How to Create Lag in a Golf Downswing

Effortless power and that sweet, compressed impact feel are the direct result of creating 'lag' in your downswing. This isn't some secret move only touring pros possess, it's a fundamental physical principle that any golfer can learn. This guide will clarify what lag truly is, explain why you might be losing it, and provide simple, actionable drills designed to help you feel the proper sequence for a powerful and consistent swing.

What is Lag, Really? (And What It’s Not)

First, we need to clear up the biggest misconception about lag. For a long time, golfers have been told to "hold the angle" or "pull the handle" down as hard as they can. This often leads to more problems than it solves. Trying to artificially create lag by holding a tense wrist angle forces the arms and hands to take over, which ruins the natural sequence of the swing.

So, what is it? Put simply, lag is the relationship between the club shaft and your lead arm during the downswing, where the clubhead "lags" behind your hands.

Think of it like cracking a whip. You don't try to make the end of the whip move first. You move the handle first, and the energy flows down the whip until the tip cracks through at maximum speed. Or imagine skipping a stone across a lake. Your hand and forearm lead the way, and the stone only gets its speed when you release it at the very end. The golf swing works the exact same way. Your body is the handle of the whip, and the clubhead is the tip. It’s a beautifully efficient transfer of energy, not a brute-force effort.

True lag is a result, not an instruction. It’s what happens naturally when you perform the downswing in the correct sequence.

It All Starts From the Ground Up

Power in golf doesn't come from your arms, it comes from your body. Your body is the engine, and the arms and club are just an extension of that engine. Creating lag, therefore, begins with initiating the downswing correctly with your lower body.

The proper downswing sequence is:

1. Hips
2. Torso/Shoulders
3. Arms
4. Hands &, Club

At the top of your backswing, your body is coiled like a spring. The very first move to start the downswing should be a slight-yet-purposeful shift of your weight onto your lead foot, followed almost instantly by the unwinding of your hips. When your lower body starts the downswing, the upper body, arms, and club have no choice but to follow. This is where the magic happens. Because your hands haven't started their descent yet, the clubhead gets "left behind" for a split second, naturally increasing that crucial angle between your lead arm and the club shaft. This is lag.

If you start your downswing with your arms or shoulders - a very common fault known as coming "over the top" - that stored energy is immediately wasted. The whip cracks far too early, and by the time you reach the ball, all your speed is gone. You are literally casting the club from the top, the same way you’d cast a fishing line.

The goal is to feel your lower body pulling your arms and the club down into the hitting area.

The Underrated Role of 'Lazy' Wrists

Another major lag killer is tension. Many amateur golfers have a death grip on the club, trying to control every part of the swing. When your hands, wrists, and forearms are tense, they become rigid. A rigid joint cannot hinge and unhinge freely. This tension prevents your wrists from becoming a passive hinge that allows the club to release its stored energy at the bottom of the swing.

Think about how your wrists work when you hammer a nail. You don't hold your wrist stiff and slam your whole arm down. Instead, your hand and wrist are relatively relaxed, allowing for a loose, powerful "snap" at the point of impact. The golf swing requires that same feeling.

Gripping the club too tightly tells your brain to fire the small muscles in your hands and arms first. We want the opposite. A lighter grip pressure (around a 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 10) allows the big muscles of your legs and core to lead the dance, keeping the hands and arms passive and relaxed until the moment of release.

Practical Drills to Feel True Lag

Reading about lag is one thing, feeling it is another. These drills are designed to bypass conscious thought and train the correct muscle memory and sequence.

Drill #1: The Pump Drill

This is a classic for a reason. It masterfully ingrains the feeling of the lower body starting the swing and the club dropping into the slot.

• Take your normal setup and swing to the top of your backswing. Pause for a second.
• From the top, initiate a 'pump' down, but only go about halfway. Your hands should get to about waist-high. The feeling you are after is your hips unwinding *before* your hands drop.
• Return to the top of your backswing.
• Repeat this pump motion two or three times. Feel the stretch across your core as your lower body separates from your upper body. Feel the clubhead staying high as your hands drop into position.
• After the third pump, continue the downswing fluidly through to impact and into a full finish. Start with 50% swings and gradually build up your speed.

Drill #2: The Towel Snap

You don't even need a club for this one, making it perfect for the backyard. It teaches you where the speed in your swing should be happening - at and after the ball, not before it.

• Take a standard-sized bathroom or kitchen towel and hold one end.
• Make a few golf backswings and downswings with the towel.
• Your goal is to hear the towel make a "snap" or "woosh" sound.
• Most golfers who struggle with lag will hear this snap happen early, up by their back shoulder as they throw the club from the top.
• Your objective is to make the snap happen at the bottom of your swing, where the ball would be, or even slightly in front of it. The only way to do this is to keep your body rotating and let your arms and the towel trail behind.

Drill #3: One-Arm-Only Swings

This isolates your body's role in the swing. It’s nearly impossible to move the club with any power using only your lead arm, which forces you to use your body rotation as the primary power source.

• Grip a mid-iron (like an 8 or 9-iron) with just your lead hand (left hand for a righty). Place your trail hand on your chest or behind your back.
• Take very small, half-swings. Tee the ball up to make it easier.
• Focus on making a body turn, not an arm swing. You must rotate your hips and chest through the shot to even make contact.
• When you do this correctly, you will feel the club naturally 'trail' behind your arm and chest. This motion gives you an exaggerated sense of true, body-generated lag.

Final Thoughts

Building lag into your swing is about improving your sequence and reducing tension, not about forcing an unnatural position. When you learn to initiate the downswing with your lower body while keeping your arms passive, the club will naturally lag behind, load the shaft with energy, and release that power right where it matters most: at impact. Be patient, use these drills, and focus on the feeling of a fluid, ground-up motion.

We know that translating these feelings from a drill into a full swing can be a difficult process. That is the very reason we designed Caddie AI. You can use our app to ask for a personalized drill to fix your sequencing, or get an immediate analysis of your swing to see exactly when and where you might be casting the club. It gives you the clear, specific feedback you need to stop guessing and start building a better, more powerful swing.