I have discussed the physics involved in the flail mechanism in my contributions to golf forums in the past. I am not going to go into technical aspects here. As I suggested, my aim is to communicate the FEEL. I am, however, going to ask you to build a model flail. Please do this so that we can observe the workings of the flail. It is not difficult to make.

Two rulers (one metal, one plastic)

Bolt and nut

Match box cover

Adhesive tape

Taking two rulers of similar length, one made of metal and the other plastic (if anything, the plastic ruler should be longer than the metal ruler), drill a hole (about 1/4 inch in diameter) on one end of each ruler. Your ruler may already have a hole at the end.

Put a bolt through each of the holes, and screw on a nut, so that the bolt/nut form the hinge of the two lever flail. The bolt/nut should be tight enough to stabilise the hinge, but loose enough for the hinge to work freely.

You now have the basic flail, consisting of two levers and a hinge. However, there is one more thing to do, to make this better simulate the golfer’s flail. We have to add a back stop.

Take the matchbox cover, and make inch long slits on the sides.

Put the metal ruler through the slits, so that the match box forms a "back stop", and prevents the levers from bending past the 90 degree angle. The metal lever that the match box is slotted onto is the INNER LEVER, and the plastic lever is the OUTER LEVER. The inner lever corresponds to the golfer’s arms, and the outer lever corresponds to the golf club.

You may want to put some adhesive tape around the match box and the metal ruler, so that the box doesn’t move when you swing the flail.

Hold the tip of the inner lever in your right hand. The flail should lie on a horizontal plane so as to zero out the force of gravity. We are going to swing the flail on a horizontal plane.

With the flail held out on a horizontal plane in you right hand, gently swing it back in a circular path, with the right elbow as the center of the circle. Swing it back about a quarter of a circle (90 degrees), and swing through to a corresponding position on the follow through. Always come back to the address position to start the swing. Don’t just swing repeatedly back and forth.

The rhythm of the swing should resemble that of the pendulum. Give the swing a smooth "momentum injection" back away from the target at the start. Slow down as you reach the end of the backswing, and accelerate smoothly forward towards impact.

You’ll notice the outer leaver LAGGING behind as you start the backswing. This is as it should be. This lag only gets out of control if you start the swing in a jerky manner. The momentum injection has to be smooth. As the flail starts swinging, and slows down towards the end of its backward motion, the lag will be naturally overcome, and the flail will bend the other way (ie. ananlogous to the wrist cock). Thus the wrist cock during the backswing should happen naturally by keeping the hands relaxed, and the wrists loose. There’s no need to manipulate the hands into the cocked position.

As I have already mentioned, the beginning of the backswing is probably the most unnatural (and thus difficult to learn) part of the Swing. I will go further into it later, but let me stress again that the initial momentum injection has to be smooth. I don’t like the term "takeaway". Better description would be "swingaway". I like to get the club swinging as soon as possible. If you "take" the club away, you can’t do this. The club should be "swung" away.

You’ll notice that to get the hinge to bend back during the backswing (ie. wrist cock), you must decelerate as you reach the top of the backswing. After the initial smooth momentum injection, the Swing slows down near the top before moving in the other direction. This is an intrinsic property of the rhythm of the Swing, as illustrated by the pendulum. Accelerate - Decelerate - Accelerate in the other direction.

On the downswing, you’ll notice how the outer lever LAGS then RELEASES naturally. There is no need to "hold" the wristcock, and there is no need to release it intentionally. It WILL happen. The clubhead will lag as you accelerate smoothly, and then it will whip through impact as the centrifugal force builds up. That’s how the flail works. All you have to do is "go with it". Swing in a smooth rhythmical manner, with no jerky movements, and things will happen automatically. The hands should be relaxed, and the wrists should be as loose as possible to emulate the free hinge of the flail.

To end this session, let’s do some "mini-Swings" with a nine iron. Grip the club, and take a narrow stance (or feet together if you prefer). Relax you hands, and feel the looseness in your wrists. Swing the club back by giving a smooth injection of momentum to the arms and hands. Notice the initial lag of the club. Don’t try to fight this. Don’t tense up your hands to prevent it from happening. Just "control" it by accelerating SMOOTHLY. Swing the hands up to about stomach height. Feel the swing slow down at the top. Can you see how as you slow the hands down, your wrists cock naturally? Accelerate smoothly down, again keeping the wrists loose. Feel the lag of the club (wrist cock is naturally sustained). As you swing through impact, feel the clubhead move through. Remember, this is a "MINI-Swing". It should be relatively gentle. The main aim at this stage is to get used to the feeling of loose wrists, and the feeling of the clubhead lagging and releasing. Don’t fight the swing. Feel the clubhead. Feel the pendulum. Feel the taut rope. Feel the flail. Feel how you are giving up manipulative control in order to gain swinging control. Always start at the address position, instead of haphazardly swinging back and forth.

When you feel confident with the Swing, hit some chip shots using this mini-Swing. 10 to 30 yards, nothing more. We’ll go further into the "mini-Swing" later. At this stage, simply try to feel a crisp contact WITHOUT trying to manipulate the clubhead with the hands. Feel the clubhead, and LET it swing.