Malaska Golf Certified Coach Billy Fitzgerald is subbing in to answer “Ask Mike’s” from Beverley County Club in Chicago. A member has made a comment about, ‘it’s not flipping.’
Billy said he is absolutely right. What the member is talking about is how the golf club works back and forth in the swing.
The clubhead has both the farthest and longest to travel, so it will have the most amount of speed. The grip end doesn’t have nearly as far to travel and if it goes the same speed as the clubhead we wouldn’t have any clubhead speed.
We are talking about these levers, where the grip end acts as a pivot point for the clubface. Mike Malaska refers to this as the snap of a towel.
Billy demonstrates his hand, simulating snapping a towel. When you change directions, the opposite end of the towel you are holding accelerates. This is the same thing that happens in the golf swing.
Billy demonstrates in slow motion how this works. As the clubface goes up the plane line, the grip end slows down to accommodate the face going up. The clubface matches your spine angle, which is going to be square to the target. At no point is the clubface flipping or twisting throughout the swing.
Again, as you swing back, the clubface goes up the plane line, and the grip end slows down so the club can pivot. As you change directions at the top, the clubface is still square. Again, the grip end slows down, which makes the face speed up in the ball. On the follow-through, the clubface accelerates. For some, it may feel that the grip end is slowing down. It certainly isn’t going as fast as the face of the club.
Some people who are notorious for pulling the handle and turning on their shoulders never feel the acceleration of the clubface and how that relates to the grip. Billy says he understands when people say it feels like a flip, but a flip is when the clubface turns over. The face rotation is minimal and stays square to the arc, and now Billy is providing the snap effect of the towel feeling in the swing. The grip provides the pivot point, and the club accelerates.
Billy makes practice swings so you can see the clubface accelerate through the golf ball. The grip slows down, and it hinges as you swing back. Billy shows you where you feel the ‘snap of the towel effect' and feel the clubface take off; the grip slows down and then rehinges on the follow-through.
It feels like a flip, and for some people, this is a good thing because they are feeling their hands more and the acceleration of the face, and they just don’t realize it yet. If you spend some time with this, you will see the golf ball travel straighter and farther than you ever thought.