How To Start The Downswing

How To Start The Downswing

How To Start The Downswing

When teaching golf it's about first of all getting the fundamentals right. Once we are in a good position to swing the club around the body correctly then we would look at getting the golf club in the right position when it reaches the top. The most common question I get asked is how to start the downswing.

The answer is easy; it's just a chain reaction from what has gone on before. Provided the club has made it to the top of the backswing in the correct position then swinging it down should be effortless.

Unfortunately very few people fail to put the club anywhere near the correct backswing position and then have to try and over compensate in the downswing which is what makes it feel so awkward. I see many people practicing on the range trying to perfect this downswing movement when it is all in vain given as it will never travel on the correct path.

Other downswing errors are caused by over use of the hands and arms from the top of the backswing causing the club to be sent forwards not down. As a result of this the club travels across the ball creating a pull to the left or a slice depending on whether the club face was square to the path it was travelling on at impact or open.

From the top of the backswing the downswing should be initiated by a turning of the hips to the left. The shoulders and arms and then hands should follow to release power in to the impact area. This chain reaction creates great speed in the downswing and pulls the golfer through to a correct finish.

Initiating the backswing with the hips changes the angle or plane of the swing to become flatter. This allows the golfer to swing at the ball from an inside path allowing for maximum strength and club head speed in the swing.

If you do not start the downswing with your hips from the top of the backswing then you will be on too steep a plane and hit at the ball from the outside and suffer the consequences mentioned earlier.

Try this drill to see how the hips function in the downswing:

Take a club and swing it to the top of your backswing. Now without moving the hands or arms start turning the hips as slowly back towards the left as possible. This movement of the hips shallows the angle of the shaft and carries the hands down to hip height.

After initiating the downswing with the hips and putting the club in to a good position at hip high then you only want to think of one thing and that is hitting the ball hard with both hands. If you hit the ball hard with only one hand then this hand will overpower the other causing the clubface to open or close at impact. The hands should work as a union.

This should help you understand how to start the downswing but remember unless the club is in the correct position at the top of the backswing then the club will not start on the correct path back to the ball and compensations will have to be made in the golf swing to allow this to happen.

Take some lessons, establish the correct fundamentals of grip, stance, posture, alignment and ball position and then concentrate on building a good solid backswing. From here the downswing should be relatively trouble free and become a free flowing subconscious movement.

Each action in a golf swing is the direct result of preceding actions so if you want to know how to start the downswing then first of all learn how to make a backswing.

Simon Firkins - PGA Professional

http://www.birminghamgolfschool.co.uk

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