{"id":51515,"date":"2026-03-02T16:52:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T16:52:58","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-03-02T16:52:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T16:52:58","slug":"science-behind-golf-swing-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Science of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I discovered a surprisingly vivid way to illustrate the forces behind a proper golf swing release<\/strong> \u2014 and it involves medieval siege weaponry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this video, I flip a slow-motion trebuchet clip upside down and set it side by side with Phil Mickelson’s release. A trebuchet is a counterweight catapult, and the physics it uses are remarkably close to what an elite golfer does through impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Golf swing mechanics<\/strong> rarely look this dramatic, but trust me \u2014 it works.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to transform your swing?<\/strong> Try a free AI-powered Live Lesson with GOATY<\/a> \u2014 real-time pose tracking, voice coaching, and gate-by-gate feedback on every rep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ll be astounded by how similar the two motions are<\/strong>, and comparing them is one of the clearest ways to truly understand the lag release<\/strong> and why timing matters so much. Whether you’re working on your own through a free AI swing analysis<\/a> or following structured drills, seeing this comparison will reframe everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analyze Your Swing Free \u2192<\/strong><\/a> Upload a swing video and get your GOAT Score with detailed breakdown in minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full article: Science of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I discovered a surprisingly vivid way to illustrate the forces behind a proper golf swing release \u2014 and it involves medieval siege weaponry. In this video, I flip a slow-motion trebuchet clip upside down and set it side by side with Phil Mickelson’s release. A trebuchet is a counterweight catapult,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nScience of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet - Rotary Swing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Science of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I discovered a surprisingly vivid way to illustrate the forces behind a proper golf swing release \u2014 and it involves medieval siege weaponry. In this video, I flip a slow-motion trebuchet clip upside down and set it side by side with Phil Mickelson's release. A trebuchet is a counterweight catapult,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rotary Swing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-02T16:52:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chuck Quinton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chuck Quinton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chuck Quinton\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a0ed9fcf786194bb9b56241f24ec7985\"},\"headline\":\"Science of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-02T16:52:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-02T16:52:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/\"},\"wordCount\":192,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/\",\"name\":\"Science of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet - Rotary Swing\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-02T16:52:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-02T16:52:58+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Science of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/\",\"name\":\"Rotary Swing\",\"description\":\"RotarySwing Golf Instruction - #1 Golf Swing Mechanics System\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Rotary Swing\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cropped-rs-logo.png?fit=600%2C212&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cropped-rs-logo.png?fit=600%2C212&ssl=1\",\"width\":600,\"height\":212,\"caption\":\"Rotary Swing\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a0ed9fcf786194bb9b56241f24ec7985\",\"name\":\"Chuck Quinton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/29711e4295c0298d2f0b58479ab07b3d700fac43506a7e2e7da94389d28eb9ef?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/29711e4295c0298d2f0b58479ab07b3d700fac43506a7e2e7da94389d28eb9ef?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chuck Quinton\"},\"description\":\"Chuck Quinton is the founder of the RotarySwing Tour online golf instruction learning system. He played golf professionally for 8 years and has been teaching golf since 1995 and has worked with more than 100 playing professionals who have played on the PGA, Web.com and other major tours around the world.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Science of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet - Rotary Swing","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Science of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet","og_description":"I discovered a surprisingly vivid way to illustrate the forces behind a proper golf swing release \u2014 and it involves medieval siege weaponry. In this video, I flip a slow-motion trebuchet clip upside down and set it side by side with Phil Mickelson's release. A trebuchet is a counterweight catapult,...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/","og_site_name":"Rotary Swing","article_published_time":"2026-03-02T16:52:58+00:00","author":"Chuck Quinton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chuck Quinton","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/"},"author":{"name":"Chuck Quinton","@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a0ed9fcf786194bb9b56241f24ec7985"},"headline":"Science of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet","datePublished":"2026-03-02T16:52:58+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-02T16:52:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/"},"wordCount":192,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/","name":"Science of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet - Rotary Swing","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-03-02T16:52:58+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-02T16:52:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/science-behind-golf-swing-release\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Science of Golf Swing Release: Mickelson vs. Trebuchet"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/","name":"Rotary Swing","description":"RotarySwing Golf Instruction - #1 Golf Swing Mechanics System","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#organization","name":"Rotary Swing","url":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cropped-rs-logo.png?fit=600%2C212&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cropped-rs-logo.png?fit=600%2C212&ssl=1","width":600,"height":212,"caption":"Rotary Swing"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a0ed9fcf786194bb9b56241f24ec7985","name":"Chuck Quinton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/29711e4295c0298d2f0b58479ab07b3d700fac43506a7e2e7da94389d28eb9ef?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/29711e4295c0298d2f0b58479ab07b3d700fac43506a7e2e7da94389d28eb9ef?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Chuck Quinton"},"description":"Chuck Quinton is the founder of the RotarySwing Tour online golf instruction learning system. He played golf professionally for 8 years and has been teaching golf since 1995 and has worked with more than 100 playing professionals who have played on the PGA, Web.com and other major tours around the world.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2PTD5-doT","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51515\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rotaryswing.com\/golf-lessons-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}