Improve Your Backswing with the Motorcycle Drill Using The Educator

The motorcycle drill teaches you how to control the clubface during the backswing and early downswing by improving your lead-wrist motion. If you tend to leave the face open, fight a slice, or struggle to sense whether you are “motorcycling” the club enough, this drill gives you immediate feedback. Using The Educator, you can train the relationship between your hands, wrists, and clubface in a way that is much easier to feel and see than with words alone.

This is especially useful if you understand the idea of bowing the lead wrist or rotating the clubface more closed in transition, but you are not sure whether you are actually doing it. The Educator creates a simple checkpoint: if your wrist conditions are changing correctly, the device changes where it sits relative to your forearms. That makes the motorcycle move more concrete and easier to repeat.

How the Drill Works

The point of this drill is to train the motorcycle move—the motion that helps you reduce an open clubface by changing the lead wrist and forearm alignments as the club is set. For many golfers, this happens best once the wrists have already hinged, usually later in the backswing or right as transition begins.

The Educator attaches into the butt end of the grip and extends upward at an angle. For this drill, you want it set in the 45-degree position, roughly in line with the clubface or score lines. When you take your normal grip, the extension should rest just inside your forearms.

From there, the feedback is simple:

• At address and early in the swing, the device sits more toward the inside of your forearms.
• Once you hinge the club and apply the motorcycle motion, it should move so that it is more toward the outside of your forearms.
• If it stays trapped on the inside, you likely have not changed the clubface enough.

That is what makes the drill effective. Instead of guessing whether the face is still too open, you get a physical reference for how your wrist alignments are affecting the club.

You can train the motion in two ways:

• Short 9-to-3 swings to build awareness and pattern the move
• Full swings to blend it into your normal motion

For most golfers, the short version is the better place to start because it isolates the movement without the complexity of a full-speed swing.

Step-by-Step

1. Install The Educator in the grip. Place it into the butt end of the club and set it in the 45-degree slot. You want the extension angled so it generally matches the orientation of the clubface rather than pointing straight up or directly out to the side.

2. Take your normal grip. When you hold the club, the extension should sit just inside your forearms. It should feel close enough to give feedback, but not so awkward that you cannot make a normal motion.

3. Make a small backswing and hinge the wrists. The motorcycle move works best once the club has some set to it. If you are doing a 9-to-3 drill, take the club back far enough that you have enough wrist hinge to create space for the device to move.

4. Apply the motorcycle motion. From that hinged position, feel as if you are turning the handlebars of a motorcycle with your lead hand. For many golfers, this feels like lead-wrist flexion or a slight bowing of the lead wrist. For others, it may feel more like the trail hand helping rotate the face. Either feel is fine if it produces the correct clubface change.

5. Check where the extension moves. As you motorcycle the club, the Educator should no longer stay on the inside of your forearms. It should move more to the outside. That tells you the clubface is changing orientation rather than staying too open.

6. Rehearse the move without hitting a ball. Pause at the top or just short of the top, then slowly motorcycle and release. Repeat this several times until you can clearly sense the change in forearm contact.

7. Hit short 9-to-3 shots. Choke up slightly if needed. Make a compact swing from waist-high to waist-high, using the device to confirm that the face is organizing correctly before delivery. This is one of the best ways to build the motion without overthinking mechanics.

8. Progress to full swings. Once the short version feels natural, make full swings and apply the same motion near the top of the backswing or at the start of transition. The goal is not to hold the motorcycle forever, but to use it to organize the face earlier so impact becomes easier to manage.

9. Reset the device as needed. The Educator can shift slightly during swings, especially through the release. Check it regularly to make sure it is still aligned correctly with the clubface.

What You Should Feel

The best drills create sensations you can trust. With this one, your feedback should be very clear.

The Club Needs Wrist Hinge Before the Motion Makes Sense

If you try to motorcycle the club too early, there is not much room for the device to move, and the feel can become confusing. Once the wrists are set, the geometry changes and the motion becomes much easier to detect. That is why this drill usually feels best in the later backswing or early transition.

The Extension Moves From Inside to Outside

This is the main checkpoint. At setup, the Educator sits inside your forearms. After the motorcycle move, it should feel as though it has rotated and cleared so it is now more on the outside. That change tells you the face is not being left open.

You May Feel It More in Either Hand

Some golfers feel the move best with the lead hand—as if the lead wrist is bowing or flexing. Others feel it more with the trail arm and trail hand helping turn the face. Do not get stuck on which side creates the sensation. Use whichever feel gives you the correct movement and clubface control.

The Motion Is Small but Important

The motorcycle move is not a giant roll of the hands. It is a precise change in wrist conditions that has a major influence on the face. If you do it correctly, the clubface will look and feel more organized without the swing becoming wild or handsy.

Impact Should Feel Easier to Square

As you improve with this drill, you should notice that the club no longer feels like it is trailing behind with an open face. Instead, the face should feel more stable and easier to deliver. For many players, that means less wipey contact, fewer weak cuts, and a stronger, more predictable strike.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Trying to motorcycle from the takeaway. The drill works better after the wrists have hinged. If you force it too early, the motion often becomes awkward and exaggerated.
• Using too much hand roll instead of proper wrist motion. The goal is not to wildly flip the face shut. You are training a more organized lead-wrist and clubface condition, not a frantic forearm roll.
• Making the swing too big too soon. Start with rehearsals and 9-to-3 swings. If you jump straight into full speed, you may lose the feel before the pattern is learned.
• Ignoring the feedback from the device. If the extension is still buried on the inside of your forearms, the move probably is not happening enough. Let the tool tell you the truth.
• Assuming there is one perfect amount for everyone. The ideal amount of motorcycle varies by player. Use the drill to find the amount that improves your face control, not to chase a universal position.
• Forgetting to check the alignment of The Educator. Because it can shift during swings, especially in the follow-through, make sure it is still set correctly before each rep.
• Trying to hold the motorcycle all the way through the finish. In a real swing, your wrist conditions will continue to change through release. The key is what the clubface is doing up to and through impact, not preserving one exact look forever.

How This Fits Your Swing

This drill matters because clubface control is one of the biggest pieces of ball flight. If the face is too open during the backswing and transition, you will often spend the rest of the swing trying to save it. That can lead to slices, weak fades, glancing contact, and timing-dependent releases.

The motorcycle move helps you organize the face earlier. When you do that, you do not need as much last-second compensation through impact. The swing becomes simpler because the club is already in a better condition on the way down.

That is why this drill is so useful for golfers who:

• Fight a slice or weak left-to-right shot
• Feel the face is always late and open
• Have heard about lead-wrist flexion but cannot feel it
• Need a clearer connection between body motion, hand motion, and face control

It also fits well into a broader release pattern. The motorcycle move is not the entire release, but it strongly influences how the club can be delivered. If the face is in a better position by the top of the swing or early transition, your pivot and release can work more naturally from there.

Think of this drill as a bridge between concept and reality. Many golfers know they need better clubface control, but they lack a reliable feel for how to create it. The Educator gives you that missing reference point. It helps you train the motion, verify it, and then blend it into your normal swing.

Used correctly, this is not just a gadget drill. It is a way to improve your awareness of how your hands and wrists influence the face. Once you can feel that relationship, you can build a backswing and transition that produce a squarer face, cleaner contact, and more dependable ball flight.