How to Stop Casting the Golf Club (7 Simple Tips & Proven Drills)
Casting is the early release of the wrists during the downswing.
It looks like casting in fishing when you throw the fishing pole toward the water. In golf, the golfer throws the club toward the ball from the top of the swing.
Casting causes a decrease in clubhead speed before impact, loss of power, less control of the clubface, and, ultimately, higher scores.
We’ll go through a few quick reasons why casting happens and then jump right into how to fix it.
Stop Casting the Golf Club (Key Takeaways)
If you don’t have time to read through our complete list of tips to fix your casting issues, here are the most important takeaways.
- If your wrist angles at the top of your golf swing are too extended, it’s impossible to maintain them and hit the ball straight – this causes the cast. Get the wrist to a flatter or more flexed position at the top of the backswing.
- The lower body is essential in the downswing, and it ensures that the club head gets through impact with speed and a square face.
- Check your grip and strengthen it a little to give your wrists more control and an easier time getting into the proper position.
- Make sure you have a strong mental picture of what the club should look like from the top of the backswing and down through impact; if you are still trying to lift the ball, it’s time to stop.
If you learn better through video, here is a complete video on how to stop casting.
Contents
Understanding the Causes of Casting the Club
Here are a few main reasons you may be casting your golf club.
- An inactive lower body that doesn’t initiate the downswing.
- Over the top swing path.
- Incorrect grip.
- Trying to lift or scoop the ball into the air.
- Incorrect wrist angles at the top of the backswing.
- Overactive upper body.
7 Steps to Stop Casting the Golf Club
Work through these ways to help you solve your casting issues individually.
We will start with the simplest and easiest ways and work our way down the list to the slightly more complicated topics.
Spend some time on the range, and if you have a cell phone for video and your HackMotion for wrist analysis, you’ll be able to fix your casting motion faster.
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
1. Check Your Grip
For some golfers, a grip that is too weak means it’s hard to maintain wrist angles all the way through the impact position.
You’ll want to focus on two things here.
- The first is that your grip is a little stronger than usual – turned more to the right for a right-handed golfer.
- The second is that your grip pressure is strong enough. Keeping the club in your hands at the proper angle is hard when grip pressure is too light.
In the end you want a neutral grip, and a neutral pressure in your hands. If you can get there you’ll be more consistent and less likely to cast.
2. Analyze the Wrist Angle at the Top of the Backswing
At the top of the backswing, look at the position of your wrists.
After analyzing more than 1,000,000 golf swings, we have found that the best players and golfers who are least likely to cast have a flat to slightly flexed wrist position at the top of the backswing.
There is no need to worry about squaring the clubface from this position.
The clubface will already be square at impact.
At the top of your backswing, it’s much easier to maintain an angle and keep the wrist in that flexed position.
For players who are too extended, the approach to the ball also means there has to be a last-minute attempt to close the clubface. This looks like a flip.
This video will show you how to get that flexion in the lead wrist and keep it there through impact.
3. Take a Slight Pause
Now that we’ve analyzed the position at the top of the backswing, it’s important to understand how the rest of the golf swing will work.
The best way to do this is to pause slightly at the top of the downswing.
Many golfers who cast the club swing to the top and then just lunge at the ball with arms and shoulders instead of letting the lower body initiate.
Sometimes, without getting overly involved in the fix, you can stop this bad habit just by taking a slight pause at the top of your swing.
Take control of your golf game by learning wrist mechanics with our FREE online resource.
4. Get the Club Path Correct on the Downswing
You are more likely to cast if the golf club comes over the top on the downswing.
For many players, the over-the-top motion or that outside-in swing path happens because it feels more powerful.
It’s not more powerful.
In fact, it’s a lot less powerful, but if you learn how to maintain the angles in your swing and keep the club on the correct path, you’ll get the ball closer to your target. Casting the club pushes it away, and you lose those strong angles.
5. Use Your Low Body to Push Through
The lower body initiates the downswing. That first push from the top should be to start transferring weight to the lead side and get your body rotating through the target. For some players, this is natural.
If you do not use your lower body to initiate the downswing, you are wasting yardage and accuracy.
Start by taking some swings to the top and feeling like you leave your upper body there. Feel the rotation of your legs and get that sensation that the lower body starts the downswing.
You’ll notice it creates an area in your backswing where you can drop the club, maintain your angles, and strike the ball with a forward-shaft lean.
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
6. Keep the Lead Hand the Dominant One
When the trail hand gets overly active on the downswing, it creates issues with your impact position and increases your likelihood of struggling with casting.
In this drill, you’ll be able to keep the lead hand the dominant one and ensure the trail hand just keeps the club on track.
The great thing about this golf drill is that you’ll immediately feel it’s impossible to cast the club. Essentially, your angles are locked in place and must stay here.
Do this in slow motion first until you get a feel for it.
7. Use Your Core to Pull You Through the Ball
One of the natural feelings that amateur golfers have is to use their hands and wrists to swing through the golf ball.
Working with HackMotion will teach you that wrist patterns must be maintained throughout the golf swing. These patterns are much easier to maintain and follow if your core is engaged and doing most of the work.
Start using your core to pull you through the golf ball. Stop leading with your hands. Try this drill to incorporate the body into your downswing.
To make it more effective, wear the HackMotion and notice how much your wrist angles improve as you incorporate the body into the golf swing.
FAQs
Here are a few of the most commonly asked questions about casting in golf.
Does casting the golf club cost you power?
Casing the golf club causes a significant loss in power. Players no longer strike the ball with a powerful lead wrist and a forward shaft lean.
How can wrist angles fix casting?
Wrist angles at the top of the backswing that are too extended can cause you to cast the club. Instead, get to a position at the top where your lead wrist is flat, and then maintain that position through impact.
You’ll have a stronger contact position, higher ball flight, and better accuracy.
What’s the easiest way to fix casting in the golf swing?
The easiest way to fix casting in the golf swing is to understand wrist angles. With the help of HackMotion and the built-in training, you can analyze the areas of your swing that lead to casting issues.
Developing the proper angles in your swing and then maintaining those through impact will help you strike the ball cleaner.
Final Thoughts
Casting is a weak move. It has to go if you want to become a better ball striker.
To fix the casting motion start with checking the position at the top of your swing, then work on your first move from the top to the golf ball.
In the end, you’ll notice that the wrists control the angle of the clubface throughout the golf swing. If you can get them in the correct spot your game will change.
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