Best Drill Shaft Lean - Impact
Best Drill Ever for Shaft Lean - Open Trail Hand
Hi friends and golfers! I'm Coach Erik Schjolberg, owner of EJS Golf at McCormick Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ. With over 25 years of experience coaching golfers from PGA Tour pros to passionate amateurs, I'm dedicated to helping every player improve from their very first lesson. My state-of-the-art facility and data-driven approach guarantee results, whether you're seeking in-person Scottsdale golf lessons or online golf lessons. Visit my website, EJS Golf, to learn more about the Science of Better Golf and let's elevate your game together!
Improving your golf swing is a continuous process, and one of the most effective tools to refine impact and release is the open trail hand drill. This drill addresses several common issues that plague golfers, such as scooping at impact, a chicken wing motion, tipping the shaft steep on the downswing, and achieving proper shaft lean. While simple in theory, the open trail hand drill is an advanced method for ingraining better habits, providing clear feedback, and improving your swing dynamics over time.
The core purpose of the open trail hand drill is to teach the hands, wrists, and body to work together properly during the swing without relying on a tight grip from the trail hand. The trail hand often plays too dominant a role in swings that exhibit scooping or flipping at impact. This over-reliance leads to a breakdown in mechanics, resulting in inconsistent ball striking, weak shots, and compromised trajectory. The drill forces you to rely on the lead side and proper wrist mechanics, helping to eliminate those flaws and improve your overall impact position.
To perform the drill, start with your normal grip on the club. Then, open your trail hand completely so that no fingers are gripping the club. This step can feel uncomfortable, but it’s vital to the exercise. Keep only the heel pad and the first joint of your index finger in contact with the club. These contact points provide just enough leverage to guide the swing while forcing you to rely on proper rotation and body mechanics instead of grip pressure.
Let me share a specific example of one of my students who benefited from this drill. Tom, a mid-handicap golfer, came to me struggling with negative shaft lean at impact. His typical swing featured a pronounced scooping motion, with his trail hand flipping through impact. This habit caused weak, high shots with no consistency or power. On video analysis, it was clear that Tom’s trail hand was overactive, tipping the shaft steep and creating a separation between his hands and the club face at impact.
I introduced the open trail hand drill to help him feel how the lead side should dominate the swing and how proper wrist positioning would naturally produce forward shaft lean. I asked Tom to commit to a 15-minute practice session each day for two weeks, focusing exclusively on the drill. Each session was broken down into three five-minute segments: the first practicing the open trail hand drill with small 9-to-3 swings, the second focusing on feeling the proper rotation of his lead side, and the third trying to recreate the sensation with a full grip while maintaining the same movements.
During his first few sessions, Tom found it difficult to keep his trail hand open without gripping the club for control. He initially relied too much on his trail hand to “steer” the swing, but as he practiced, he began to feel the pressure points in his lead hand and how they guided the club through impact. By the end of the first week, Tom noticed that his lead wrist was naturally staying in a slightly bowed position at impact, which created the forward shaft lean he was missing.
By the second week, Tom’s scooping motion was nearly gone. With his trail hand open, he learned to engage the proper parts of his swing, allowing his lead side to rotate more fluidly and his trail side to support the motion rather than dominate it. When he transitioned back to a full grip, Tom was able to replicate the same sensation of forward shaft lean and maintain a solid impact position. His ball flight transformed, producing lower, more penetrating shots with significantly improved consistency.
The open trail hand drill also helped Tom tackle another persistent issue—tipping the shaft steep on the downswing. With his trail hand open, the swing naturally encouraged a shallower path, reducing his tendency to come over the top. This adjustment not only improved his impact but also allowed him to compress the ball more effectively, resulting in better control and added distance.
What made this transformation possible was Tom’s commitment to the structured 15-minute practice plan. By dedicating focused, short sessions to this drill, he was able to break old habits and develop new muscle memory without feeling overwhelmed. The drill provided immediate feedback—when his hands separated from the club during the swing, he knew he was flipping. Conversely, when his hands stayed connected and the club moved smoothly through impact, he knew he was on the right track.
The beauty of the open trail hand drill is its versatility. It’s not only useful for correcting scooping but also for improving sequencing and body rotation. As golfers like Tom have discovered, it’s a powerful tool for addressing multiple issues at once. Whether you’re struggling with a chicken wing, steep downswing, or lack of forward shaft lean, this drill can help you build stronger fundamentals and develop a more reliable swing.
By practicing this drill consistently, you’ll start to feel the difference in how your hands and body work together. Over time, you can transition back to a full grip while maintaining the improved mechanics you developed with the drill. The goal isn’t to be perfect but to make progress—eliminating the bad habits that hold you back and building the skills that lead to better impact, more solid contact, and a more enjoyable game.
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