Early this week I talked about conceding defeat (in the sense of trying to diagnose and fix my own swing) and also about how swing changes take a long time to ingrain. You might remember that I’ve been fading the ball on good shots and slicing or blocking it on bad shots.

My initial plan was to go back to the fundamentals: grip, alignment, stance, posture. I felt like it was working for me. And while it did improve me, after several range sessions the problem didn’t go away. I was still unable to turn the ball from right to left and I was mixing in some big misses to the right.

Previously, I mentioned an improper release as a cause for slicing and blocking and I suspected I was suffering from that problem. I started to work on a better release, yet I started to get worse.

Then, out of nowhere, a great swing tip dropped in my lap after a phone conversation with a friend. After I described my symptoms and my suspicions about my release, his reaction was to tell me to check my left hand grip pressure.

As I mentioned before, in a tension-free swing with good tempo and rhythm, a proper release is virtually automatic. However, when tension is introduced, that release is impeded.

I went to the driving range this morning and concentrated on a light left hand grip and a little more firm right hand grip. I didn’t make my right hand pressure any tighter than it had been, I was just making sure that it was greater than the pressure I was gripping with my left hand.

Almost immediately, I saw improvement.

What was happening was, when I suspected that I was holding on through impact (failing to release the club properly), I started to consciously try and rotate my forearms through impact. In doing so, I was gripping tightly with the left hand (and the right hand too, for that matter) to be able to turn over the club through impact.

Like many things in the golf swing, this natural tendency is counter to what actually needs to happen. It’s sort of like the idea that you have to hit down on the ball to get it in the air. Many people feel they need to help the ball get in the air and end up scooping. That causes all sorts of problems.

By introducing tension in my arms because of consciously trying to manipulate my release, I was actually making the problem worse. When I stopped doing that, my release immediately went back to automatic.

It can’t be stated enough: tension is a killer in the golf swing. You must allow yourself to move fluidly and freely to have any chance at hitting good shots.

If you suspect an improper release in your own swing, check your grip pressure, especially in your left hand. A good rule of thumb is to grip only tightly enough to hang on to the club throughout the swing and to keep your hands working as a single unit. You don’t want them separating at the top of the back swing.

This addressed a big part of my situation, but wasn’t the whole problem. Tomorrow, I’ll talk about another tip I got during that session regarding a proper takeaway. That one put me the rest of the way back in my groove.

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