Pitching with Lag
Dave Cahill here with Cahill Golf. I am at the Cimarron Golf Resort here in Palm Springs, California. Today we are talking about pitching with lag. Lag is trailing of the golf club behind the movements of the body and arms during the downswing. Maintaining the angle between the lead arm and the club shaft, permits the clubhead to reach the bottom of the swing at just the right time. This timing creates greater swing speed.
You will note at address we put our hands a little bit ahead of the ball. To benefit from lag, we want to make sure that the hands remain slightly ahead of the ball as we come into the ball and impact it.
The two major errors to creating lag are: number one, actively pushing at the ball with the hands and number two pushing the club head with the arms. Both errors cause the club head to get in front of the hands and arms. Both lag errors result in shot errors such as thin shots, fat shots even shanks.
What we want to do to create a nice lag is start at address by placing our hands a little bit ahead of the ball, take the club back in the usual way; there is a little cock of the wrist. On the downswing make a little move to the left side, relax, let the clubhead come down to the ball without pushing your arms or hands.
PGA Instructor Mike Cahill and PGA Master Instructor Dave Cahill are here to help you play better and enjoy the game more. To learn more about lag please come see us in Palm Springs for golf lessons or visit us for a Palm Springs Golf School.
PGA Instructor Mike Cahill 612-501-9015 mikecahill@cahillgolf.com
PGA Master Instructor Dave Cahill 952-994-0387 davecahill@cahillgolf.com