What Is Casting In Golf, What Causes It & How To Fix It

What Is Casting In Golf, What Causes It & How To Fix It

Although you may think of casting as a fishing term, it can also be something that you see in golf. Unfortunately, where casting is a positive in fishing, it is a negative in golf. Golfers that cast the golf club are going to want to learn how to fix it as soon as possible.

Casting is when a golfer starts to lose their wrist angle during the downswing. When you get to the top of your golf swing, your wrists should be hinged. This wrist hinge creates some great power and control at the top of your swing.

As you start the transition to your downsizing, the wrist angle must remain in place so that the potential energy and power is stored. Some golfers will start to unhinge their wrists as they start their downswing.

When the wrists start to unravel, the club is cast out away from a golfer’s body. This causes the golfer to lose both power and connection. Looking at a golfer that has cast the club, you can see that they are setting themselves up for a problematic impact position.

Why Does Casting Happen In The Swing?

Power is something that golfers are looking for at all times. Most golfers will not want to give up any of the power that they have learned to create in their golf swing. Unfortunately, when a player starts casting, they will lose lots of power.

In all my years of teaching the game of golf, the players that would cast the club the most were the ones looking for more power. Ironically the casting in the swing is what was causing their lack of power.

Sometimes casting comes from a misunderstanding as to how power is created in a golf swing. If a player understands a bit more about the physics of the game, they can make some pretty incredible adjustments to their golf swing.

How Does It Effect Performance

There are a few things that casting can have an impact on. When you cast the golf club, you will lose power in your golf game. Since the wrists break down prior to the impact, they will not be getting to the impact position at the proper angle.

Casting will also sometimes cause golfers to try and lift the ball up instead of hitting down and through it. When you don’t hit down on the ball, you will lose spin and launch as well. Many golfers believe that hitting up on the golf ball gives it a better launch; this is not true.

Casting can also affect the angle of the club face. When a golf club gets far away from your body like it does when you are casting, the angle can change. Some golfers are talented enough to square the club back up, but most will see that it is no longer square.

Essentially there is no good reason to cast while you are playing golf. This is not one of those one plane vs. two plane swing debates. Casting is something that needs to be fixed so you can become a better player.

Casting vs. Over the top

When you cast the golf club, it has more to do with the wrist hinge than the swing plane. Although casting can cause your swing plane to get off, it is a bit different than swinging over the top.

When a golfer comes over the top, their club is above the swing plane line. However, swinging over the top does not necessarily mean that the wrist angle has broken down.

Lag vs. Casting

Lag is a good thing in the game of golf. If you are able to create lag in your game, you will probably gain quite a bit of power as well. A lag happens when the hands stay ahead of the club as they travel towards the golf ball.

With a lag, the wrist angle is still in place, and the club is on plane as well; it is simply lagging behind the hands. If you watch professional golfers, you will see that they have quite a bit of lag in their golf swings.

How Can I Stop Casting The Golf Club

As we mentioned, casting is something that you are going to want to eliminate from your golf swing. Let’s look at a few ways that you can stop casting the golf club.

Hinge Early

Although it is rare, some golfers cast the club because they never set the wrists in place, to begin with. If you are swinging the club a bit wider and you forget to hinge the club, you may end up casting.

Therefore we suggest working on an earlier hinge. Some golfers will want to hinge just after the club gets to waist high. As long as you continue to turn your body, this should not be difficult to get the club to the top of your swing.

Take a video of your golf swing and see where the initial hinge happens; if it is a little late try and work on hinging a bit sooner.

Feel Like You Hit Down On The Ball

Hitting down on the ball is a very important concept in golf. If you don’t hit down on the ball, you will never hit the ball with the proper speed and spin.

If you can get the concept of hitting down on the ball and what that looks like, chances are you will be able to eliminate the cast.

Most golfers that cast the club are stuck hitting up on the ball. This is one of the major indications that you are casting the club.

Set It And Leave It

When you get to the top of your backswing, you should feel as though your wrists have set. Once they are set in this position, you must leave them there until you get through the impact. For some players, the first move on the downswing is to unhinge the wrists.

Try and get into the mindset of set it and hold it for the rest of the swing. You will learn the proper time for the wrists to unhinge.

Proper Weight Transfer

Many golfers that cast the club will hang back on their right foot (right-handed player) as they come through the impact position.

Making sure that you have a proper weight transfer where weight has started to shift to the left side at impact will certainly help to keep the club moving in the right direction.

If you can focus on your weight transfer and proper balance in your game, chances are you can start to feel how the cast is affecting the backswing and how it needs to change.

Training Aids

The cast is something that many players struggle with. Since you are not alone, there are lots of companies out there that make training aids to help golfers fix the cast.

The training aids will help players establish the feeling of a proper downswing. Golf is such a feel game that sometimes all it takes to be able to fix an issue is to understand what it feels like.

Drills For Fixing Casting

There are two great drills you can use to help you stop casting your golf club. The first one is more of a feel drill, and the other uses a tee to help you understand when the club is in the wrong position.

Pause and Pull

When was the last time you stopped at the top of your golf swing, paused, and considered where your club is. Pausing at the top can teach us a lot of things about our game and where it needs improvement.

A very simple way to learn how to stop casting is to swing to the top, pause, and then pull your arms down without changing the wrist angle.

You can do this over and over again until you start to feel the sensation of leaving that wrist angle alone on the downswing. Nothing good is going to come out of you, releasing your hands and flipping at the golf ball.

Tee In End Of Golf Club

Another great way to fix casting is to put a tee in the top of the golf club you are using. A tee should easily fit in the grip of the club and stay there while you complete this drill.

You may feel the tee along your left arm when you are setting up, and that is fine; mostly, you won’t want to feel the tee at all.

As you swing down, if you cast, the club will touch your right arm. This is when you know the wrist position has broken down. The great thing about this drill is that it allows golfers to pinpoint precisely where the issues are occurring in their swing.

Golf Casting Best Training Aid

Orange Whip Midsize Golf Swing Trainer

The Orange Whip Golf Swing Trainer is one of the most popular golf training aids on the market. Not only will this trainer help you stop casting the club, but it also can help with tempo, strength, and flexibility.

The Orange Whip is weighted perfectly to give the golfer the feel that they need to swing a golf club the way it is intended. This easy to use tool fits in your golf bag and will be a training aid you will use daily.

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SKLZ Golf Grip Trainer Attachment for Improving Hand Positioning

The SKLZ Golf Grip Trainer Attachment is intended to help a golfer find the proper hand and wrist position.

When your hands are in the right place throughout your entire swing, you will not be able to cast the club. The SKLZ fits easily on the grip of your club and is an affordable golf swing training aid.

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Momentus Men’s Speed Whoosh Golf Swing Trainer with Training Grip

The moving ball on the end of the Momentus Whoosh will let you know when you are creating power and when you are losing power.

If you swing the club improperly, you will lose power and break the connection in your hands. If you want to gain more speed and power, you can learn how to do so with the Momentus.

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Is Casting The Same As Flipping the Club?

Many golfers will refer to casting as flipping. This is because once they cast the golf club, it is almost impossible to get things back on track, and they will likely have to flip the club at impact. Casting is something that causes flipping, but they are not necessarily the same thing.

If you are one of these players that feels like they hit every shot off their back foot and flip at it, you should consider that casting could be your issue.

One of the best ways to start addressing this issue and moving forward is to practice the short game. The short game is a miniature version of the long game. If you can learn what it takes to hit down and through a chip on the side of the green, you can learn how to hit down and through a golf shot.

Conclusion

The first step in fixing a cast in your golf swing is understanding and acknowledging it. Hopefully, you now have a better understanding as to what casting is and whether or not it is something that is impacting your golf game.

Overall this is not the worst issue to fix, but it will take a bit of time and patience to move on from this swing flaw. Follow our other guides in case casting is not the issue causing you trouble in your game.