What does creating lag in my golf swing do?

QUESTION:
I was wondering what creating lag in your golf swing did. Does it make you hit the ball straighter? And is it Good for your swing?

ANSWER:

Answer by green_lantern66
Lag is good. Creating lag is about creating good angles at impact. It helps promote the descending blow that you need with your irons to hit the ball with that penetrating ball flight with lots of spin. This can lead to more distance and better accuracy, but not if other parts of the swing are faulty. You can have excellent lag, but still hit the ball short and way left if you’re coming over the top, so it still has to work with the rest of the swing.

Set up in your address position. Now, just hinge your wrists straight up. That’s what lag looks like. Don’t worry; when you take the club back, the forearms will naturally rotate, which will make everything look normal. The idea is to hold that angle for as long as possible in the downswing.

For most of us, it’s usually a good idea to let lag and the release happen naturally. If you have the time to hit lots (and lots) of practice balls, you can create a different lag/release point and make it stick like second nature. That part’s up to you, though.