John

Nice story here, I’m always delighted to hear from fellow players getting their “aha moment” with the Lag. The first time you feel it (even faintly) you know that this is the real deal. It just feels right!

Keep looking for that slow and heavy feel in PP#3.

Regarding your divot, make sure that you keep your left wrist flat past impact.
Keeping the right wrist bent after impact is its counterpart and works fine also.

If not done yet, read that article on the geometry of the stroke.

Keep going, golf heaven is close!

Went to the range today with just the 7-iron, focused on pressure point #3 and hitting down … I finally got that ‘blade on ball’ feedback, so many thanks to you and the website. I mean it when I say that this was the best bucket of balls I’ve hit in 4 months. I haven’t been able to get my swing path to create a divot yet (I’ve always scooped – which is why I quit playing the game ~10 years ago), but the angle of the club head is so much better at impact that I’m re-energized again. Now I just need that divot.

THANKS.

The big downsize is that to a certain point, if I put too much stress on the shaft it bends so much that it loose its dynamic properties. Impact feels far from sharp and precise and there is so much kickback of the shaft that the ball could end up anywhere.

So, for me, if I play with a regular R300 shaft I know that I must stay around 70% lag pressure if I don’t want to start trading distance/compression with accuracy/sharpness of feel.

Switching to a stiffer S300 allow me to apply almost 90% lag pressure all the time. The margin for throwing away the Lag is smaller because of the more “responsive” and rigid shaft but it feels a lot more sharp and precise.

It is really a matter of personal preference. A thin tapper could allow you to easily “rotate” the location of the pressure point during the swing. You may want to do that for special and manipulated shots where you need extra rotation of the clubface at impact (for extreme cases like turning around a tree).

For a swinger, that rotation of the location of the PP#3 can be felt at the top of the backswing. At that point (if your “lag skill” is advanced enough to feel it), due to gravity, you may feel that the location of your PP#3 feels more on top of the grip instead of aft (it will then naturally relocate to aft on the downswing).

So, I think a thinner taper could help feeling/provoking those thing. But on the other hand, you may want to avoid any unwanted manipulation by choosing a stronger taper!

do you get more compression by using a stiffer shaft? Right now I’m using a regular flex (DG R300)

Thanks.

Have you found that it helps to have a grip with less taper in the right hand?

Thanks.

I think I have finally moved on from swing thought land into a place where I can focus more on feel

The exact location of the pressure point #3 (PP#3) in your index finger has not to be exactly in the meaty part. This is however its common location for golfers having normal hands and a neutral grip.

Even if the neutral grip is the norm, they are very good players out there (and even on the tour) that place their right hands on the grip either in a strong or weak position… Guess what is happening to the location of their pressure in their right hand? It relocates accordingly along the index finger – more towards its base for a stronger grip and more towards the first joint for a weaker grip.

Only one rule prevails here and you’ve already figured it right: The key is to put pressure behind (aft) the shaft to support the load of the Lag as efficiently and comfortably possible for any given person. No matter the exact location in your index finger, provided that you can sense and monitor it and place it right behind the shaft to support the Lag.

Now, for your second question: You create that pressure during the transition between backswing and downswing. This is called the “Load” because the change in direction (or inertia) creates that pressure in PP#3.
Once you feel that pressure, your goal is to carry it INTACT until the both arms straight positions – then you can let it go.

The INTACT part is the key. You must not feel it decrease until you reach the end of the followthrough. Try with lighter pressure first if you are having a hard time sustaining it!

A bit of self promo now!: If you need more in depth info on that topic, I recommend you to grab my eBook, because there is a big part about how to create and manage that pressure thought the swing!

Good golf,
John.

I have been golfing for 12 years and am playing college golf. I just recently read your article about the third pressure point. The last couple days i have been focusing on maintaining the third pressure point and i have been hitting the ball great! i just had two questions. first, should i have more of “the meaty part” of the trigger finger being the pressure point or should it be any part of the finger which allows me to put pressure behind the shaft. The only problem i have with resting the meaty part of the finger is that it seems like the top part of my finger isnt touching the grip. My second question is whether i should keep that pressure from the top of the backswing until my arms are straight in the follow through or whether i should just try to keep the pressure all the way through the follow through.

Thank you so much!

Thank you for your support.
I think that you can have many different curves on the Lag-o-Metter. The important thing is that the curve must not decrease in the impact zone.
The straight line not increasing would be the ideal because it would mean that pressure is constant from startdown to the both arms straight position.
It is also very consistent with the “instant hips acceleration” of the swinging pattern that would easily load the lag to its maximum during the transition.
The hitter on the other hand will benefit from a slow startdown, meaning the pressure at startdown is gentle and then maximum when the right arm gets fully straight.

So, the shape of the curve at the beginning is very much related to the way you load the Lag at startdown.

However, some swingers who have a smooth startdown could get an increasing Lag-o-Metter curve: think of Luke Donald’s smooth swing rhythm.
On the contrary, when I think of Rickie Fowler’ swing, I’m sure the Lag-o-Metter gives a straight line at 100% all the way to the end of the followthrough!