Release

At address, the lead arm and the shaft of the golf club form a straight line—or at least they should. During the backswing, that straight line is broken. The angle between the lead arm and the club becomes less than 180 degrees. In many players, it approaches 90 degrees, the result of fully hinged wrists.

Obviously, we cannot strike the golf ball with a 90-degree angle at impact. That angle must be released so the club returns to a straight line, or something very close to it, at impact. The point at which that angle is released—the release point—determines everything that must happen in the downswing sequence.

If the club is released early in the downswing, the body must make specific compensations to make solid contact. If the release is later, a different sequence of body motions is required. There is no single “correct” release point—only one that must be compatible with what the body is doing.

Even the greatest players in history have released the club at different points. Ben Hogan famously had a very late release, while Tom Watson released the club much earlier. Among today’s elite players, Tommy Fleetwood exhibits a significant amount of side bend through impact, which necessitates a very late release. Bryson DeChambeau, on the other hand, uses far less side bend, which is compatible with a much earlier release.

Consider this in reverse. If Tommy Fleetwood maintained that amount of side bend but released the club like DeChambeau, he would bury the club in the ground well behind the ball. Conversely, if DeChambeau used Fleetwood’s side bend with his early release, he would do exactly the same.

The lesson for all of us is simple but critical: the body’s positions and sequencing must match the release point. When they do not, solid contact becomes impossible.

This mismatch—releasing too early or too late for what the body is doing—is the fundamental cause of fat and thin shots. Work with your instructor to know and understand your release and how a slight change can benefit your ball striking.