[BerntR]

I have to remind myself that I have hit a few exceptionally good shots (by my standard) with level wrists at address. Quite often it feels inferior to starting from low hands. I am not able to do it from level wrists with a consistent and full power delivery.

Today I've spent quite some time investigating why I produced better impact physics from low hands than from level wrist.

Eventually I found out that level wrists put me too far away from the ball. Not with the lob wedge which I use for basic motion and "turf dragging". Only with the hybrid - which I use to hit the ball into a net.

Low hands at address brings me closer to the ball and swing speed and ball contact gets much better. Why? The obvious answer is that I was more turned at impact than at impact fix. The left sholder was further back and the right shoulder was lower. But in reality, a compensation happened.

Just for fun, I tried to address the ball with level wrists and a shank alignment that would send the ball 45% to the right if I returned the club head to the same spot. From there I really smacked it. Of course I had to try the opposite too. Low hands and club inside the ball. Then I hit it really thin.

This triggered a minor geometric investigation. Hands lower - clubhed gets closer to the feet. Level wrist and clubhed gets further away. No surprise there. Then I switched between the hybrid and the lob wedge. The lob wedge works from level wrists. The hybrid too, if I grip down on the shaft. But not when used at full length. How come? After some more fiddling, I found that by adjusting my spine angle, and possibly my posture to - a sense of reaching out instead of leaning forward. Then low hands and level wrists produced the same club face location. (Mind you these low hands aren't as low as on the swings I showed earlier) I tried a few shots and smacked it pretty good. And the back stroke didn't feel to manufactured either.

I could check my posture by moving hands low and to level wrists. When I had adjusted my posture the two hands' locations produced approx. the same distance to the ball. And perhaps even better - all power accumulators seemed to be pretty well aligned. I got a clear GO signal.

I monitor the club path through the ball through the hands. It has become second nature. I have been able to feel when I have a decent address position for quite a few years now. I'd say the feel is about 80% reliable. But I don't posess the keys I need to fix the address when I don't see the shot I've decided to produce. Not for a full stroke anyway.

Percy Boomer wrote about building controls into the golf stroke. I need reliable keys at address & fix. It will be interesting to check if posture adjustment works tomorrow too. Or if it is just a WOOD method (Works Only One Day). If this is repeatable I will have at least two new and reliable keys for a proper address & fix: The wrist conditions and same ball distance with low hands and level wrists.

I am not convinced that level wrists at address are needed for a compensation free stroke. But the level wrists are so repeatable. And repeatability is a quality I need. When my address is good I play regulation golf. Not by a miraculous short game. But through a bunch of fairways and greens and two putts or short chips + 1 putt. But it rarely lasts for more than 6-12 holes. And then I find myself standing over the ball, unable to visualize proper impact alignments. I think I have had address drifting problems for years.