How to Lag the Golf Club in a Drill

Creating that powerful, pro-level lag in your golf swing can feel like chasing a ghost, but specific, repeatable drills can turn that elusive feeling into a regular part of your swing. Lag isn't born from brute force, it’s the result of a correctly sequenced motion. This guide will walk you through exactly what lag is, why it's so important for your game, and provide step-by-step drills to help you finally feel it and ingrain it.

What is Lag, and Why Do You Want It?

In simple terms, lag is the angle created between your lead arm and the club shaft during the downswing. Picture your favorite tour pro at the moment just before impact. See how their hands are well ahead of the clubhead? The club looks like it’s being “dragged” behind. That’s lag. Maintaining this angle for as long as possible stores energy in the club shaft, much like pulling back a slingshot.

When this stored energy is finally released at the bottom of the swing, it creates massive amounts of clubhead speed exactly where you need it - through the golf ball. It's the secret sauce behind that crisp, compressed iron shot and the booming drives you see from skilled players.

The benefits are simple and powerful:

• More Distance: Releasing the club's energy at the last possible moment multiplies your swing speed, adding yards to every club in your bag.
• Better ball-striking: A swing with good lag promotes a downward angle of attack with your irons. This "ball-then-turf" contact is what creates that pure, compressed feeling and allows you to take proper divots.
• Improved Consistency: Because lag is the product of good body mechanics, practicing it irons out inconsistencies. It forces your swing sequence to be more efficient and repeatable.

The Most Common Lag-Killer: Casting

Before we build the right motion, let's identify the motion we need to eliminate: casting. "Casting" is the exact opposite of lag. It's the premature release of those wrist angles from the very top of the swing. Golfers who cast are essentially throwing all their stored power away before they even get to the ball. Their swing speed actually peaks too early and is slowing down by the time it reaches impact.

This often stems from a very natural but incorrect impulse to “hit” the ball with your hands and arms. From the top of the swing, your brain says, "Time to hit it!" and your hands respond by immediately throwing the clubhead at the ball. The result is a weak, scooping motion that leads to thin shots, fat shots, and a major loss of distance. Our drills are designed to retrain this impulse and replace it with a powerful, body-led sequence.

The True Engine of Lag: Proper Sequencing

Here’s the part many golfers misunderstand. Lag is not an action you consciously create with your wrists or hands. Trying to “hold the angle” with tension will only tighten up your muscles and make the problem worse. Instead, lag is a byproduct of great sequencing.

The golf swing is a chain reaction that starts from the ground up. In the transition from backswing to downswing, the proper order of movement is:

1. The lower body starts to turn toward the target.
2. This rotation pulls the torso around with it.
3. The turning torso pulls the arms down.
4. The arms pull the hands along.
5. The hands pull the club.

When this chain reaction happens in the right order, your hands and arms are simply responding to the rotation of your bigger muscles. The club is just along for the ride, and lag is created naturally and effortlessly. The following drills are designed to teach your body this exact an efficient sequence.

Drill #1: The Head Cover Drill

This simple drill gives you instant feedback on whether you are casting the club "over the top" or correctly dropping it "into the slot," a movement that automatically preserves lag.

How to do it:

• Take your normal setup.
• Place a spare head cover (or a water bottle) on the ground about one foot outside of your golf ball, and about six inches behind it. It should be just outside your swing path.
- With an iron, begin making slow, half-speed swings. - The objective is simple:

What It Teaches You:

If you are casting the club, your first move from the top will be to throw the hands and clubhead out and away from your body. This makes it impossible to avoid hitting the head cover. To miss it, you will be forced to initiate your downswing with your lower body, allowing your hands and arms to drop down on a shallower, more inward path. This move shallowing the club is precisely what saves the wrist angle and puts you in a position to deliver the club correctly to the ball with lag. Start very slowly, focusing purely on initiating the downswing with a slight bump of the hips toward the target, letting the arms fall.

Drill #2: The L-to-L Drill

This drill trains the correct wrist set and retention. It helps you feel the proper structure of the arms and 'feel' the lag angle you’re trying to build.

How to do it:

• Take a 9-iron and make a a backswing until your left arm is parallel to the ground.
• At this point, your club shaft should be pointing straight up toward the sky, forming a 90-degree angle, or an 'L' shape, with your lead arm. This is the first "L."
- From here, begin your downswing. The goal is to feel like you're holding that 'L' shape for as long as you can as your body unwinds.- Swing through to a finish where your right arm is now parallel to the ground and the club is once again pointing up at the sky. This is the second "L."

What It Teaches You:

This drill helps simplify the swing into two distinct positions. It forces you to hinge your wrists correctly on the way back and, more importantly, it makes you acutely aware of when you are releasing that hinge too early. If you unwind the 'L' at the top, you’re casting. The feeling you want is for the body turn to pull the arm and club down while the 'L' remains intact. It demonstrates that the power comes from body rotation, not from actively throwing the angle away with your hands.

Drill #3: The Pump Drill

This is my favorite drill for truly ingraining the feeling and rhythm of a properly sequenced downswing. It actively trains your muscle memory to start with the lower body.

How to do it:

• Take your normal setup and swing to the top of your backswing. Be balanced.
- From the top, we're going to make two "pumps" before a final swing.
• Pump 1: Start the downswing motion by feeling your left hip turn towards the target while your hands drop down to about chest height. Then, return to the top of your backswing.
• Pump 2: Repeat the exact same feeling. A small lower body rotation starts the sequence, bringing the club down to about chest height. Once again, return to the top.
- Without pausing, perform that same first move a third time, but on this one, continue to swing all the way through to a full, balanced finish.

What It Teaches You:

Each "pump" is a mini-rehearsal for the first, all-important move in transition. Instead of thinking about lag, you are simply training the right sequence: hips first, arms respond. Done correctly, you will feel your wrists naturally stay hinged as your hands drop into a powerful lagging position. After performing the drill several times, try to hit a ball feeling the same smooth "pump" motion in one continuous swing. This will transfer the rehearsal into reality.

Final Thoughts

Remember that creating lag is the gevolg of a better swing sequence, not the cause of it. By using these drills to teach your body to start the downswing from the ground up, you stop casting and allow lag to happen naturally, unlocking more power and consistency.

As you're on the range working on these techniques, getting immediate, accurate feedback can make all the difference. Sometimes you need a second opinion to know if you're on the right track. This is precisely why we built Caddie AI. You can describe your shot or a particular swing feel, and get instant, personalized coaching advice to understand what's happening and how to adjust. It helps you analyze your swing movements and get smarter about your practice so you can translate your drill work into better scores.