How to Fix a Cupped Wrist in Golf (Complete Guide with Proven Drills & Practical Tips

Did you know that a high-handicap golfer has an average of 24.3 degrees of extension in their lead wrist at the top of their golf swing? Lower-handicap golfers have about 14.5 degrees at the top of the backswing.

Why is this important?

A cupped wrist at the top of the backswing makes it much harder to square the clubface and hit a straight shot.

After analyzing more than 1,000,000 golf swings, we know that a flat or even slightly bowed wrist at the top is a better position to be in. Let’s examine a cupped wrist, how it can impact your golf game, and what you can do to fix it.

Cupped Left Wrist in Golf (Key Takeaways)

If you don’t have time to go through our entire guide on wrist cupping at the top of the backswing, here are the key takeaways to consider:

• A cupped lead wrist at the top of the backswing has too much extension; the less extension you have at the top, the easier it is to fire through impact with speed and body rotation.
• Amateur golfers tend to add extension or cupping to their lead wrist as they take the golf club from setup to the top of the backswing.
• Using HackMotion is like having a coach on your wrist as you practice the positioning of your wrists in your golf swing.
• A cupped wrist at the top of the backswing that doesn’t move to square at impact will affect total distance, consistency, and ball flight.
• There is a direct correlation between lead wrist extension at the top of a backswing and the extension (cupping) at impact.

If you prefer to watch instead of read, here’s a video recap of everything you need to know about a cupped lead wrist at the top of the backswing and how to fix it!

What is a Cupped Wrist at the Top of the Backswing?

A cupped wrist is a position where the back of the hand (left hand for a right-handed golfer) has an arch to it. The arch is upwards, towards the forearm, so the wrist makes almost a concave shape.

A cupped wrist is not in a good position to be in.

The cupped wrist can lead to an open clubface, inconsistency in the ball striking, and a definite loss of power.

One way to tell if you have a cupped wrist is to take a video of your swing and look for this position; in addition, you can put the HackMotion sensor on and see if your wrist is too extended at the top.

What Does a Cupped Wrist Look Like?

One of the easiest ways to see what a cupped wrist looks like is to check the position at the top of the backswing and compare it to a bowed or flat wrist.

This image shows the extended (cupped) position compared to the flat and flexed. 

Although the cupped wrist can cause problems with consistency and clubface control, some players have played with a cupped wrist their entire career.

For instance, Ben Hogan and Webb Simpson have been known to have some cupping in their wrists at the top of the backswing.

The opposite of this would be a player like Dustin Johnson, who has a bowed wrist at the top.

Wrists in the Golf Swing Explained

Before we can explore exactly how to fix this cupped wrist position in your backswing, we have to look at how the wrists work in the golf swing.

There are three basic movements that you must understand:

• Extension/flexion
• Radial deviation/ulnar deviation
• Rotation

• Extension/Flexion: The wrists’ bowing (flexion) and cupping (extension) control the clubface’s angle. Flexion closes the face, while extension opens it.
• Radial/Ulnar Deviation: This refers to the side-to-side cocking and uncocking of the wrists. Radial deviation (cocking) and ulnar deviation (uncocking) influence the power in your swing.
• Rotation (Pronation/Supination): Rotation involves the twisting movement of the wrists and forearms, known as pronation (inward) and supination (outward), contributing to the overall control of the club during the swing.