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How are we doing with our practice routines? With the suggested short and frequent summer practice sessions, lower scores can’t be far away.

We’re making 10 putts in a row and we’re controlling trajectory with our chipping and pitching practice. We’ve even continued our stretching exercises to prevent injury and keep that swing long and loose.

Are we ready to identify and correct your critical error? This week’s tip is not the greatest new “cure all” advice that everyone should run out and try. This week’s tip is for the very early releaser who casts the club from the top of his backswing.

When we break down the swing into a sequence of moves, the first move from the end of the backswing must start from the ground. That’s right, the club head starts the backswing and the feet start the follow through. Casting comes from starting the downswing with the club head. The most obvious result is a huge loss of distance.

One of my most memorable lessons of all time was with a “caster.” Clark Dahlgren was a big strong guy that could take a full swing with a seven iron and it would only go about 20 yards. He casted so bad that it looked like a flop shot. After eliminating this critical error he later won his flight in the club championship.

What we are really talking about is the release of the wrists and when to square the face. Releasing the wrists should create a natural squaring of the club face through impact. Here are a couple drills to get a good feel of the proper hinging of wrists and rotation of the arms to square the club face prior to contact. Start with the simple toe up to toe up drill. Swing the club head back and stop with shaft parallel to the ground. The toe of club should point to the sky. Repeat this on the follow through and start short rhythmic swings back and forth, feeling the toe point to the sky on backswing and follow through.

Another drill is the pump drill. At the end of your backswing, pull the butt end of the club vertically down two or three inches and repeat in a pumping fashion. Give practice shots a couple pumps and then finish the swing. This is an advanced drill as some may have trouble making solid contact at first.

Why do golfers cast? My theory is that there’s too much focus on the hands and making contact with ball. Golfers need to trust their swing through a free arm motion supported by the body. A warning sign that a casting type swing is coming is when the golfer hinges wrists past their flexibility forcing the right hand off the club on backswing. Other than a finger that may be overlapped, keep all fingers on the grip throughout the swing. This can be checked at finish position and you might be surprised. Many golfers let go of the club at some point during the swing.

When searching for your critical error, start with the basics. Grip, alignment, posture and balance should always be the first to be analyzed. Could Casting be your critical error?

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Scott Yates is the golf coach golf for Seacrest Country Day School and he can be reached at 834-3146.