotation bring the arm/club back in front of you and around to the left so everything finishes together. Watch (and practice) The Finish Drill, The Stop Rotate Drill, and you’ll see what I’m saying. Much harder to explain in writing then just do. If you’re having problems, send me a couple videos of you doing the drills and I’ll tell you why you’re struggling.Ross Sep 21, 2017
If you’re thinking hips to start and unwind, they unwind at a continuous (does not slow down and speed up) pace. It is actually best for them to speed up or accelerate slightly to the finish.If you feel the need to slow down or stop the hips midway to let the arms/club catch up, you should watch (review) the Ross Move. It also may be that you did not wind up correctly. The shoulders must start winding around the spine first. It is like the shoulders get a “head start” at first, as you coil from top-down on the backswing. This will have you would up correctly so when you unwind, the hips can bring the arms back down. We’ve talked quit a bit on this here at the forums if you search. Short pitch shots are a great way to learn this.
Ross Sep 24, 2017
There are many different situations, but in general hit the ball first if you can. Also, the shaft must be in line with the front arm through impact to have a solid shot (no flipping). Now a buried lie in a bunker is different… you want a “dig sole” or think of a slightly closed club face to remove all the bounce to let the club go down through the sand and kind of gouge the ball out.Ross Sep 27, 2017
No. It is for a specific problem(s). The Finish Drill, Stop Rotate Drill, Large Muscles Drill are all very important focusing on using the Large Muscles. They also help teach you how to keep your hands and arms in control so they don’t take over.Ross Aug 07, 2016
As you practice this way, if you’re connected on a very short shot… keep slowly lengthening the shot until you disconnect, or feel the arms are behind. You’ll become more aware of where you need to be on the backswing. Shorter is always better to get re-connected.Ross Aug 03, 2016
The Drill is primarily about, getting the arms/club back down in front of the body (using the body’s rotation to move the arms/club).Now, the job of the elbows, are to keep the radius the same length if possible for more consistent results. The back (right) elbow has to bend some on a full backswing, while the front arm is (basically straight)… and the front (left) elbow will bend (down), after impact eventually, while the back (right) arm straightens.
I would not practice a straight right arm on the backswing, because it needs to bend at some point. You want to feel the body “WAIT” until the backswing is finished, so the body can then bring the arms/club back down. Many times if someone has problems leaving the arms/club behind it is because, the body did not wait … or the backswing is out of position or way too long due to a breakdown.
If you start with a short “ALL SHOULDERS” backswing… you can easily wait for the shoulders to stop… then use the body and feel the arms/club come back down and around to the left. Keep it short to learn. Don’t worry about elbows. Just make sure the arms/hands are not helping on the backswing so they are “submissive”.
Ross Oct 11, 2017
I don’t mention it much, but a lot of golf to me is about angles. After many years of searching and teaching putting, I was able to find, what I believe, to be the “critical angles”, that maximize impact on the ball for putting. Dave Pelz’s “Putt Like the Pros” was a plethora of information that helped me develop my method.If you haven’t found it, at duplessisgolf.com in the “More” section, is the “Putting Routine” section. You’ll find some very helpful info there. In general you can grip the putter any way you’d like as long as when it hangs, the grip/handle is slightly ahead of the putter face, and the putter face is EXACTLY 90 degrees to the path your shoulders move your arms/putter*. You can NOT change any of these angles during the stroke. If you have to have a death grip on the handle so it does not flip do it! The face must stay square and your wrists can NOT change ever during the stroke.
BTW, I’ll mention the arms must hang straight down to gravity (they can be bent, but can’t change during the stroke) underneath your shoulders (no reaching out). Now, the next critical part … when to make impact with the ball. This is forward … on the upswing … after the bottom of the swing arc … on the “sweet spot” of the putter face. This is like an inch or two past the bottom of the arc. Experiment. This will put wonderful end over end roll on your putts for great distance control. Again, you must hit that sweet spot, and you will if you let your arms hang and don’t change any thing during the swing and just let your shoulders do the work.
* You can test this path by practicing your putting stroke, slightly off the ground, above a club shaft lying on the ground or any tile line in the kitchen. Something that you can look down upon to see that the club face stays perfectly square (90 degrees) to the line back and through during your stroke.