When was the last time you heard someone talk about a hand path in the golf swing?
Most golfers don’t realize that a proper hand path is the key to a better downswing.
While you need a neutral or strong grip, your hands and takeaways are just as important. If your takeaway gets going too far, a lot of frustration can take place against the game.
In this blog, we’ll help you to hit it straighter than ever. If all goes well you might even learn how to hit the hardest shot in golf- a straight shot.
Hand Path in Golf Swing
Your grip and takeaway contribute to the overall path of your swing and can help you become a better ball striker.
But what about the hands?
Your hands play a major role in all aspects of your swing. Make sure your hands don’t get sucked too far inside as it creates the majority of ball-striking problems.
For example, if your hands get sucked too far inside it’s easy to get steep on the downswing which creates all kinds of ball-striking problems.
Chris Ryan rightly said, “How we use our hands and the path we take in the golf swing can hugely influence your ability to shape shots in either way.”
Hands in Backswing
Your hands play a massive role in getting the club in the right position on the backswing and downswing. Your hand motion is separate from your grip itself but both need to work together for a neutral swing plane.
The golf club will move based on the hands in the following positions in the backswing:
- Neutral hand path.
- Outside to inside hand path
- Inside to outside hand path
Make sure you don’t suck the club too far back on an inside path on the backswing as it’s nearly impossible to get shallow.
Thinking of the golf swing as a big circle might help, whereas if you loop inside, you would have to loop outside on the downswing which leads to getting too steep.
What separates tour players from most golfers is the path they follow- they come into the ball from the inside rather than sucking the club behind them.
A Golf Digest Article mentioned tour players having a path that’s steeper on the way back while the downswing goes back to the ball below that initial path. And the exit? It’s even more below that.
Correct Hand Path on the Backswing
Your hands should be more vertical for the backswing.
This is what Dustin Johnson does. He had a noticeable hinge of the wrists that show how he picks up the club as he rotates around his body, while most golfers cock their wrists too late in their swing.
Once you start getting into a better position at the top, it will become easier to get more shallow on the downswing and come from the ball at an inside angle.
This makes your results spike up as you would have better weight transfer and higher power.
Best Training Aids to Improve Hand Path
To improve your hand path you need to adjust your takeaway and backswing more than your downswing.
Make note that everything that happens on your downswing is a result of your grip, setup, takeaway, and backswing.
Use these training aids to create aids to create a more powerful backswing eventually improving your hand position on the downswing.
In case you have sucked the club back too far on the inside for quite some time, it’s hard to feel the backswing path at times.
Luckily, the PlaneMate by Tour Striker has got you covered. This training aid goes around your waist and attaches to the club with an elastic band.
The elastic band is strapped to the belt and lets you into a perfect takeaway position.
This makes it easy to feel the hands a little outside the shaft once the club is parallel to the ground. When you’re here, it makes the whole takeaway so much easier as it brings your wrist up to complete your backswing.
Plus, you can use this device with any club, indoors or outdoors, and while hitting golf balls.
Hack Motion Golf Sensors
While the PlaneMate is great for your full swing, the Hack Motion is amazing for improving your wrist position. This device gives you immediate feedback to better understand your wrist action in the golf swing.
Here’s how the company described its revolutionary training aid: “The clubface is king. It determines more than 80% of the direction of your ball fight, and your wrist angles directly determine how the clubface moves. With HackMotion training aid and feedback tool, you can now be in control of your shot direction.”
FAQs
1. What is the hand path in the golf swing?
It is the movement the hands take in the golf swing. There are three ways the hands can move; from out to in, straight up, and in to out.
2. Where should the hands start in a golf swing?
The hands should start in a neutral position at the address position. With irons and wedges though, the hands might be slightly ahead of the ball which is known as a forward press.
This makes it easier to compress the golf ball and make solid contact through impact.
3. Where do the hands go in the downswing?
The hands should come from the inside path on the downswing. This “in-to-out swing” is what most golfers are searching for as it helps you create lag and generate power.
4. How can you improve your hand path in a golf swing?
While the training aids mentioned above can help, you can try other drills as well. Try a good hand-path swing drill given here to make the correct move in your downswing.
Conclusion
To improve your hand path with every swing, focus on your backswing and takeaway.
Ensure your hands are in the right place for them to take the club in the proper direction and make the loop/big circle. The goal is to get your shoulders on a better spot in the swings leading to more shots at your target line.
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