What is The Release in Golf?

The release is the wrist action that uncocks the angle held during lag and sends the clubhead through impact. In a good swing it is not a manipulation — it is a natural consequence of the body slowing down and the club whipping past the hands. The hands almost feel passive at impact while the clubhead does all the work.

There are two flavors of release worth knowing. A full release lets the forearms rotate naturally so the toe of the club passes the heel through impact and the clubface rolls closed in the follow-through. A hold-off release is more body-driven and keeps the face from rotating as much — useful for pitch shots, knockdowns, and players who fight the hook. Both are correct in context. The one to avoid is the manufactured release — flipping the wrists at the ball to try to square the face by hand.

Players who release well don't think about the release. Players who don't release well try to think about it constantly. The fix is almost always a sequence problem upstream — fix the lower body lead and the wrists will release on their own at the right moment.