How to Stop Casting the Golf Club

Updated October 12, 2026 · Written by the Your Golf Plan team · Written for right-handed golfers; if you play left-handed, flip left and right.

Casting, or an early release, is when you unhinge your wrists at the start of the downswing. The clubhead gets ahead of your hands too soon, so it has run out of speed by the time it reaches the ball.

What it costs you

Distance: the speed was spent before impact.
Contact: fat shots, because the club bottoms out early, and thin shots when you scoop to compensate.
Weak, high shots with little compression, or a slice when the face is open.

Why it happens

Trying to hit the ball with the hands from the top instead of letting the body rotate.
Squeezing the grip too hard, which tightens the forearms and locks the wrists.
Not enough body rotation, so the arms run ahead of the body and the hands flip.
Not enough weight on the lead side, so the club has to be flipped to find the ball.

How to see it

Film face-on and pause when your hands reach hip height on the way down. You should still see a clear angle between your lead arm and the club. If the club and arm form a straight line already, you have cast it.

Drills that help

L-to-L swings

Swing back until your lead arm is parallel to the ground and the club points straight up, forming an L.
Swing through to the matching position on the other side, forming another L.
Keep the wrist angle until the club passes through the ball. Build up to full swings.

What you should feel: The clubhead lags behind your hands, and it releases after the body has turned.

Pump drill

Take your backswing, then pump the club down to hip height two or three times while keeping the wrist angle.
On the last pump, finish the swing and hit the ball.
Keep your grip pressure light.

What you should feel: You feel the club hanging behind the hands, then whipping through late.

Not sure this is your problem?

Drills only work if you are fixing the right thing. Film your swing from down the line and face-on, and a PGA coach will tell you what is actually happening and give you one drill to work on.

Get a coach to look at your swing · $35

What a coach looks for on video

The wrist angle at hip height on the way down
Grip pressure and forearm tension
Body rotation compared with arm speed
Weight transfer to the lead side
Where the release happens relative to impact

That is the difference between guessing from a guide and knowing from your own swing. Two short videos are enough for a coach to check all of this.

Keep going

Common questions

What does casting look like on the ball?

Fat shots, weak high shots, and lost distance. Some golfers also slice because the face is open when the club gets there.

Do I need a lot of wrist strength to keep lag?

No. Lag comes from sequence and a light grip, not from strength.

Have a coach look at your swing

Send two short phone videos and tell us what you are working on. A PGA coach sends back a video review and a drill built around your swing, usually within 24 hours and always within 48.

Get your swing analysis · $35