How to Fix an Early Release in Golf

Releasing the club at the top of your swing, a fault commonly known as casting, is one of the most frustrating and power-sapping mistakes in golf. This single move robs you of distance, consistency, and that crisp, compressed feeling of a purely struck iron shot. This guide will walk you through exactly what an early release is, why it happens, and most importantly, provide you with clear, actionable drills to eliminate it from your swing for good.

What is an Early Release in Golf?

In simple terms, an early release is when you unhinge your wrists prematurely at the start of the downswing. Think about the angle your lead forearm makes with the club shaft at the top of your backswing - ideally, you want to maintain that angle for as long as possible as you start down toward the ball. This retention of the wrist angle is often called "lag."

An early release, or "casting," is the exact opposite. It's when a golfer tries to generate power by throwing the club head at the ball from the top of the swing. The wrists uncock right away, the angle is lost, and the club head travels on a wide, scooping path. By the time the club reaches the impact zone, all its potential speed has already been spent. Instead of the hands leading the club head through impact for a powerful, descending blow, the club head has already passed the hands, resulting in a weak, upward scooping motion.

The result is a collection of the game's most dreaded shots: slices, pulls, thin shots that scream across the green, and fat shots where you take a huge chunk of earth before the ball.

Why Casting Is Holding Your Game Back

Understanding the "why" behind fixing this issue is the first step. When you release the club early, you're not just making a small mistake, you're fundamentally disrupting the an efficient golf swing.

• Massive Power Loss: True power in the golf swing isn't created by muscling the club with your arms. It's built by the "whipping" action that comes from storing energy (lag) in the downswing and releasing it at the last possible moment, right at the golf ball. Casting is like cracking a whip by slowly uncurling it, you lose all the snap.
• Inconsistent Contact: An early release fundamentally changes the low point of your swing arc. Because the club head is being thrown out and away from your body, its lowest point often ends up behind the golf ball. This is why casters often struggle with both fat and thin shots. Hit the ground first, and it's a fat shot. Miss the ground completely and catch the ball on the upswing, and it's a thin shot.
• Inability to Compress the Ball: That pure, satisfying "thump" of a well-struck iron is the sound of ball compression. This happens when you hit down on the ball with forward shaft lean (your hands are ahead of the club head at impact). An early release makes this impossible. The scooping motion contacts the ball with a flat or backward-leaning shaft, leading to a flimsy feel and a high, weak ball flight with minimal spin.
• Slices and Pulls: Casting often goes hand-in-hand with an "over-the-top" swing path. When you throw the club from the top, the club head moves outside the correct swing plane, cutting across the ball from out-to-in. This path imparts left-to-right spin on the ball for a right-handed golfer, resulting in a slice.

The Real Reasons You Release the Club Early

No one decides to cast the club on purpose. It’s almost always an instinctive reaction stemming from a few common misunderstandings or physical limitations in the swing.

It’s An Arms-Dominated Swing

The most frequent cause is a swing that is powered primarily by the arms and hands instead of the body. Golfers who do this try to "hit" the ball with their hands from the top. The correct motion is a sequence where the lower body starts the downswing, followed by the torso, which then pulls the arms and the club down into the hitting zone. When the arms take over, they have no choice but to throw the club to generate any kind of speed.

A Misguided Attempt to "Lift" the Ball

Many amateur golfers don't trust the loft on the club. They instinctively feel they need to "help" the ball get into the air by scooping under it. This scooping impulse directly causes the wrist to unhinge early. Remember, the golf club is designed with loft to get the ball airborne. Your job is to hit down on the ball (with irons) and let the club do its work.

Poor Sequencing and Lack of Body Rotation

Great swings are a perfectly timed chain reaction. The downswing should start from the ground up: left hip shifts and turns, torso unwinds, then arms and hands follow. An early release happens when this sequence breaks down. Often, the upper body and arms lunge at the ball first, leaving the lower body passive. Without the powerful unwinding of the core, the arms are forced to take over, flipping the club through impact.

Actionable Drills to Fix Your Early Release

Understanding the theory is one thing, but ingraining the correct feeling is what produces lasting change. Here are some of the most effective drills to train your body to store lag and release the club at the right moment.

Drill 1: The Nine-to-Three Swing

This is perhaps the most fundamental drill for fixing release issues. By shortening the swing, you remove excess variables and can focus entirely on the dynamics of the impact zone.

1. Take your normal setup with a mid-iron (an 8 or 9-iron is perfect).
2. Take a backswing only until your left arm is parallel to the ground (the 9 o'clock position).
3. From here, initiate the downswing by turning your lower body and torso toward the target.
4. Focus on keeping the feeling of your right wrist being "bent back" as you approach the ball. You want to feel your hands beat the club head to the ball.
5. Rotate through to a finish where your right arm is parallel to the ground (the 3 o'clock position).
6. The goal is to hit solid, low-flying, penetrating shots with a divot that starts after the ball. This drill programs the feeling of compression and forward shaft lean.

Drill 2: The Pump Drill

This drill helps you rehearse the feeling of maintaining lag and dropping the club into the "slot" on the downswing.

1. Take your full, normal backswing.
2. Start the downswing, but only bring the club down until your hands are about waist-high. This is the first "pump." Your wrists should still be fully hinged.
3. Return to the top of your backswing.
4. Repeat the pump to waist-high once or twice more. On each pump, focus on the sensation of your lower body initiating the move while your wrists stay passive.
5. On the final pump, continue the motion all the way through to hit the ball, trying to replicate that feeling of stored wrist angles.

Drill 3: The Split-Handed Drill

Holding the club with your hands separated gives you tremendous feedback and exaggerates the feeling of a proper release.

1. Grip the club normally with your lead (top) hand.
2. Slide your trail (bottom) hand down the shaft about four to six inches, leaving a noticeable gap between your hands.
3. Make slow, half-swings. You will immediately feel how your trail arm and hand are supposed to support the lead arm, not dominate it.
4. As you swing down, you’ll find it's almost impossible to cast the club without an incredibly awkward motion. The split grip forces your hands and arms to work in synergy with your body's rotation.
5. Focus on letting your body's turn pull the handle through impact, feeling the leverage created by this unique grip.

Drill 4: The Headcover Under the Arm Drill

This classic drill is excellent for fixing a disconnected, armsy swing - a primary cause of casting.

1. Place a headcover (or a small towel) under the armpit of your lead arm. For a right-handed golfer, this would be your left armpit.
2. Make swings without letting the headcover fall out until after you have made contact with the ball.
3. To keep the headcover in place, you are forced to keep your lead arm connected to your torso during the backswing and, more importantly, the downswing.
4. This connection promotes a body-driven swing. You cannot fire your arms independently, they must be pulled through by the rotation of your chest and hips. This body-driven motion is the antidote to casting.

Final Thoughts

Eliminating an early release means unlearning a powerful, yet incorrect, instinct. Your mind wants to hit at the ball with your hands, but great golf is about swinging the club through the ball with your body. Be patient with yourself, commit to the drills, and focus on the feeling of your body leading the way and your hands simply coming along for the ride. The result will be a more powerful, consistent, and satisfying golf swing.

Transforming a deep-seated swing pattern takes honest feedback and consistent practice. When you're trying to feel something new, it can be tough to know if you're actually doing it right. For this, my tool of choice is Caddie AI which acts as your personal swing coach. You can get instant, real-time feedback by simply asking questions about your swing or even showing it a video of your practice reps to see you're maintaining your wrist angles and fixing your early release. This takes the guesswork out of practice and helps you build the right habits from day one.