Eliminate Tension with the Hogan Open Right Thumb Drill

The open right thumb drill teaches you how to take unnecessary trail-hand tension out of the release. If you tend to push on the club with your right thumb or the webbing between your thumb and index finger, you can easily over-activate the wrong part of the trail arm and create a release that is too forceful, too rotational, or too “baseball-like.” This drill removes that pressure point, forcing you to control the club more through the fingers and the proper structure of the trail hand. The result is often a cleaner release, better clubface control, and less manipulation through impact.

How the Drill Works

The idea is simple: you hit shots while keeping your entire right thumb off the club. Not just the tip of the thumb, and not just a slight lift. You want the whole thumb disengaged so it is no longer pressing against the shaft or resting on the left thumb.

That distinction matters. Many golfers try this drill and only lift the top of the thumb while the base of the thumb still leans into the grip. If that meaty part of the thumb is still connected, you are still getting the same pressure pattern the drill is meant to eliminate.

Why is this important? Because pressure in the right thumb and thumb-index webbing tends to activate the top side of the trail forearm in a way that encourages a more rolling, throwing action through the ball. For many golfers, that leads to too much forearm rotation, a trail elbow that works outward, and a release that feels more like slapping or flipping than delivering the club with structure.

When you remove the thumb, you are pushed toward a better set of pressure points:

The middle fingers of the right hand supporting the club
The first joint/base pressure of the right index finger helping guide the handle
A more connected feeling through the inside of the trail arm rather than the top side

In other words, the drill helps you feel that the trail hand does not need to dominate the swing with thumb pressure. It can support and release the club effectively through the fingers.

This is especially useful if you:

Overuse your trail hand through impact
Fight hooks, flips, or excessive face rotation
Feel like your right hand “hits” too hard
Have a background in baseball and tend to apply the club more like a bat

One of the best parts of this drill is that it is very honest. If taking the right thumb off makes the club feel wildly unstable, that is usually a sign that you have been relying on that thumb pressure too much in your normal swing.

Step-by-Step

Take your normal grip first. Set up to the ball as you normally would, then adjust only the right thumb. Keep the rest of your grip as close to normal as possible so you can isolate what the thumb is doing.
Lift the entire right thumb off the club. Make sure the thumb is not touching the shaft and is not resting on the left thumb. The whole thumb should be “out of commission.”
Keep control in the fingers. Support the club with the middle fingers of the right hand and feel the right index finger as a key connection point. You should still feel like you can control the club, even without the thumb helping.
Start with a 9-to-3 swing. Make short swings where the club travels roughly hip-high to hip-high. These smaller motions let you focus on the release zone without needing to manage full-swing speed.
Hit soft shots and monitor contact. You are not trying to generate speed at first. Your goal is to sense how the club moves through impact when the thumb is no longer pushing.
Progress to a 10-to-2 swing. Once the shorter motion feels stable, lengthen the swing to about shoulder-high on both sides. This adds speed while keeping the drill manageable.
Try a full swing only if the shorter versions are solid. You can absolutely take this drill to a full motion, but do not rush there. If the release pattern is improving in the shorter swings, you are already getting the benefit.
Return to your normal grip and compare. After a few reps, place the right thumb back on the club and hit a normal shot. The goal is to retain the same finger-driven, less pushy release you just trained.

What You Should Feel

At first, the club may feel slightly unfamiliar, especially if you have relied on your right thumb for security. That is normal. But in the release zone, the drill should quickly teach you that you do not need thumb pressure to move the club well.

Key sensations

Less pushing from the right hand through impact
More support in the right middle fingers rather than the thumb pad
A clearer pressure point in the right index finger
Less rolling of the forearms through the strike
A more organized trail arm instead of a “throwing” action

What a good rep feels like

On a good swing, the club should still feel controllable, and the ball should come off fairly solidly even though the thumb is not involved. That is the whole point of the drill: proving to yourself that the release can function without that extra thumb pressure.

You may also notice that the clubface feels quieter through impact. Instead of the face rapidly rolling over, it may feel as though the club is being delivered with more structure and less hand action.

Physical checkpoints

The right thumb is completely disconnected the whole time
The base of the thumb is off the left thumb, not just the tip lifted
The trail elbow does not fly out excessively through the strike
The forearms are not aggressively crossing over right after impact
The strike feels supported by the fingers and body motion, not a last-second hand slap

If you do several reps in a row, you may feel your left hand working harder than usual. That can happen because the right thumb is no longer helping stabilize the club in the way you are used to. That is not necessarily a problem, but it does mean you should build up your repetitions gradually.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Only lifting the tip of the thumb. The base of the thumb must also come off. If the thumb pad is still touching, the drill loses much of its value.
Starting with full swings too soon. Begin with 9-to-3 swings so you can feel the release without fighting for control.
Gripping too hard with the rest of the hand. Do not replace thumb pressure with a death grip in the fingers.
Trying to hit the ball hard. This is a coordination drill, not a power drill.
Letting the club get unstable in transition. The fingers should still support the club with enough structure to keep the motion organized.
Assuming the drill is only for obvious overactive hands. Many golfers, especially former baseball players, have this pattern without realizing it.
Doing too many reps too quickly. If your left hand or lead forearm starts getting sore, reduce the volume and build up over time.

How This Fits Your Swing

This drill is not just about the right thumb. It is really about how your trail hand influences the clubface and how the club is released through impact.

In a good release, the trail hand supports the motion without overpowering it. The club is delivered by the motion of the body, the structure of the arms, and the correct pressure points in the hands. When the right thumb becomes too dominant, it often encourages exactly the opposite:

Too much independent hand action
Too much forearm roll
Too much clubface rotation
Too much “hit” from the trail side

The open right thumb drill helps you coordinate the hands so they work together more efficiently. It can be especially valuable if you are trying to build a more reliable tour-style release, where the clubface is not being constantly rescued or manipulated through impact.

If you tend to see the trail elbow spin outward, or you feel the clubhead overtaking your hands too aggressively, this drill gives you a simple way to remove one of the major triggers. By taking the thumb out, you reduce the urge to shove the handle or roll the club through the ball.

It also fits nicely with other release drills that emphasize proper trail-hand pressure, such as work focused on the right index finger or the fingers of the trail hand. In that sense, this drill is both a correction and a test:

If it immediately improves your strike and face control, you were likely overusing the thumb.
If it feels almost no different, that can be a sign your trail-hand mechanics are already in a good place.
If it feels nearly impossible, that is useful feedback that your release pattern needs training.

For many golfers, especially those with a baseball background, the trail hand wants to apply force in a way that makes sense for swinging a bat but not for delivering a golf club. This drill helps retrain that instinct. It teaches you that the club can be released powerfully without being shoved by the thumb.

Used regularly in short sessions, the open right thumb drill can help you reduce tension, quiet excessive hand action, and improve the way your body and hands work together through impact. Start small, make sure the thumb is truly off the club, and let the drill teach you how little you actually need that pressure point in the release.