Hand Position in Golf Swing: Your Guide to Proper Arm Movement

If you are a golfer who likes checkpoints and guidelines when they practice, you are in the right place.

We are only connected to the golf club with our hands, so having the hands in the correct spot when playing a round of golf is crucial.

Hand position in the golf swing changes from setup to the top of the backswing to impact.

We will show you exactly what your hands and wrists should be doing (especially the lead hand) and how you can incorporate this information back into your practice and training.

Hand Position in Golf Swing (Key Takeaways)

If you don’t have time to read our entire guide on hand position in the golf swing, here are some of the most important points to remember:

• Hand and wrist positions are closely related in the golf swing. The best players strike the ball with a slightly flexed lead hand.
• One of the biggest struggles golfers face is overactive hands; if the hands get overactive, there is too much inconsistency in the golf game.
• Be careful not to take the club back with only the hands. Incorporating the shoulders and lower body can help set the tone for the rest of the swing and ensure that hands move correctly throughout the shot.
• Wearing HackMotion on your wrist will help ensure your hand is in the right position at setup, at the top of the backswing, and again at impact.

Hand Positions Throughout the Golf Swing

Before we break down what your arms are doing in each position of the golf swing, check out the interactive slow-motion swing to see how your hands and wrists move throughout the swing and gain a clearer understanding.

Setup and Address

At address you want to have your hands in a neutral position. This includes the grip as well as the placement of the hands in relation to the clubhead/golf ball. The club shaft is aligned with the lead forearm and the hands can be in line with the golf ball.

Do not start the golf swing with an overly cupped (extended) or bowed (flexed) lead hand and wrist position.

In addition, make sure the back of the lead hand mirrors the angle of the clubface. You’ll learn how much hand and wrist position affects clubface angles and position.

Takeaway

In the golf swing takeaway, focuses on keeping the hand and wrist position stable. Early movements like hinging or twisting the hands will turn the clubface incorrectly, leaving you having to play catchup for the rest of the swing.

As the shoulders, arms, and lower body start to rotate back and away from the target, the hands will move that way as well. Keep the clubhead low and slow, and ensure the hands do not take over during this part of the swing.

Once you have reached a position where the club is past the waist and parallel to the ground in the backswing, you can start to hinge the lead wrist.

Backswing

Once you have started moving the club past the point of being parallel to the ground, the wrists start to hinge, and you’ll reach the top of your backswing.

At this position at the top of the backswing the hands should be just above or at shoulder height. They should be positioned in such a way that the lead wrist is slightly bowed or flat. If the wrist is more extended or cupped, the clubface could be left open at impact.

One other important factor to keep in mind is the connection the hands have with the body rotation. Your hands should not move independently.

Make sure that you are connected where the body and hands are working together.

For some golfers a way to work on this is with a ball (larger than a softball, smaller than a basketball) placed between the forearms. This connection helps ensure the hands don’t start doing anything independently.

Transition and Downswing

The transition from the backswing to the downswing is crucial for generating power and consistency. The hands should stay ahead of the clubhead, promoting a better angle of attack and a downward strike.

However, the real key here is to ensure that the downswing is initiated with the lower body turn. When the lower body starts to turn towards the target, the hands will naturally fall into place and then release towards the target.

As you move towards the transition, make sure that the lead wrist is moving into a flexed position and not becoming more extended.

Impact

At impact, the lead hand should be firm. It’s the hand that is supposed to be guiding the club through the golf ball. It’s best to have a bit of bowing or flexion in this lead hand as you approach impact.

With some forward shaft lean, hands in front of the ball, and slight bowing of the lead wrist, the clubface will be square or just slightly closed.

The trail hand is there for support, but as you’ve noticed throughout this entire hand position guide, the lead hand is the star of the show.

Follow-Through

Impact is the most important part of the golf swing for the hand position. If you can master that position your chance of creating consistency and improving your ball striking is considerably higher.

The follow through is where the wrists will naturally release with the lead wrist moving from slightly bowed at impact to a neutral or extended position as your body rotates through the golf swing.

The hands should follow the path of the swing. Don’t stop them after impact, as it will cost you speed and potentially impact the direction of your golf shots.

Finish with your hands up high; many golfers aim for a position above their left ear (right-handed golfers).

Common Mistakes with Hand Position in Golf

Golfers can run into a few mistakes with their swing and the hand position throughout.

If you are finding golf shots that don’t stay straight or where the ball flight is higher or lower than it should be, these could be one of the issues you are facing.

• Early wrist hinge instead of letting the club push back a bit at the start of the swing.
• Starting with the hands in too strong or weak of a position.
• Flipping the hands before or at impact in order to try and square the clubface.
• Overactive trail hand, using the trail hand to hit the shot instead of trusting the lead hand.
• Not syncing the movement of the hands with the movement of the body throughout the golf swing

Being unaware of where your hands are at any given time in the swing, wearing the HackMotion can help you connect the feeling with the reality of what your hands are doing in the golf swing.

Drills for Improving Hand and Wrist Position

Now that you know the basics of what the hands are supposed to do in the golf swing, here are a few drills you can use to help improve your position throughout.

Drag the Alignment Stick

If you need a good indication of what your hands should look like as they move through impact, you can use an alignment stick.

This Rob Cheney drill, where you drag the alignment stick along the ground, sets your hands slightly ahead of the golf ball.

In addition, it will put your lead wrist into more of a flexed position instead of an extended or flipped lead wrist position.

Rehearse the Impact Position

The interesting thing about the impact position is that it remains the same for many shots in the bag.

Therefore, if you can get the impact position correct, you can learn to repeat it and then take some bigger swings. Rehearsing the impact position is a great drill to work on.

Trail Hand Only Drill

If you are a golfer who tends to let the right hand get too active in the golf swing, the trail hand-only drill could be a good one to try.

This is a difficult drill, and it will take you a while to get it down. When you first start, focus only on making solid contact, and then you can add some speed as you improve.

Final Thoughts

Hand position in the golf swing can be a difficult thing to think about. We want to make sure our bodies are moving and doing the majority of the work.

However, when the hands and wrists are in the right position, the results of the golf shots are more consistent and accurate.

Wear your HackMotion as you work on your golf hand position, it’s like having your golf coach with you as you practice.