This past Colorado winter was brutal.

For golfers, that meant hitting off of mats and frozen ground for longer than typical.
As a result, many people are finding that their wrists are limiting their ability to engage in early season play due to pain, stiffness, and/or weakness affecting their swing.

While nuances exist, most golf enthusiasts acknowledge certain phases to the golf swing:

Address, takeaway, top of backswing, transition, downswing, impact, follow through.

Most also recognize that consistency and reproducibility of those phases is both the secret to and Achilles heel of amateurs and seasoned professionals alike.

Relative to the golf swing, the “wrist” consists of two joints. The distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) allows for “twisting” of the wrist, also known as pronation (palm down) and supination (palm up) motions.  The radiocarpal joint allows for “bending” of the wrist into flexion (toward the palm) and extension (away from the palm). During the golf swing, each joint is required to move through a unique range of motion that, ideally, is consistent with each swing. Any alteration to those motions can throw the golf swing into a tailspin.

For a right-handed golfer, the left wrist at address is considered “flat” (no flexion or extension) and is expected to remain relatively “flat” throughout the swing. During takeaway, the left wrist first pronates (palm down) followed by a “hinge” into radial deviation in order to form the traditional “L” of the backswing. This “hinge” and “palm down” (radial deviation and pronation) position is largely maintained until the downswing where the left wrist gradually returns to a neutral position at impact. During follow through, the left wrist supinates (turns palm up) in order to allow the hands to clear the body.

In contrast, for a right-handed golfer, the right wrist also begins in a relatively neutral position at address but quickly supinates (palm up) and extends (away from the palm) in order to create a “platform” upon which the club grip rests at the top of the backswing. During the downswing and through impact, the right wrist returns to neutral and then pronates (palm down) in order to aid in clearing the hands/arms through and past the body. 

Depending on your interest in details, understanding the above mechanics of wrist motion may be a complete waste of time. More important for most, however, is how an imperfect or injured wrist may affect the swing. Common issues in golfers specifically after a long winter indoors
involve pain related to the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) and triangular
fibrocartilage complex (TFCC). Both issues limit ability of the wrist to
effectively pronate (palm down) and supinate (palm up) through the swing.
In addition, a TFCC injury can cause a significant amount of pain during
impact and follow through. Both issues tend to cause pain along the small
finger (ulnar) side of the wrist. Wrist fractures, ligament injuries, or arthritis
that affect the radiocarpal joint, scaphoid bone, or lunate bone can cause
pain during the hinge phase of the “L” as well as with attempted creation of
the “platform” mentioned above.

Whatever the cause, wrist conditions will have a significant impact on the ability to make a complete and consistent golf swing. Treatment begins with a thorough evaluation with a hand and upper extremity specialist such as Dr. Worrell. Basic x-ray imaging of your hand and wrist will likely provide significant insight to the issue and allow for treatment recommendations.  Having an injured wrist may give you a good excuse for a bad round, but many issues can be resolved without surgical intervention and, in turn, help you play pain free with limited down time.

Don’t waste your season. Get in, get answers, get back to playing.