When trying to improve our golf game, amateurs tend to get fixated on common pain points, like the position at the top of the backswing or the correct setup position, which means that learning how to release the golf club can be a bit of an afterthought.
Considering how crucial this skill is in helping you to ensure a centred strike and ward off the biggest driver distance killer in the amateur game, it's totally counterproductive to ignore it if you want to see progress.
So, in the interest of helping you to understand how to release the golf club effectively, including a common misconception and a great drill to fix it, I asked Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach and PGA Pro John Jacobs to share his expert advice...
How To Release The Golf Club
Many golfers, in an effort to keep the clubface square through impact, find themselves in a poor post-impact position.
The idea that the club needs to stay square, looking at the target through impact, typically leads to the face being held open. That’s when we see big blocks and pushes.
Improving your release will have a big impact on accuracy and improve your ability to achieve a centred strike with irons.
The image below demonstrates what we want to see: beautiful extension, a straight right forearm and the club moving away from the body with the arms connected.
We’re trying to increase the space between the butt of the club and your belt buckle.
That mental image can help you release your hands better. Note how I’ve thrown my hands at the target line here.
If you pull your trail leg back a foot or so at set-up, as I've done in the image below, and try to hit the ball, you will find it becomes difficult for your body to turn.
This is what makes this drill so effective and one you should definitely try as it will help you learn how to stop slicing the ball.
By intentionally closing off your stance like this, you’re going to teach yourself how to release the hands, as it forces you to learn how the hands and arms should pass the body through impact.
Play a few holes, a whole round even, with your trail foot back like this, hitting nice smooth swings.
Heading to practice without a plan is one of the seven things never to do at the driving range, so have this drill in your head this next time you grab a bucket of balls.
Your timing will improve and you might surprise yourself at just how sweetly and how far you can strike it.
How Can I Use The Off-Season To Improve My Game?
Over the winter, many amateur golfers will be putting in the hours to improve their game in time for the 2026 season.
Golf Monthly's own Instruction Lead, Baz Plummer, is one example - after spending the last eight weeks completing a winter golf rebuild that has helped him to boost clubhead speed, improve his fitness and hit drives over 240 yards (as a 22-handicapper).
By partnering fitness work with swing changes, like the 5 fitness exercises that helped him to become a better golfer and the 5 gym exercises that can rapidly improve your golf swing, amateurs can create the perfect foundation for a strong season.
