Casting

I decided to give everyone a few weeks off from talking about swing issues, but it’s time to get back to talking about them. This week is about one of the most common swing flaws for amateurs, casting or early release.

What is casting?

As demonstrated above by Dave Phillips, TPI co-founder, casting involves an early release of the golf club during the downswing. You can see how Dave’s wrists are unhinging. Notice how far the shaft has moved away from the trail shoulder. At impact, the clubhead will have passed the hands, the shaft will not have forward lean and loft will be added. The combination of these three conditions at impact will create high, weak shots.

Look familiar. Casting will create similar impact conditions as hanging back.

This picture shows proper wrist angle. See how the wrists are not straightening and are still cocked. Look at how close the shaft appears to be to the trail shoulder. This position will make it much easier to deliver the club to create a powerful, solid strike on the ball as shown below.

Is it a swing problem or a physical problem?

Before I go further, I want to be clear. Improving a physical limitation will not fix your swing issue. You still need to address fixing the swing issue. But, if a physical limitation is making it difficult to fix swing issues, then the physical issue needs to be addressed before the swing issue can get remedied.

Casting tends to be more of a fixable swing issue than a being brought about by a physical limitation. Many golfers trying to generate speed do so by “throwing the club” at the ball. It feels powerful when it is actually the opposite. By casting the club, all the energy is being released early in the downswing. The speed is long gone by the time the clubhead reaches the ball. Even with good contact, high and weak shots are produced as loft has been added as I mentioned above.

If there are physical limitations, usually lower body strength and/or mobility issues in the hips, knees or ankles can lead to casting. Generally speaking, when the lower body isn’t strong enough, the upper body tries to take over to in an attempt to create power and speed. Additionally, limitations in wrist mobility will not allow the wrists to maintain the proper hinge.

Lessons or training?

Start with a lesson. Your local PGA Golf Professional can get you into the proper position in the downswing and provide drills to create the feel you need to eliminate casting. This is usually sufficient to fix the problem.

However, if you are still having trouble with casting following the lesson, I would recommend getting a physical assessment done to determine any physical limitations you may have. As mentioned above, any hip, knee or ankle issues as well as wrist mobility issues can lead to casting. Even if the casting issue is solved through a lesson(s), I would still recommend working on lower body strength. Getting stronger in the lower body is just a good idea in general for golf and overall health.

Contact your local PGA Golf Professional for lessons. To find a TPI Certified Trainer go to mytpi.com.

For additional content concerning casting, click the paid subscription button. There you will find some drills and exercises to help eliminate casting problems.

As always, be thankful when you get to play this amazing game. Be grateful for every shot. Appreciate every moment on the course. Now, go golf!