In my coaching, I treat the wrists as the final lever in a kinetic chain from the ground to the clubhead. If I sustain radial deviation in my lead wrist (while moving towards flexion) deep enough into the downswing, I preserve shaft lean and deliver a more compressed, faster strike. Most golfers lose that angle between left-arm parallel and impact. The moment radial deviation begins to bleed into ulnar deviation too soon, shaft lean dies, energy dissipates, and clubhead speed drops. The paradox is that the harder a player tries to create speed with the hands, the more the nervous system tightens forearms, shortens extensors, and throws the angle early.

The wrist complex isn’t a simple hinge. I’m coordinating radial/ulnar deviation, flexion/extension, and forearm pronation/supination. On the backswing, my lead wrist moves into extension and radial deviation; in transition it moves toward flexion while sustaining radial. My trail wrist stays extended (and slightly ulnar) to support the lever. The challenge isn’t making “a position” at the top; it’s sustaining the position under load as the club accelerates.

Good sequencing decelerates pelvis and thorax to accelerate arms; then arms decelerate to accelerate the club. In this window, my lead wrist transitions toward flexion while holding radial deviation. Premature ulnar deviation — often from co-contraction and high grip pressure — releases the shaft past vertical too soon, neutralising forward lean at impact.

Even when my intent is right, CNS protection can trigger early ulnar deviation. Excessive grip pressure increases co-contraction, the hinge leaks, and I “save” contact but lose compression. For deeper assessment, I often start with 3D biomechanics analysis and side-bend screening (see lead/trail side bend in the downswing).

If my joints and soft tissues don’t allow enough radial deviation or wrist flexion, my brain releases early because there’s nowhere else to go. I screen wrist ROM, forearm rotation, and grip flexibility before I prescribe any “hold the lag” advice. Explore my 3D biomechanics screening.

Tony Finau is a compact “adder”: he sets a large wrist hinge and can increase it during transition — a rare combination of mobility and neuromuscular speed. Others (e.g., Jon Rahm, historically Trevino) set less hinge and hold it, pairing a bowed lead wrist with elite rotation and side bend. Both patterns can deliver shaft lean and speed; they just demand different capacities and timing.

I classify players: backswing loaders set most hinge at the top and then sustain it; downswing loaders add hinge in transition/early downswing. Downswing loaders produce the biggest lag and, if they have the release speed, the fastest clubhead speed. Without that speed, late blocks or flips creep in. I never prescribe “more lag” without testing ROM and release-speed capacity.

The clubhead’s mass sits below my hands. Gravity pulls it down; inertia resists changes in direction. If I’m still radially deviated, these forces constantly try to open the hinge into ulnar deviation. The nervous system must tolerate that load to time a later release.

The swing behaves as a double pendulum. When a proximal segment decelerates, the distal one accelerates. If I release early, angular momentum is spent before impact. If I hold too long without release-speed, I miss the strike window. Physics demands exact timing: sustain, then unleash.

As speed rises, outward (centrifugal) pull dominates. My wrists must sustain radial deviation against that outward flight. Many brains “choose safety,” dumping the angle so the club can fly outward sooner, sacrificing shaft lean for comfort.

Transition is the clash point: the club’s inertia still carries it “back” while my body starts forward. The wrists sit between opposing vectors. If I keep them loose, they lengthen elastically, storing potential energy. If I contract, elasticity dies and the release fires early or blocks late.

Loose wrists at transition allow the opposing vectors to deepen hinge and flexion. The forearm–wrist tissues store potential energy that converts to kinetic energy when I release. If I stiffen, the spring can’t load — I’m left to “muscle” the hit (weak).

With compliant wrists, opposing vectors don’t cancel — they bend the hinge to store energy. The longer I sustain lag, the faster the torque demand rises (non-linear). Late loaders play in this exponential zone; the payoff is huge speed, the cost is high neural demand. Many brains trigger a protective release before that zone; training must raise tolerance safely.

Biomechanics sets the hinge; physics loads it; the nervous system decides whether to trust it. Early release is rarely a “discipline” failure — it’s a protection strategy. My job is to build enough physical capacity, sequence, and perceptual trust that the brain allows the late, elastic snap.

At transition the system feels unstable: load rises quickly, visuals change, balance shifts. The CNS often chooses safety: forearm co-contraction, early ulnar deviation, “guarantee contact.” Unless I retrain perception and arousal, that reflex wins over technique. My golf psychology coaching targets this reflex directly.

I place myself into: backswing loader (set early, hold), downswing loader (add hinge in transition), gradual releaser (let it out steadily), or early dumper (dump right after transition). I confirm using a pause-at-top test and impact spray/low-point feedback (see low-point control guide).

I identify my category with pause tests and strike feedback. I introduce loose-wrist transition feels without chasing distance.

I live in my category drills at controlled tempo, exaggerating the right sensations and constraints.

I integrate heavy club, bands, release ladders, and forward low-point tasks so my nervous system learns to tolerate load and time the snap. Downswing loaders validate their release-speed capacity here.

I take it to the course with pressure games (forward low-point under score), visual trust (eyes-closed rehearsals), and arousal control (breathing, grip-pressure resets). The aim is identity-level trust in late, elastic release.

Wrist loading is the crossroads of biomechanics (making the angle), physics (loading the angle), and psychology (allowing the angle). Players don’t win lag by force; they win it by staying loose enough to let opposing forces store energy, and by releasing with speed at precisely the right time. Whether I’m a backswing loader who holds and rotates, or a downswing loader who adds and snaps, or I’m shifting from gradual release to later release, the principle is the same: elasticity over effort, trust over tension, sequence over steering.