David F. Wright, Ph.D., PGA
Revised August 2025

Copyright Wright Balance® 2025

"What does keep the club in front mean?"

Simply stated, when the clubface is perceived by the player as square at address and square at the top of the swing, the club is front. How do we know what the player perceives? It is actually quite simple. Teaching great, Harvey Penick advocated using a yardstick to teach grip. Present day metal yardsticks are too heavy but a paint stick is simple and works to teach both grip and keeping the club in front (square face) and through the swing.

Place a clip on a one gallon paint stick as shown in the above images. Have the player grip the paint stick at address and swing to the top before any instruction. Ask the player what they see at address and at the top. The card on the paint stick shown in the above images has a blue side and a white side. The second illustration shows what the card would show when the clubface is square. When the clip on the paint stick appears square at address and at the top of the swing, the club is said to be in Front of the player at the top of the swing.

NOTE: This EBook was originally written in 2020 before we began to use the clip and paint stick. You will notice images of a "grip trainer" as you continue reading. The Wright Balance® grip trainer is no longer needed as the clip and paint stick have since be used to substitute for the trainer grip.

What Changes a Square Face?

There are numerous set up positions that change the position of the clubface at setup and through the swing. If any one of those factors is off, the club moves behind the player. Very few players have the club in front but still play well as long as they repeat the same setup and inswing positions. Changing one set up position changes everything at the top of the swing.

In the mid 80s, Harvey Penick said that the easiest time to teach was in the rain in the pro shop. He said just stand, put the club shaft on your trail shoulder. Then, rotate your shoulders as though you were making a back swing without moving the club. Once you rotate your shoulders, raise the handle of the club straight up. That's your backswing. Stay in that backswing position and lay the shaft on your lead shoulder. Now, leaving the shaft resting on your lead shoulder, rotate to your through swing. Now, raise your hands straight up. That's your golf swing.

Let's take a look at a simple self-test to determine if the club is in front of you or behind you in the swing. You will need a club for this exercise. Find your set up and swing to the top of your backswing. Hold that position as shown here.

Next, take your lead or target side foot while keeping your trail side in place and turn so your back is to the target side without moving the trail side foot as shown here.

Notice that my hands are on the right center of my chest as I grip the club. This is a position where the club is in front of me at the top of my backswing.

What does it mean to get the club "behind you" in the backswing? This illustration shows me demonstrating a position where the club is behind me at the top of my backswing.

Note the differences in these illustrations. All I did here was change my Power Spots. They did not match and the club moved behind me in the back swing. Why is this important. When the club is in front of you, the clubface will be square to the target line the longest. When the club is behind you at the top of your swing, you will either be over or under the plane in the downswing and the clubface will be rotated open or closed. When you are under or over the plane in the downswing there will be a re-routing of the club to impact, a less than "ideal" angle of attack, a thin or a fat shot and / or a flight that is left or right of the intended target.

Let's take a look at a brief video shot in 2019. This video was shot before we had 15 Stance Widths and the current Wright Balance Express exercise with 8 isometric positions. This video will show you a simple test you can use to get an "idea" of the club position. However, once you do this test, the paint stick and clubface clip is what I would strongly recommend for you to use to teach both grip and keeping the club in front.

Players will have their best performance when the club is kept in front through the swing. I was on the same program with Claude Harmon III in Dallas, Texas right after the above video was made. He teaches PGA and LIV Golf Professional Bruce Koepka. He has won 5 majors ( The PGA Championship 3 times and the US Open 2 times). Harmon said that all Bruce works on in his swing is keeping the club in front of him. He said that when his ball striking is off, he knows the club as gotten behind him.

Setting a goal in your teaching to keep the club in front throughout the swing will provide great benefits for your students. The Wright Balance® Golf certification covers all of the factors that impact keeping the club in front through the swing. If you have registered for this certification, you received shaft clips for determining the position of the clubface through the swing from address to finish.

Each set up position has to be learned and practiced independent of the others. This video shows the long term goal of this practice.

Factors that Impact Keeping the Club in Front

There are 4 setup factors that impact keeping the club in front through the swing, all related to balance. The first we will cover is alignment.

1. Routine & Alignment

Alignment requires a specific routine, a precise target and a specific focus on that target as the player sets up to the ball.

This Wright Balance® EBook demonstrates how to teach alignment with PGA Tour veteran Kevin Stadler's and his routine as the model.

https://instructions.wrightbalance.com/alignment-2/

When I am checking alignment at the end of the first lesson, I ask the player to show me their routine. I ask them to show me how they align to a target when they play. Some have no routine and others are diligent as they prepare to walk into the shot and setup to the ball. If their alignment is accurate, I ask them to set up again to another target on the opposite side of the range. If both are accurate. I stop and say whatever you are doing, keep doing it. I also suggest they check their alignment themselves frequently during practice and before play.

When alignment is not accurate, the club will be behind the player through the swing leading to errant shots.

2. Posture

The placement of the hands on the club impacts the student's connection to the ground where power will be recruited and transferred to the clubhead. Let's begin with a review of the basics. The concepts are simple and a must for your students to understand the importance of Grip as related to keeping the club in front of the body in the golf swing.

Note in this photo of Nick Faldo that his left hand has greater internal rotation than his right and his right hip is higher than his left..

Nick Faldo's "rolled shoulder's posture at address, as shown in the photo below, likely mimicked the Wright BOM. When he assumed his set up, his posture with "rolled shoulders" unwittingly leveled his shoulders and hips and set his hands exactly the same at his side while setting a neutral grip.

Most of us have taught a "straight back" posture at address. We even placed a club on the spine demonstrating how to keep the back straight in the set up. Another teaching myth.

3. Leveling the Hips & Shoulders & Squaring the Hips at Address

This video shows the impact of the Wright Balance® Optimization Move (The Wright BOM) and how it levels the hips and shoulders and much more. As you view this video, not how the Wright BOM mimics Nick Faldo's rolled back position.

There are 4 videos on the Wright BOM below. The first video shows how to do the Wright BOM and the impact it has on the body.

The second video shows Mackenzie Tour player (2019) Albert Pistorius doing the Wright BOM in the full swing and how it impacts the hip line and club path in the backswing.

The last full swing video shows a detailed overview of how the full swing Wright BOM impacts the body in 14 ways.

The Putting Wright Balance® Optimization Move (The Wright BOM)

The following video is a demonstration of the Wright BOM for putting, just the opposite one second move of the full swing BOM

4. Grip

A Flat lead hand wrist

A flat wrist at address and at the top of the swing is the first factor in keeping the club in front. The flat lead wrist is a result of a "neutral" grip in the lead hand and shaft lean that keeps that flat lead wrist at address. These set up positions amplify the impact of ball position on both shaft lean and a flat lead wrists. We will get to how to determine ball position in a bit.

In this 2017 photo of Brooks Koepka you will note that the club is very much in front of him at the top and his lead hand is flat with a slight bow.

I heard Brooks Koepka's swing coach, Butch Harmon III speak in Texas in 2019. He said that Brooks worked primarily on keeping the club in front of him. When his ball striking got off, he said the club was getting behind him.

Here is another photo of Brooks Koepka with the club in front at the top of the swing.

This photo shows Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters. Again note that his lead hand wrist is flat at the top and, in spite of the angle of the photo, the club looks very much in front of him.

Recall the 2019 British Open was won by Shane Lowry. If you recall, Shane Lowry's short game from 100 yards in was remarkable. However, he struggled to find the fairway with his tee shots. I found myself thinking as I watched the Saturday and Sunday rounds that he would never win because of his errant tee shots. However, he was a wizard in the short game.

Here is a shot from the final round of the 2019 British Open. Notice how much the club is in front of Lowry with a wedge an a flat lead wrist.

Here is Shane's full swing, notice how the club is behind him in his tee game and he has a cup in his lead hand.

Here are two other number 1 players in the world. Justin Thomas obviously has a flat lead wrist at the top and the club is in front of him.

However, Dustin Johnson has a bowed lead wrist. It is difficult to tell if the club is in front of Dustin due to the angle and the overswing.

Not all players with a flat lead wrist have the club in front as you can see from this image of Jordan Spieth.

However, similar to Shane Lowry, note the club in front of Jordan with this 100 yard wedge shot at the top of his swing. Jordan's short game, like Lowry's is very solid.

If you have a student with a flat lead wrist and the club is behind as is the case with Jordan Spieth's long game, the solution lies in diagnosing other factors that impact keeping the club in front.

If you have a student with the club in front of them when you test whether their lead hand is cupped, flat or bowed, I wouldn't change anything. However, if the club is behind them, the following factors will help move the club in front in the backswing.

Lead Hand Grip: If you are doing online certification you received a Trainer Grip and card and bubble clips. The first thing you want to work on with the trainer grip is a flat lead wrist at address. The flat lead wrist is created by the strength and weakness of the grip.

As you set the lead hand grip, you will likely hear your student say that it feels too weak. The majority of your players have never had a grip as weak as they need to have to set the lead wrist flat. They are likely going to tell you they feel they are going to hit a "flare" or "opposite field single" when they assume their lead hand grip.

The practice with the weakness of the lead hand grip is why they need to use the trainer yardstick grip. Do not allow your student to add the trail hand yet. We will get to that latter.

Instead of the trainer grip described below, Wright Balance® has moved to a paint stick with the clubface clip. Harvey Penick said that if you want to learn to grip a club, use a yardstick. Wright Balance® has adopted a 1 gallon stick. It is shorter and provides immediate feedback.

This video describes in detail how to set the lead hand on the Trainer Grip so their is a flat wrist.

Posture: You will find that it is easy to determine the correct posture after you set the Power Spots to matching Core Region Stance Width and the lead hand is set properly on the Trainer Grip. Go into your set up with only your lead hand on the Trainer Grip. When you look down you should only see the edge of the card from your vantage point.

If you see anything other than them top edge of the card (or both sides of the card as you look down) you either don't have enough spine angle or you have too much spine angle.

When you get in the correct posture, slowly add a little more spine angle until you see the trail side of the card. The trail side of the card is a shut face which is what too much spine angle will most often create.

Then decrease your spine angle slowly and note that you see the front side of the card or an open face as shown here.

Grip Strength and Weakness:

When setting the lead and trail hand on the club, there is a simple test to determine the strength and weakness of each hand. To test your lead hand. You will have a restriction of movement in the backswing when the lead hand is not set on the grip at the correct "strength". For a right-handed golfer, when either hand is turned clockwise, the grip gets stronger. When the lead hand is rotated counterclockwise the grip gets "weaker". The lead hand controls the rotation in the backswing. Note: Too much or too little spine angle will also restrict rotation.

Note in this illustration that I have absolute freedom of motion in my backswing and I see the top edge of the card. If I see the front or back of the card, my grip is incorrect of I have lifted the grip trainer as I turned. That full range of motion means that I have a "neutral" lead hand grip.

In this illustration I have strengthened my grip and I can see the back side of the card which means a "shut" clubface. Notice my restriction in rotation.

Interlock vs Overlap and Trigger Finger Impacts the Wright BOM and Keeping the Club in Front

This content was also covered in the Chapter on the Wright BOM. It is very important that you understand the subtlety of the use of the "Trigger Finger".

One of the more interesting Wright Balance® research findings was when to use a "Trigger Finger" and when not to use the "Trigger Finger". The "Trigger Finger" research was done using a research question with 40 plus Wright Balance® Professionals from around the world.

What is equally remarkable in subsequent observations is that if the "Trigger Finger" does not match the grip, the Wright BOM has no impact at address.

This video shows the impact of matching the trigger finger with an overlapping grip vs a trigger finger with an interlocking grip. This is a must view video. This is one of the first things you should be checking in your students at each lesson.

If you have done the Wright Balance® Express exercises, your hands will hang exactly the same at your side. To test the impact of the Trigger Finger observations you need a disrupted Core. A disrupted Core means that your hands don't hang the same at your side and one shoulder is lower than the other and one hip is higher and your hips rotate left or right, among other observations. You will look similar to Nick Faldo in this picture.

Let's disrupt your Core. Simply Grip a club shaft with your hands not touching, a split hand grip. Now do the Wright Balance® Express Exercise in any Stance Width. Make sure your hands are NOT touching. When you do the Wright Balance® Express with your hands separated and in any Stance Width, you will note that your hands don't hang the same at your side and one hip is higher and one shoulder is lower, no matter what stance width you use.

Now, let's test the "Trigger Finger" combined with the Wright BOM. Let's take a look at the predictable outcome with and without a "Trigger Finger" applied correctly and incorrectly.

Stand in front of a mirror. Look at how your hands hang and note that one hip is higher and one shoulder is lower. Grip a club with an overlapping Grip. Be sure you have a "Trigger Finger". Go into a setup and do the Wright BOM. Don't move your feet, set the club aside and stand tall. Look in the mirror and note that your hands hang the same and your shoulders and hips are level.

Now raise one foot or just walk around and return to the mirror. Find your Stance Width. This time, with an overlapping Grip, don't use a "Trigger Finger". Be certain your index finger of your trail hand is touching your middle finger of your lead hand. Now do the Wright BOM. Set the club aside, stand tall and look in the mirror. Now you will note that the BOM had no impact on how your hands hang at your side and one hip is still higher and one shoulder is still lower. Set the "Trigger Finger" with your overlapping Grip, do the BOM, look in the mirror and you will note the changes. The "Trigger Finger" changes the impact of the BOM and thus, performance.

Here is a brief, comprehensive video demonstrating the above.

Be sure to stop reading, stand in front of a mirror and test this phenomena. It is subtle but an important consideration when you are teaching and they are practicing or playing. And, it is a simple "FIX". Please know that the Placement of the Power Spot, a Matching Stance Width, and the Proper Trigger Finger are important for best performance.

****Here is a simple overview of the Trigger Finger:

Interlocking Grip: Index Finger Touching Middle Finger of Lead Hand / No Trigger Finger on trail hand

Overlapping Grip: Trigger Finger with Index Finger of Trail Hand.

10 Finger Grip: Index Finger Touching Middle Finger of Lead Hand / No Trigger Finger on trail hand

The following video summarizes the findings of the Research Project on whether or not to use a Trigger Finger.

As you learned in the Wright BOM Chapter, the Trigger Finger phenomena impacts the BOM. If the Trigger Finger is not set correctly, the BOM has no impact on the set up and the potential for injury remains a constant and the club will not be in front of the player.

Grip the Club With Shaft Lean

When your student places their lead hand on the club, it should be with shaft lean. Shaft lean varies by Core Region as shown in this illustration.

Note, this is the "natural" position of the lead arm and shaft at address. This is not a forward press. You will note that shaft lean sets the ball position.

This video summarizes the lead hand grip with shaft lean.

Notice at the end of that video what happens to my ability to rotate my shoulders when I don't grip the club with shaft lean.

Strength and Weakness of Grip

"Grip the Club the way your arms and hands hang at your side". I heard that instruction more than 40 years ago and it is still a Gold Standard of teaching to this day. Our research shows that this teaching adage applies to today IF your student does the Wright BOM. When the Wright BOM is done, both hands hang the same at their side and they are ready to assume a grip that produces maximum motion and power. The way the hands are placed on the club determines how the club is set at the top of the backswing. That includes Power Angles, Leverage and Club Path.

The Power Angles are set by matching the Power Spots with the Playing Core Region Stance Width. Leverage is determined by how much heel pad is set on top of the grip and Club Path is created when the club remains in front of the player through the swing. You have already covered how Power Spots and matching Stance Widths impact Power at the top of the Golf Swing. Leverage and Club Path are next.

Those are a few of the many factors that go into keeping the Club in Front.