Save Your Wrists, Kill That Slice!
When we look at the anatomy of the arms and wrists, we quickly realize that we were built for slinging objects with great velocity.
In this video, we compare the release of baseball, hockey, fencing, golf and hammering, and we notice that… hey, there is no difference! When you use your body the way it is designed, you set yourself up for decades of strain-free use with high performance gains. Another side effect of this proper use? No more slice!
Watch the video to see how our arms and wrists are designed to be loaded, and then how the weight of our “instruments” release us through the task without any conscious thought on our part. Enjoy!
The LPGA Tour is kicking off its 2026 season this week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, and the pros are dealing with something most Florida golfers rarely face: freezing temperatures.
“It’s colder here than in the UK at the minute, which is a first,” said England’s Charley Hull during Wednesday’s media day at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
Even Lydia Ko, who lives at Lake Nona, seemed surprised by the cold snap. “We’re pretty much getting to below zero in celsius here, which maybe in other parts of the country they would be thankful, but when you’re in Florida it is a little bit of a surprise,” she said.
If the world’s best players are adjusting their games for cold weather, recreational golfers should, too. Here’s how to play smart when the mercury drops.
Understand What Cold Does to Your Game
Before you change anything, you need to know what you’re fighting against. Cold air is denser than warm air, which means your ball won’t fly as far. Period.
Hull noticed this immediately during practice rounds at Lake Nona. She mentioned hitting a gap wedge into the 18th hole during a previous win but needing a 4-iron during Tuesday’s practice round. That’s a difference of four or five clubs for the same shot.
Action item: Expect to lose 5-10 yards on every club in your bag when temperatures dip below 50 degrees. Plan accordingly and don’t be stubborn about club selection.
Layer Up Without Restricting Your Swing
Hull admitted she wore three pairs of pants during practice. While that might be extreme for most of us, staying warm is critical to playing well in cold conditions.
Your muscles need warmth to function properly. When you’re cold, your body tightens up and your swing gets shorter and faster. Neither of those things help you hit good golf shots.
Action item: Wear multiple thin layers instead of one bulky jacket. Look for golf-specific cold weather gear that stretches with your swing. Keep hand warmers in your pockets between shots. And don’t forget a good hat because you lose significant body heat through your head.
Take More Club Than You Think You Need
This is where ego gets in the way of good scores. When it’s cold, the ball doesn’t compress as well off the clubface. Combined with denser air, you’re looking at serious distance loss.
The pros at Lake Nona are dealing with a course that measures 6,642 yards but plays much longer this week. If they’re adjusting, you should too.
Action item: Take at least one extra club on every approach shot. In temperatures below 40 degrees, consider taking two extra clubs. It’s better to fly the ball to the back of the green than to come up short in a bunker.
Adjust Your Expectations on the Greens
Cold weather affects putting in ways most golfers don’t consider. The ball is harder and doesn’t roll as smoothly. Your hands are cold, making it harder to feel the putter. And if there’s any moisture on the greens, they’ll be slower than normal.
Ko mentioned that she still sometimes reads the greens wrong at Lake Nona despite being a member for years. Cold weather makes that challenge even tougher.
Action item: Hit putts more firmly than usual. The ball needs extra speed to hold its line on cold greens. Take a few extra practice strokes to get a feel for the speed before you putt.
Embrace the Mental Challenge
Hull said something interesting about cold weather golf: “I like the mental toughness of it.”
That’s the right attitude. Everyone on the course is dealing with the same conditions. The player who stays patient and doesn’t get frustrated by the extra difficulty will come out ahead.
Action item: Lower your expectations by a few strokes. If you normally shoot 85, accept that 90 might be a good score in 40-degree weather. Focus on solid contact and smart decisions rather than perfect shots.
Warm Up Longer and Smarter
This might be the most important tip of all. Cold muscles are tight muscles, and tight muscles get injured easily.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul revealed she’s been protecting a wrist injury that bothered her late last season. Cold weather makes those kinds of injuries more likely if you don’t prepare properly.
Action item: Spend at least 20 minutes warming up before your round. Start with stretching, then hit easy wedge shots before working up to your driver. Keep moving between shots on the course to maintain body heat and flexibility.
The pros at Lake Nona this week will adapt and compete at the highest level despite the cold. You can do the same at your local course by following these tips and keeping a positive attitude.
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 “Playing Through” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, 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!
Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour, and whether you love him or hate him, the guy knows how to win when it matters. After his LIV Golf stint, the five-time major champion returns this week at the Farmers Insurance Open.
What makes Koepka fascinating? He doesn’t fit the mold. His swing isn’t textbook. He doesn’t obsess over mechanics. Yet he’s won three PGA Championships and two U.S. Opens, regularly making it look easier than guys with prettier swings.
So, what can average golfers learn from someone who treats the game so differently? Quite a bit.
Stop Overthinking Every Shot
Koepka describes his approach as “reactionary” rather than mechanical. While most tour pros grind over swing thoughts, Brooks sees the target and hits it. No mental checklist.
This might be the most valuable lesson for weekend golfers who’ve watched too many YouTube swing videos.
How to actually do this:
On the range, hit five balls where you stare at the target for three seconds prior to addressing the ball. Don’t think about grip or stance. Just burn that target into your brain. You’ll be shocked at how pure you hit it when your brain focuses on where the ball is going instead of how you’re swinging.
Next time you play, give yourself a rule: Once you pull the club, you’ve got 15 seconds to hit. Koepka is one of the fastest players on tour because he doesn’t give his brain time to sabotage him.
If you feel tension in your hands at address, you’re trying to control too much. Koepka’s grip pressure is famously light. Loosen up until the club almost feels like it might slip, then add just enough pressure to hold on. That’s your swing thought: soft hands, see the target.
This approach works better under pressure. When you’re standing over that shot with water left and OB right, the last thing you need is a mental checklist. See it, feel it, hit it.
Play to Your Strengths (Even If They’re Not Pretty)
Koepka uses a strong grip that wouldn’t pass muster in some teaching circles. But he’s built his game around what works for him, elite driving distance and recovery skills. He doesn’t try to be someone he’s not.
Here’s how to build your game like Brooks:
Look at your last five rounds and figure out where you’re actually gaining strokes. Bombing it off the tee, but can’t hit greens? Lean into it. Play courses where distance matters more than precision. On tight holes, grip down on your 3-wood instead of trying to thread a driver through a keyhole you’ll miss seven times out of ten.
Koepka knows he can scramble, so he’s not afraid to miss greens. If you’re deadly from 50 to 75 yards, start leaving yourself those distances on the par 5’s instead of going for them in two every time.
Know when to take your medicine. Koepka in the trees at the PGA? He’s punching out to 100 yards, not trying to bend a 6-iron around three oaks. You’re in the rough with a flyer lie and water short? Hit your 8-iron to the middle and move on. That’s not playing scared, that’s playing smart.
Save Your Best for When It Counts
Here’s a wild stat: Koepka’s putting average in majors is often more than a full stroke better per round than in regular events. He elevates when pressure is highest.
How does an amateur tap into that gear? It’s not about trying harder, it’s about caring differently.
Here’s what actually works:
Decide which rounds matter to you. Club championship? Member-guest? That annual trip with college buddies? Circle those dates and treat them differently. Koepka doesn’t care much about regular tour events, but majors? That’s when he locks in.
Two weeks before your big round, change your practice. Stop beating balls mindlessly. Play nine holes in which every shot has consequences. Miss the fairway? Hit from the rough on the next hole too. Three-putt? Twenty push-ups. Koepka’s practice intensity ramps up before majors because he’s rehearsing pressure, not just swings.
Develop a between-shot routine that resets your brain. Koepka is famous for his blank expression after bad shots. Try this: After any shot, take three deep breaths while walking, then find something specific to notice, a tree, a cloud, someone’s shirt. That’s your reset button. By the time you reach your ball, the last shot is gone.
The Bottom Line
Brooks Koepka’s return reminds us there’s no single path to success in golf. His “substance over style” approach proves that results matter more than looking good.
You don’t need a perfect swing; you need a reliable one that holds up under pressure. You don’t need to hit every shot in the book; you need the shots you can count on. And you don’t need to play great every time; you need to play great when it matters.
Welcome back, Brooks. Thanks for the reminder that golf is ultimately about getting the ball in the hole, not winning style points.
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 “Playing Through” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, 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!
Blades Brown made a big impression last week in the California desert, and not just because he’s only 18. He put up numbers that would catch any weekend golfer’s attention. Most of us won’t hit 317-yard drives or find 86% of our greens in regulation, but there’s a lot to learn from how Brown managed his game at The American Express.
Here are three practical lessons from his performance that you can use on your own course this weekend.
Step 1: Give Priority to Accuracy Over Distance Off The Tee
Brown’s driving stats are impressive. He averaged almost 318 yards off the tee, ranking 12th in the field. More importantly, he hit 76.79% of his fairways, tying for fourth place in the tournament.
Think about that ratio for a second. Brown could have swung harder, chased more distance and tried to overpower the course. Instead, he played smart golf and kept his ball in play.
Your Action Item: Next time you’re on the tee box, ask yourself a simple question before pulling the driver. Do you need maximum distance here, or do you need to be in the fairway? If there’s trouble lurking or the hole doesn’t demand every yard you can muster, take something off your swing. Grip down an inch. Make a three-quarter swing. Do whatever it takes to find the short grass. Brown’s approach illustrates that fairways lead to greens, and greens lead to birdies. He made 22 of them last week, along with an eagle.
The math is simple. When you’re hitting three out of every four fairways like Brown did, you’re giving yourself legitimate looks at the green with your approach shots. That’s when scoring happens.
Step 2: Commit To Hitting More Greens
This is where Brown really separated himself. He hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation, an 86.11% clip that tied for first in the entire field. Read that again. An 18-year-old kid tied for the lead in one of the most important ball-striking statistics in professional golf.
How did he do it? By keeping his ball in the fairway (see Step 1) and giving himself clean looks with mid-irons and wedges.
Your Action Item: Start tracking your greens in regulation. You don’t need a fancy app or a statistics degree. Just mark down whether you hit the green in the regulation number of strokes. Par 3s in one shot. Par 4s in two shots. Par 5s in three shots.
Once you know your baseline, set a goal to improve it by 10%. If you’re currently hitting five greens per round, aim for six. The beauty of this approach is that it forces you to think strategically about club selection and shot shape. Brown’s strokes gained approach number was positive (0.179), meaning he was better than the field average. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be on the dance floor more often.
When you hit more greens, you eliminate the need for heroic short game shots. Brown only had to scramble 10 times all week, and he got up and down 70% of the time. That’s solid, but the real story is that he rarely put himself in scrambling situations to begin with.
Step 3: Minimize Mistakes And Stay Patient
Here’s the stat that jumps off the page: Brown made only three bogeys all week. Three. In four rounds of professional golf against the best players in the world.
He also made just one double bogey. That kind of clean card doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you play within yourself, avoid the big miss and trust that pars are never bad scores.
Your Action Item: Before your next round, decide that you’re going to play boring golf. No hero shots over water. No driver on tight holes just because you can. No aggressive pins when there’s a safe side of the green.
Brown’s performance shows us that consistency beats flash every single time. He didn’t lead the field in any single strokes gained category, but he was solid across the board. That’s how you post numbers and cash checks.
Give these three steps a try. Your scorecard will thank you.
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” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, 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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Dill Pickleson
Mar 11, 2017 at 7:23 am
Shawn, I’ve taken lesson from many famous instructors and have seen all the others videos, too. I just came to say you are a great orator and keep up the good work. Hard not to enjoy and learn something watching you.
Ted
Mar 11, 2017 at 12:09 am
lots of ways to get it around on the golf course, this is one, may work for some not others…great thing about the game it is a never ending search for something to support the loss of one or two strokes in a round. Like the “Hammer” idea look up Jerry Heards Super Swing from 20 years ago…now that is the “Hammer” idea taken to the max…
Shawn Clement
Mar 10, 2017 at 8:48 pm
Hey man! All you need to do is try the drill!! You will feel for yourself how the weight of the club releases you! It is not your job to place the club; it is your job to use the weight of the club to perform a specific task with it! Try it and let me know how you do!
See also “hammer through shawn clement” “fencing for power shawn clement” and “how arms and club release shawn clement” as well as “throwing the club shawn clement” on youtube!
Bert
Mar 10, 2017 at 4:06 pm
Tried this today and while making sure my right elbow was ahead of my right hip, I hit quite a few really nice powerful high draw shots. Boy did they feel so much better than my weak fade.
DaveT
Mar 10, 2017 at 12:49 pm
You have to be careful with analogies. There are too many false analogies in golf instruction, and I think we’ve got one or two here. Just a few places where my mind rebelled:
(1) Throwing a football lines up the radius and ulna. True. But pitching a baseball has radius and ulna in what was presented as a “weak position”. So you can pick and choose your analogies, but there are others that make the opposite point.
(2) Continuing on this point, the hammer and sword analogies have the “impact” in the lined up position. If you did that in golf, you would hit the ball with the hosel, if you hit it at all. To get the clubface on the ball, you need the radius and ulna in what is called here the weak position at impact.
(3) The hockey analogy is all about what the biomechanics community calls the “hand couple”. But in golf, the hand couple is not providing the power through most of the release; power comes from the moment of the pull on the handle. Encouraging a golfer to focus on hitting the ball with the hand couple is likely counterproductive.
(4) “Engineers say” the force is 2000-3000 pounds per square inch. I’m an engineer, and I would NEVER say that. Pounds per square inch is a measure of pressure, not force.
(5) As long as “compression” is just a buzzword, harmless and meaningless, I guess I won’t complain. But if you’re going to use it as a serious argument, you should say enough to distinguish it from ordinary momentum transfer. I don’t see genuine understanding conveyed here.
Bottom line: there are so many errors in detail here that I don’t know what to believe and what to dismiss.
Shawn Clement
Mar 10, 2017 at 8:41 pm
Hey Dave! Awesome reply, thank you for taking the time!
Yes, agree with 1-Dustin Johnson would be the baseball and Bubba the Football; both can propel like crazy! 2-don’t agree there as there are G-forces at work tht you connot prevent the club head from being taken when in a full out kinetic chain; so the face of club comes around but only if the grip is strong enough…
3-not encouraging anyone to do that; if you simply performed the drill with the sword without filters and felt how the weight of the shaft releases your anatomy; it would be very clear
4-there are other engineers who say that (I am sure your clan is as varied as the golf clan as is the medical clan) and I am merely trying to demonstrate that there will be “an elastic collision” slowing down the club through impact that the Central Nervous System will compensate for in comparison to say “air or a whiffle ball” how would you describe it better so I can choose my words better next time?
5-ok, let’s make this one crystal clear: our students are our best coaches as they convey their golden feedback to us as we teach them; I start with a solid understanding of human anatomy-blend that with breaking par both right and left hand and playing just about every sport in the book and growing up on a farm-apply this to 20 years of proper teaching 80 to 100 students a week after cutting my teeth for 10 years and get this validated byDOZENS OF MD’s including several orthopaedic surgeons and you get what you see today; so when I do a video like this, understand that you have literally, a stadium full of people speaking through me saying hey, this worked for me!!
So please, this is not my first ride around the block; I have and continue to do my homework every day.
Steve Wozeniak
Mar 10, 2017 at 12:39 pm
WRONG.
This is teaching people how to shank it. At least he demonstrates how to do it correctly while hammering, and then screws it all up when telling people how it works at impact…..SHANK!!!!
Steve Wozeniak PGA
Shawn Clement
Mar 10, 2017 at 8:43 pm
Hi Steve;
This could not be farther from the intention; have you tried the drill? Did you feel how the weight of the instrument releases the anatomy? This is a universal movement of a human being.
doc_c
Apr 12, 2017 at 5:52 am
Dear Steve,
more constructive criticism would be helpful if you feel like there are errors. your trumpian like attitude is quite unbecoming. But maybe you play golf with the guy, so who knows.
Shawns anatomical understanding is spot on. As a physician, I can attest to that.
cheers,
doc c
JR
Apr 20, 2017 at 12:16 am
Hey Steve, you have crapped on Shawn twice in the comment thread, but you have failed to tell us the “right” way to do it.
Your attitude toward other golf instructors is a huge turnoff, dont know why anybody would take a lesson from you the way you conduct yourself toward other golf pros.
James
Mar 10, 2017 at 12:59 am
better have excellent hand eye control if your going to use this idea…this is the swing where you shoot 70 one day and 84 the next…major timing issues here…..I wonder how many new players watching this are going out and trying this idea on the first tee tomorrow…let me help “FORE RIGHT”.
SoCal
Mar 10, 2017 at 12:27 am
Ah!!! Don’t think so…
Joseph
Mar 9, 2017 at 7:33 pm
While I appreciate the comparisons, I’ve got to speak out against his thesis – that the timing of the wrist action is the same across various sports.
The main problem I had picking up golf was overcoming the comparatively late wrist release (rotation) I’d learned playing baseball. Hitting to the opposite field with power in baseball requires a delayed wrist release, i.e. the wrists don’t begin to rotate until well after impact. The same action in golf leads blocks and slices.
Consider the demos from the video, but imagine Shawn is wearing a pair of wrist watches. In the hammering motion, the face of the watch would be oriented about 90 degrees from the target line at impact. Same thing in the baseball demo; as the bat travels through the contact zone, the watch faces would be facing up and down.
But in golf, at impact, the watch faces would be oriented more or less along the target line, meaning that the release has already begun and your wrists have already begun to rotate before contact is made.
So for anyone struggling with a beginner’s slice, understand that, while the loading motion of the wrists is similar across sports, in golf, your wrists must begin to rotate in the last half to quarter of your downswing in order to square/close the club face at impact.
Shank
Mar 10, 2017 at 1:37 pm
You release at your target and not the ball.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgI1ENI6fUo
Shawn Clement
Mar 10, 2017 at 8:52 pm
Exactly! You are talking about an action to a ball and not an action to a target THROUGH A BALL.
please see my “dynamic vs static shawn clement” video on youtube and you will understand more where this is coming from.
Ian
Mar 9, 2017 at 11:43 am
When I try swing like that – my brain screams fore left.
Jim
Mar 9, 2017 at 6:08 pm
Ian…Been there, done that! If I focus on releasing the club “at the ball” instead of following Shawn’s advice of releasing the club “To the Target” I can hit some nasty high hooks. OTOH, when I follow Shawn’s advice and focus on the Target, the same swing produces a tight, medium-high draw (his “Throw the Club” videos are awesome!) It’s kind of spooky, but changing the focus from the ball to the target down range makes the swing feel less powerful and more like a natural swinging / throwing motion, but the impact sensation is “WOW”…
WARNING: any impulse at the top to “Crush” the ball for extra power instantly changes your focus to the ball and will validate your brain’s “Fore Left!” screams and can produce some lethal OTT snap hooks that threaten the OB boundaries of the next fairway!
Ian
Mar 9, 2017 at 10:31 pm
Well said. I’m just not sure it’s worth the risk – OTT snap hook spells disaster and can wreck my confidence/score card at the same time.
Shawn Clement
Mar 10, 2017 at 8:45 pm
Awesome comment!!