WiseGirl Tip Tuesday: What’s in your waggle?

WiseGolf Reading

Every Tuesday, we’re serving up a tip that helps you level up your game and your mindset. Because we’re not just playing golf — we’re playing for purpose. Because golf isn’t just a game. It’s a masterclass in patience, presence, and personal growth — disguised as a walk spoiled by a little white ball.

I recently wrote about the many blessings I received during my “big break”. Forced physical downtime after fracturing my ankle two weeks ago. It provided me time to work on my inner game as my body worked to heal. 

During this time I read several great books that had been on my shelves for years by legends like Annika Sorenstam, Bob Rotella, and Ben Hogan. 

In his book, Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, Ben Hogan describes the waggle as a way to "conduct an instinctive roll call of the parts of the body he will be using, alerting them and refreshing their memory of the movements they'll be making during the swing".

The waggle, according to Hogan, should be purposeful and help the golfer tune into the shot. He also believed that the tempo and feel of the waggle should match the desired shot, with a smoother, slower waggle for a softer shot and a quicker, more energetic waggle for a powerful shot. 

This Week’s Tip: Trust Your Waggle. Before you swing, there’s that little moment — the waggle. It’s the dance your hands and club do before committing to the shot. It’s part routine, part reset, and 100% essential.

Why it matters: The waggle isn’t fluff. It’s a signal to your brain: “We’ve got this.” It gets your body out of overthinking and into rhythm. It’s like the breath before the speech, the pause before the putt, the exhale before the email you really want to send.

Try this on the course:

1. Practice your waggle — make it your signature. Fluid, focused, and intentional.

2. Use it as your reset button — if the last shot rattled you, your waggle brings you back to center.

3. Bring the waggle to life — before your next meeting, decision, or tough conversation, pause. Reset. Trust your swing.

WiseGirl Wisdom: We all need a waggle. A moment that reminds us who we are before we do the thing we came to do.

So today, whether you’re teeing off or taking on Tuesday — take your moment. Get grounded. And swing with confidence.

Play wise, stay wise - Coach Heidi