Stop Overactive Hands in Golf Swing: Tips for Better Control

The hands play a major role in the golf swing. However, if your hands get too active, the clubface could be twisting and turning more than it should be.

There are several problems associated with overactive hands in the golf swing.

Still, usually you’ll notice inconsistency in the strike, difficulty with distance, decreased accuracy, and less confidence in your game.

Here are the best ways to stop overactive hands in the golf swing and start using your hands and wrists correctly.

Key Takeaways

If you don’t have time to read our entire guide on overactive hands, here are some of the most important things to take with you right now.

• Over-active hands start earlier than impact. Poor weight shift, stalled body rotation, or an already-cupped lead wrist force your hands to rescue the shot at the last second.
• Quiet hands are easier to obtain when you have solid wrists. A flatter (more flexed) lead wrist and an extended trail wrist stabilize the face and add forward shaft-lean.
• HackMotion shows the position of your hands and wrists in real time. If your extension number on your lead wrist rises on the way down, your hands are taking over.
• Blend feels with drills. A few purposeful reps, paint-line, towel gate, P5 wrist-check, will calm busy hands. The goal is to get the body more involved and then sync the motions of the arms and body.

What Causes Overactive Hands?

Overactive hands could be an issue in your golf swing for a few reasons. These include the following:

• Late or No Weight Shift: If 80-90% of your weight isn’t on the lead foot by the time your hands reach hip-high, your hands may get overactive and flip at impact.
• Stalled Body Turn: When the chest stops rotating, the arms take over. The clubface can close and result in a hook or stay open and result in a slice.
• Excessive Wrist Extension: A cupped lead wrist on the downswing adds loft and leaves the face open. To square it, many golfers instinctively roll the forearms and get the hands overly active.
• Too Much Grip Pressure: Extensive grip pressure can give the hands more control of the golf swing than they should. Lighten up the pressure to let the larger muscles take over.

Fixes and Drills to Calm Busy Hands in the Golf Swing

Now that you understand what causes overactive hands in the golf swing, here are some drills and fixes you can use to improve your performance.

Shift Your Weight First

Feel 80-90% of your weight on the lead foot before the club reaches the ball.

A simple way to groove this is to start with a narrow stance, make half swings, and hold the finish until the front foot feels heavy.

Below is what a proper iron swing and weight shift should look like. Pause the video anytime to get a closer look at each position in the swing.

Notice how the wrists stay quiet when the lower body leads. For many golfers, the problem comes right from the top of the backswing.

If your first move from the top is to let the hands and arms take over, chances are they will get overactive at impact. Instead, feel a slight pause at the top of the backswing and let the

Flatten the Lead Wrist

If your lead wrist is too extended on your downswing, it often leads to flipping at impact. You may have 10-15 degrees of extension in the lead wrist at address.

This is typical, but if you see more than your initial amount of lead wrist extension by the time you get to impact it could be because of overactive hands.

The goal is to get your lead wrist flat at the top and if you can do that you’ll have an easier time squaring the clubface at impact.

The Combined Top Drill in the HackMotion app is a great way to train the lead wrist position at the top:

Paint-Line Low-Point Drill For Training Hands

The better you get at golf, the more you’ll realize how the hands should stay quiet through impact to generate the best results.

The Low Point Drill trains forward shaft lean and passive hands by forcing the divot to start after the ball.

Relax the Hands so They Don’t Take Over

Hands gripping the club tightly can sometimes take over, making it more difficult to release the club properly and square the face at impact.

Try to release some of the tension in your hands to prevent them from being overactive in the swing by doing the following:

1. Take a few half-swing shots with the lightest grip pressure possible.
2. Gradually increase grip pressure to feel more control and awareness.
3. Create a personal grip pressure scale from 1 (very light) to 10 (maximum squeeze).
4. Aim to swing with a grip pressure of 4, 5, or 6 for most shots.

Additional Drills to Stop Overactive Hands

Here are a few more drills to practice keeping your hands from taking over in the golf swing.

Use HackMotion to ensure your clubface is square and your wrist mechanics are correct while working on these drills.

Flex the Wrist Before Impact

If your hands are slightly flexed just before impact, when the club gets to the P5 position, you’re free to accelerate through the golf ball without feeling like the hands are overactive.

This drill helps to teach a stopping point on the way down to feel a flexed wrist and forward shaft lean before impact.

Hit Hard – Stop Quick Drill

Stopping the club just after impact forces your body to rotate and your hands to stay quiet.

If you are struggling with flipping or feeling like you hit “at” the ball instead of through it the Hit Hard Stop Quick DRill can help.

Belly-Button Takeaway Drill

The hands and wrists don’t always become overactive at impact, sometimes the trouble happens at the start of the golf swing.

Overactive wrists can often start in the first two feet of the swing.

The Belly Button Takeaway Drill will help you move your torso without the hands getting overly involved.

Towel Compression Gate

Something as simple as a folded towel can force you to delay the release of your golf club and strike the ball first.

With the Towel Compression Gate, you won’t be able to flip or scoop the ball as your club will hit the towel first and not the golf ball

Final Thoughts

The hands are important in the golf swing, but if your hands get overactive, you’ll experience a lot of inconsistency.

Instead, work on maintaining a flat or slightly flexed lead wrist through impact. In addition, lower some of your grip pressure and make sure your weight is shifting to the lead side as you strike the golf ball.

Wearing your HackMotion while you practice can also encourage less flipping at impact and a more penetrating ball flight.