No, you should not roll your hands in the golf swing. Your hands should release, but the current method of instruction has the golfer making more of an underhand toss-like motion with the right hand through the shot.
The game of golf and golf instruction has evolved over the years. For many years, golfers were told to roll their bottom hand through the shot to help close the clubface. There are many great golfers who played golf this way, but it may lack some consistency as it is very dependent on the timing of the release.
This method was taught that the toe of the club should be facing the sky when the club first reaches parallel in the backswing. The golfer would then complete his or her back swing and try to get the toe of the club facing the sky, but with a closed club face when the club first reaches parallel after the impact position.
Why You Shouldn’t Roll Your Hands in the Golf Swing
The main reason is a lack of consistency. The game of golf is all about timing and having confidence to hit certain shots under pressure. The rolling of your hands through impact takes great timing and the golfer might lack consistency if they do not practice enough or have a high level of hand eye coordination.
The newer method of teaching the release of the clubface has a focus on creating a stable clubface through the hitting zone, this provides a better chance of playing consistent golf.
What Should I Do Instead of Rolling Your Hands in the Golf Swing
The golfer will want to use an underhand tossing like motion through impact. This helps the club stay more stable through the hitting zone vs trying to time up the release and rolling of the right hand over the ball.
The golfer will use the body to rotate and close the clubface relative to the swing path to produce a slight draw or slightly open to the swing path to create a slight fade.
This type of swing eliminates the need for great timing.
What golfers will find is that they can play their better golf more frequently and have those really bad days less frequently. With the right mechanics golfers will benefit from the stable clubface and a greater reliance on the rotating of the body to square up the face to produce the shot that they want.
Should I Take My Hands Out of the Golf Swing?
No, your hands are an essential part to the golf swing as they are the only part of the body connected to the clubface. The major change here is the golf club and hands do not need to roll over, instead they need a motion to keep the club on the swing path longer to produce better consistency through lower reliance on perfect timing.
The golfer who tries to eliminate the hands from the golf swing, might hit the ball straight, but will struggle to hit the ball far enough as the hands and the releasing of the hands through the shot will produce quality speed. You need the different parts of the swing to help produce the speed needed to play the game at your greatest potential.
Rolling vs Releasing of the Hands in the Golf Swing
Many people might confuse the rolling with the releasing of the hands in the golf swing. The best visual evidence I can provide to explain the newer style release is through Mike Malaska. Mike helps a golfer and explains what the right hand should do in the golf swing.
Hands vs Body Rotation
I would say there are two major methods of golf swings out there now. There are those instructors that want you to release the hands to square of the face and those that want you to use body rotation to square up the face and keep the hand a bit more quiet during the swing vs eliminating the hands all together. There are golfers on the PGA Tour that play great golf with body swings.
Next Steps: Test It Out
I would highly recommend checking both Mike Malaska and Milo Lines as golf instructors that have two different approaches, but neither teach the rolling of the golf club. Take it to the range and test out your different options and see what produces the best results for you.
Another instructor to check out is Mike Bender or Kyle Morris from an arms and hands perspective. They both believe in generating speed from the arms and hands and allow the arms to fire and the hands to release.
Meanwhile, instructors like Milo Lines and George Gankas both teach a rotational swing that produces plenty of speed, but relies on a big turn back, a slight squat and then turning or rotating a lot through the shot.
Related Posts
- Hands in the Golf Swing: Complete Overview
- How to release the hands in the golf swing
- Right hand in the golf swing
My Secret To Golf Improvement
Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently. About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage. I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.
This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer. I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day. I can practice or play rounds of golf. I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.
It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.
Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.
