The Release Myth That's Been Measured Wrong For Years!
Golf Instruction · 8/16/2026 · 18K views · 546 likes
"Low rate of closure" might be the most misunderstood term in golf. Players come in wanting to slow how fast the clubface closes through impact, but here's the truth, measured by everyone who measures this (not our theory): there is no such thing as a low rate of closure. Nobody, not Hogan, not Moe Norman, not your favorite tour player, gets the face square and just turns through the ball. The face is always closing rapidly through impact. What golfers actually want is to take the "sensitivity" out of their release, so a slightly-off swing still finds the fairway instead of a foul ball. In this video, Mike Granato & Shaun Webb from Athletic Motion Golf show how to do that. It starts with body position (the ~100° spine, staying on top of the ball) because if your body isn't oriented right, no release cue — CP, CF, whatever — will matter. Being too far back (the "good player's disease") forces you to drag and tilt, which opens the face and cranks up the sensitivity. Then we get into the release itself: the "covered throw," where the trail elbow rotates away and behind the hip (the "home plate" look you see in Louie Oosthuizen), squaring the face while keeping your chest on the ball and slinging speed to the clubhead. We cover why the straightest player in our database has one of the highest rates of closure, the bicep-touch one-hand drill, and why the handle actually moves back while your body moves forward. Start with the body, then the throw. Use the Swing Coach app to nail the big dials first. 🎁 FREE Training Here: 🎁 Make your BEST swing your NORMAL swing: https://athleticmotiongolf.com/consistency Chapters: 00:00 What "rate of closure" actually means 00:18 Why you can't see it on video 00:38 There's no such thing as a low rate of closure 00:58 It's measured, not theory (even Hogan & Moe closed it fast) 01:28 No link between rate of closure and speed/distance/accuracy 01:38 What golfers really mean: the "sensitive mouse" 02:08 Build a swing that's playable when you're off 02:24 The "foul ball loaded in every swing" 02:56 The iron: body positioning first 03:00 On top of the ball: the ~100° spine 03:26 The biggest dial: get the body right 03:55 If the body's wrong, no release cue matters 04:00 "Good player's disease": being too far back 04:20 Why dragging opens the face & adds sensitivity 04:54 Why Swing Coach is perfect for body position 05:00 Impact happens on the trail side 05:16 Stop moving your hands "back leg to front leg" 05:35 The smaller dials: the arm/elbow release 06:18 Why it decelerates the handle & adds clubhead speed 07:00 The "covered throw" explained 07:38 Good players go here-to-there, not here-then-twist 07:50 Brian Manzella's Gears demonstration 08:05 Nobody keeps it square 24 inches 08:22 The "home plate" look (Louie Oosthuizen) 08:39 The straightest player has one of the highest closure rates 09:23 How to teach the proper throw 09:38 Set body position in Swing Coach (delivery) 10:02 The bicep-touch drill (stay honest) 10:47 Why one-hand drills work (the club feels heavier) 11:33 Why pulling kicks you back (the gym analogy) 11:56 The handle moves back while the body moves forward 12:35 The years spent unlearning the drag 13:04 Start with the body (Android coming soon) 13:43 Why this is the most natural way (kids do it) 14:07 Why the body must move with the club 14:27 The golf swing as a whole system 14:47 How body & release feed each other #golf #golfswing #golfrelease #golftips