The 8 Most Common Wrist Mistakes in Your Golf Swing and How to Avoid Them

Do you ever feel like it’s easier to make mistakes in golf than to do things right?

You aren’t alone.

There are so many areas of the game that are easier to misunderstand. Also, sometimes, the right move in golf just feels wrong.

However, until you get your wrists in the correct position and make the proper movements throughout the swing, you’ll have difficulty squaring the face at impact.

These are the 8 most common wrist mistakes in golf and the best drills and practices for you to fix them.

Key Takeaways

If you don’t have time to read our entire guide on the common wrist mistakes in golf and how to avoid them, here are a few key points to take away.

• Excessive lead wrist extension reduces control, power, and consistency in shots. Check your position at the top and then again at impact.
• Hinging wrists early on takeaway extends the lead wrist, leading to a steep swing plane and poor contact.
• Flipping wrists at impact to square the clubface results in thin and fat shots, reducing control over the ball; instead, work on maintaining a flat or slightly flexed lead wrist.
• Releasing wrists too early on the downswing causes you to lose lag and power, negatively impacting distance and shot consistency.
• Use HackMotion to measure your wrist action and make sure you are in the correct position as you play.

The 8 Most Common Wrist Mistakes in Your Golf Swing

Too Much Extension in the Lead Wrist

The most common wrist mistake in golf is probably too much extension in the lead wrist. Increased extension through impact leads to less control, power, and consistency in golf shots.

After analyzing more than 1,000,000 swings with the HackMotion, we know that a flat lead wrist position, or even a slightly flexed lead wrist position at impact, yields the best results.

How to Avoid

The best way to avoid the lead wrist extension problem in golf is to start moving towards flexion right from the top of the backswing.

By doing this, you’ll have plenty of time to square the clubface before you get to impact.

Our favorite drill for this is the motorcycle drill:

Too Much Wrist Hinge on Takeaway

Did you know that by hinging your wrists on the takeaway, you are also adding extension to your lead wrist?

This extra extension opens the clubface, making it even harder to return to square at impact.

In addition, the extra hinge often leads to a steep swing plane and poor contact with the ball.

So, if your first move away from the ball is to hinge the club, it’s time to stop.

How to Avoid

Avoid this early wrist hinge by keeping a little more width in your golf swing for the first part.

This video from Chris Ryan Golf has a few drills to try. One of our favorites is that you place a tee in the grip end of your club and then swing up about ¾ of the way to check that the tee is pointing in the right direction.

Flipping Wrists at Impact

As bad as the wrist flip is, it’s also a last-ditch effort that you are making to square the clubface.

It’s a sign of your athletic ability, but it’s not good for your golf game. Flipping the wrists at impact leads to thin and fat shots and reduces the control you have over the golf ball.

You’ll want to ensure your clubface is square leading up to impact, as that will help stop this wrist flip.

However, some golfers flip simply because they think it will help to get the ball up in the air more.

How to Avoid

Try the Hit Hard Stop Quick Drill from Rob Cheney to stop flipping the wrists.

This drill is very simple. Swing fast making sure you keep your hands ahead of the ball, and then stop as quickly as you can just after impact.

You’ll get an exaggerated feeling of lead wrist flexion and shaft lean at impact to help you remember this ideal position.

Early Release

The early release happens when the wrists release on the downswing before they should. In this situation, you lose both lag and power.

One thing that all professional golfers do is create lag in their golf swing (by avoiding the early release). They do this by making sure the handle, the grip end of the club, is past the golf ball before the clubhead hits the ball.

If you are releasing too early, you’ll lose this feeling and this effect.

How to Avoid

To ensure that your golf club does not release too early, try this drill from Adam Bazzelgette. It is a simple mental imagery drill in which you picture a wet leaf on the clubhead of your iron.

If you are going to try to fling that wet leaf off through impact, your hands need to stay ahead of the clubhead. If they get behind, the leaf will just sit on the clubhead.

Rolling Wrists in Golf Swing

Some golfers have the misconception that rolling the wrists in the golf swing is the way to manipulate the face of the club.

This is not the right approach. Instead, the focus should be on forearm rotation.

With the proper wrist angles and the addition of forearm rotation, you should have no issues maintaining a square clubface through impact.

To prevent rolling the wrists, make sure you have a firm grip on the club, don’t let the clubhead pass the handle, and maintain some of that forward shaft lean through the ball.

How to Avoid

The stand-upright drill can help improve your forearm rotation and discourage wrist rolling.

To practice proper forearm rotation in your golf swing, stand upright with the golf club horizontal to the ground. Focus on the lead arm supinating (palm turning up) and the trail arm pronating (palm turning down). This movement will help you visualize the correct forearm rotation needed in the backswing and downswing.

When you do this, you’ll see the proper forearm rotation and what it looks like in the backswing and the downswing.

Overactive Wrists

Excessive wrist movement is another issue that causes a lack of consistency and control in the golf game.

For golfers with overactive wrists, the problem becomes loss of power, minimal body rotation, and poor consistency.

However, overactive wrists are not just a problem in the full swing. Most players who struggle with overactive wrists also experience issues in their short game, particularly in putting.

With HackMotion acting like a coach on your wrist, we were able to identify the most common issues golfers face on the putting green. More than just achieving the perfect wrist position, the problem often lies in having an inconsistent wrist position.

How to Avoid

If you are struggling with overactive wrists in your full swing, consider incorporating the body and the arms into your movements.

If you struggle more with the putting, try this T-Rex drill from Rob Cheney. You’ll be able to minimize the wrist action and get better consistency on the green.

Improper Grip Pressure

Gripping the club too tightly often causes an increase in lead wrist extension. Properly flexing your wrists and hitting consistent golf shots is often impossible when grip pressure is too high.

In addition, grip pressure often creeps up in the short game. Many players struggle with gripping the putter too tightly, making it difficult to do natural wrist movement.

How to Avoid

To help reduce the pressure in your wrists, you can try a simple experiment. First, start by gripping the club too hard, so you really feel as though you are squeezing the club. Then, hit one shot.

Then dial it back a little each time until you get to a position where you feel comfortable and you are seeing the best results and wrist action on your HackMotion.

Wrist Cupping

Cupping the wrists at the top of the backswing leads to an open clubface. When you leave this position alone and never square it when coming into impact, the shot will be a block or a slice.

Cupping the wrists is a problem that is difficult to recover from.

How to Avoid

Wear your HackMotion as your golf coach out on the driving range. Take the club back and see if you have added extension (cupping) from setup to the top of your backswing. How far extended are you?

Set your HackMotion feedback to alert you when you get out of range for the proper amount of extension in the lead wrist.

This video will give you some additional drills and concepts to help eliminate wrist cupping.

Final Thoughts

How many of these common wrist mistakes in golf do you have in your swing?

Work your way through the list individually, starting with a focus on that problem with lead wrist extension, especially at the top of the backswing.

The wrists control the clubface, and when you can have HackMotion with you (your golf coach on your wrist), you’ll know exactly what the clubface is doing and how it’s reacting.