Instruction
The causes and cures of ‘flipping’
In this era of the modern golf swing, “lag” has become the be all and end all of all pursuits. Creating the smallest angle possible between the left arm and the shaft in the downswing has been the windmill, and the golfing public is Don Quixote. The problem is the golf instruction industry has played the Sancho Panza and joined us on our quest.
With that being said, it would make sense that “the flip,” which is the opposite of the lagging motion, would be the root of all evil. But in actuality, all of the party line methods for curing the flips is quite often direct action to improve lag, and that is attacking the effect and not the cause.
Now, flipping is a huge issue, but what most people don’t understand is that there are two different kinds of flips, and the prescription that is being written for them is the same — hold on to sustain or add more lag. In the same vein that the side effects of some drugs are often worse than what they cure, the same can be true for lag.
Flip No. 1
For a right-handed golfer, the angle between the left arm and shaft is thrown away well before impact, which makes the right wrist bow at impact. This is also known as a cast.
The often prescribed solutions for this are to:
- Hold the lag.
- Start float loading.
- Go wide to narrow.
- Even try to actively add lag by reducing the angle with the wrists and hands on the way down by doing things such as “ringing the bell.”
There is a technical term for what those kinds of actions produce. It’s called a shankopotomus.
Flip No. 2
Just before impact, the body stalls and the hands flip the club shut.
The miracle cure for this is to hold off the release. I have even heard that golfers should try to lead their downswings with the heel of the club. The problem is, if most golfers hold off the release on flip No. 2, they get what I call it a “chili duck snipe” or a “Gloria Allred.” Left, ugly, nasty and hurtful to your manhood.
For the sake of differentiating between these two completely different swing faults, let’s call Flip No. 1 an “early flip” and Flip No. 2 a “late flip.” And let me be upfront by saying that golfers don’t fix either of these issues by holding lag. As a matter of fact, the throw away is a necessity to actually hit the ball and the body knows this.
The Early Flip
The early flip happens for several reasons.
- A backswing that is too long,
- The upper body moves laterally toward the target and gets in front of the ball at impact
- The dreaded over-the-top move.
Quite often, two or even all three of these issues exist.
No drill or holding the of the lag is going to help any of this. Why? Because if your swing is too long, you aren’t going to generate enough rotational speed and no one is strong enough to hold the angle for that long with no rotational speed.
If your upper body is getting in front of the ball during the downswing, the angle of attack will be too steep and golfers will have to flip the club early or they will dig a grave where they could bury Rosanne Barr. Even if the upper body (head) moves toward the target a very small amount in the transition, it nearly always causes some degree of early flip. So if a golfer is over the top and does some lag creating move, well, just thinking about it makes me feel like a teenage girl at the latest version of the movie “Saw.”
Above: An exaggerated view of the upper body moving too far in front of the ball, causing a steep angle of attack and an early flip.
Ways to cure an early flip:
- Don’t whip the club so far inside. That will make it easier to:
- Shorten your backswing. That makes it easier to:
- Keep your upper body behind the ball (allows the lower body to shift to the left side while the upper body stays back).
The Late Flip
The late flip is the body’s way of getting the club back to the ball when club face is open to the path or the path is too far right, and sometimes if the angle of attack is too steep because the downswing is too narrow (from trying to add lag with the hands). When the path is too far right or the face is open to the path, the body senses this. Your body doesn’t want to hit it way right, so it stalls the turn and the hands flip the club face shut. Quite often, the symptom of a late flip is that the body stalls so badly at impact that the impact position looks nearly the same as address. The picture below shows as much.
Above: Often, when the club comes too far from the inside it causes the body to stall. This give the hands a chance to flip the club on line.
Knowing that, wouldn’t holding off the release just makes this worse?
Most of the root causes of a late flip is pulling the handle from the top of the swing and/or coming too far from the inside to “swing inside out” to hit that magical push draw. Holding off the release is just pulling the handle harder, and it often makes the arms get behind the turn and the right elbow get behind the right hip (for a right-handed golfer). When you hear the term “stuck,” this is what it is referring to.
Ways to cure late flip:
- Let the body shift and unwind from the top. This allows more time for the right elbow to get in front of the right hip and link the arms up to the turn. That makes it easier to:
- Allow the left arm (right handed golfer) and the club to rotate from the top. Everything continues to rotate together, which makes it easier to:
- Use the body to rotate the path and club face more left.
Here are two specific scenes I saw play out, but have seen this happen hundreds of times.
Guy 1
Guy 1 is an early flipper. He has a decent swing, but he gets his upper body in front of the ball. His friend says:
“You are flipping the club before impact and that is why you are losing all your power. Power comes from having as much lag as possible and you need to use your hands to pull the grip at the ball to maintain that lag angle.”
He initially hit the ball dead straight with every club, but now after the lag-producing elixir was introduced he is alternating chunks and shanks.
Guy 2
Guy 2 is a late flipper. He was bombing it 300-plus yards. The problem was he was hitting some hooks, but I would actually call them slight pull draws more than hooks.
He had a great swing. His hip turn was a little out of sequence and it made his path come too far from the inside with a club slightly open to the path.
“You have a massive flip at impact, you need to hold off that release longer and swing more out to the right,” his well-meaning friend told him.
After that, the over-draw turned into one of the worst diving snipes I have ever seen. Balls that were going over 300 yards were now diving out of the air at 230 and going left of left. Why?
“You aren’t holding off the release long enough,” his friend observes.
I have two bald spots from where I pulled out chunks of hair from experiencing these two incidents.
And you guys wonder why I rant so often.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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Jason
Apr 10, 2015 at 9:30 pm
I have question. Can you have a little of both types of flips during the swing? On video my head is a little ahead of the ball at impact, but at the same time I was getting stuck and flipping. On the downswing everything looked great until about hip level and I start losing my angle and at impact club has passed my hands. I think I would be in the late flip group but I am also move upper body in front of ball at impact. Thoughts?
peter
Jul 13, 2014 at 2:34 pm
Monte, first of all thank you for answering the many questions, much appreciated.
I like to remove the hands from the golf swing. That is to say I bow the left wrist going back and then try to return the club face to the ball using the lower body and torso. My question to you which is causing me great grief is the following:
At the range I set the club face and body to the target line and then open my body slightly to hit a fade. At the range it all works very well (that is to say I rarely hit a draw) but when I get to the course I will actually hit some push draws.
I know it is hard to give a recommendation without seeing a video but
would you be able to offer up some possible solutions. This problem is driving me around the bend!
Note: I have a habit of moving ahead coming down and also losing my spine angle at impact. I am practicing hard on both
thx Peter
joel waldman
Oct 17, 2013 at 6:11 am
I enjoyed and found this very helpful…and love your humor…perfect description of Allred. As I’m sure you’re aware, it is brutally hard to stop that upper body forward slide at the end of an overlong backswing/start of downswing…any further suggestions.
Ps…sending in my second video to golf fix in a day or two…have been working hard on your last suggestions…thanks, Joel
Jake
Oct 15, 2013 at 3:02 pm
Monte, great stuff as usual. I have dug several graves for Roseanne Barr in my lifetime with the early flip from OTT and upper body slide as you well know! Love the interjected humor!
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Michael
Oct 5, 2013 at 9:49 pm
Monte,
I have read so much info and could never figure out my late flip until this article! YEARS of snipes, your photo of impact is me. What do you mean by allowing the left arm and club to rotate from the top? Do you mean instead of dropping it under, getting the arms/clubs out in front of you and in front of your right hip?
Thanks, this is awesome!
naflack
Sep 18, 2013 at 3:06 pm
Monte, you could make a killing doing the “ridding the country of forced lag” tour. You could write off the expenses as charity 🙂
Nick
Jul 2, 2013 at 2:21 pm
Like other’s I am a litte unclear on the prescription to cure the late flip. I am definitely late flipping. Misses are long and left every time with the occasional snipe hook. “Shifting to the left side” is not a phrase I understand… At this point I am taking it to mean a more connected down swing as opposed to a hard spinning of the hips that can leave the arms and hands behind such that they must flip to catch up or else hit pushes.
Monte Scheinblum
Jul 2, 2013 at 4:29 pm
That sounds about right.
Mike
Jun 27, 2013 at 9:06 am
I infested the driving range with a flock of “diving snipes” myself yesterday! The kind that made my buddy say “dude, how the hell are you getting the ball to do THAT?” This helps. Also…wouldn’t your old “plane and release by feel” drill be a good way for either type of flipper to get back on track?
Tom
Jun 26, 2013 at 10:04 pm
Monte,
I hit straight shots with my 56* through PW. My 9-7 have a slight draw, and my 6-3 are nasty hooks 75% of the time. What kind of flipper do you think that I am? Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Tom
Monte Scheinblum
Jun 27, 2013 at 12:22 am
Late flipper. Ball position I’d first thing to check. Might be too far back with longer clubs.
Jeff
Jun 26, 2013 at 12:45 pm
Hey Monte,
I am trying to figure out which flipper I am and how to fix it. My flip causes me to hit super high short shots directly to the right. I can not get the face on the club to close no matter how much I try. I have never hit the ball left of where I am aiming if I hit it in the air ( I have rolled balls left before) Everything always goes straight or right. If I hit a seven iron straight I can hit it about 170. But 65% of the time I hit it really high and way right and ball is lucky to go 140.
Any suggestions.
Thanks,
Jeff
Monte Scheinblum
Jun 27, 2013 at 12:22 am
Sounds like early flip from getting in front of it.
Scott
Jun 26, 2013 at 6:11 am
Monte,
Great article, i get ahead of the ball and my body stalls, does this make me a “on time” flipper? Haha
This needs a video……..
Thanks buddy
Trent
Jun 24, 2013 at 9:44 pm
I would like a little more help on fixing a late flip. My instructor says it starts because I go past parallel and across the line. Then I drop it to much in the slot and come way from the inside. His drill is a glove under the right arm or put my left hand on my right bicept and pull down to impact. Basically we are trying to get my right elbow from separating from my body right before impact. Trying to keep my wrist connected. I need help. My takeaway is basically spot on now.
Marcus
Jun 24, 2013 at 8:30 am
Hey Monte,
Great article – i’m a scratch player and have HUGE troubles with the shorter clubs – 8-LW, All because of the flipping issue.. What is your thoughts on hands thru impact ?
Monte Scheinblum
Jun 24, 2013 at 12:50 pm
The hands are reactive to how your backswing and transition work. If the hands are doing something bad, the backswing and transition is where to look.
ssf
Jun 23, 2013 at 9:14 pm
i flip after impact … when i don’t, i know i’m flipping early
rtylerg
Jun 23, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Very nice article and completely relevant to my swing problems. I’m a quintessential late-flipper. I’ve studied my swing on film and I’ve noticed that the club drops the inside just fine, but the face is open and my body stalls while my hands catchup and turn the club over. I’ve been using two drills and I just want to verify with you that they will eventually cure my issues. I place a towel stretched accross my chest just below both armpits and hit balls. Then, using the towel, I pause at the top of my swing for 3 seconds and start my swing from the top letting everything unwind and finishing in balance. Are those good drills for this issue? Do you have any others that are good? Thanks
Monte Scheinblum
Jun 24, 2013 at 10:40 am
Be careful with towel drill. Only do short shots or you will get overly connected.
There is a root cause why club is open and you have to find that.
Dolph Lundgrenade
Jun 28, 2013 at 10:54 pm
Agreed… Towel drill with longer shots can result in torn muscles etc. Too connected means your left arm is too tight to the body. Not only can this cause injury, but it can get you in a stuck position at the top of your back swing causing you to flip to get the club back around to square in time.
Your hands and torso need to work in concert, but they shouldn’t be taking each other home at night- that’s too close!
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Wells
Jun 20, 2013 at 10:18 pm
What exactly do you mean by letting the body shift and unwind from the top. Clearing the hips and getting to your left side post faster?
Monte Scheinblum
Jun 20, 2013 at 10:54 pm
No. People who clear the hips too fast end up with a late flip. Shifting into the left side and allowing the arms to reconnect before the hips turn too much.
Damon
Jun 20, 2013 at 4:38 pm
Monte, top notch as usual….question, wouldn’t mr. late flipper also be partial to the local grazing livestock, mainly the goats?
Monte Scheinblum
Jun 20, 2013 at 5:16 pm
Yea, that definitely has possibilities.
Jeff
Jun 20, 2013 at 4:06 pm
I’ve been an early flipper for years. I start off every season pretty well but after a few weeks of working on the range trying to add lag I turned into the classic shankopotomus – every year without fail. Every. Year. Never understood why. NOW I do!
Most helpful article I’ve read in a long time. THANK YOU.
g
Jun 20, 2013 at 1:49 pm
I’VE BEEN LATE FLIPPING ALL SPRING!
Monte Scheinblum
Jun 20, 2013 at 2:03 pm
If it makes you feel any better I late flipped from 1982 until 2011.
I was taught to hold off the release and told to do it even more if I hit any hooks.
marty
Jun 20, 2013 at 1:12 pm
Nice little embedded dig at a Lady you don’t respect in there.
Chris
Jun 20, 2013 at 10:51 am
I have no idea what this article was trying to convey. Maybe I have jet lag but I seriously didn’t get it??
Monte Scheinblum
Jun 20, 2013 at 12:46 pm
There are two different errors that are called the same thing…and the fixes that are used do not fix the root problem.
Andrew Cooper
Jun 22, 2013 at 4:30 am
Not really understanding this Monte. What’s the difference between a late flip and a good release? And is the above photo of the tour player there to show a good release or a flip?
Monte Scheinblum
Jun 22, 2013 at 11:53 am
In the late flip the body stalls. That release looks fine.
jabrch
Jun 20, 2013 at 10:51 am
Monte – this is AWESOME stuff. Thanks!