Lesson 4 - The Down Swing. -(Changed - 02/07/2008)

Golf Tip.

As you perform the down swing movement, simply concentrate on rotating the right shoulder from the end of the back swing position, back to the original address position and then as soon as the club head makes contact with the ball, whilst the head remains in the original address position, ensure that you rotate the right shoulder under the chin.

During the down swing movement the shoulders and the arms must move at the same speed - the only exception is at the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball when the arms must interact, but otherwise the shoulders and the arms must move as a solid compact one piece unit.

In addition, the movement of the club head during the down swing and the follow through must be a gradual accelerating action from the moment it begins to move away from the end of the back swing position - right through until well after the ball has been struck.

Similarly, the movement of the hips and the compact upper body unit, which include the passive arms, must gradually increase in speed as the down swing and the follow through movement is performed.

However the main objective of the down swing movement is to judge the whole movement so that at the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball, the shoulders are in the original address position - but importantly, the head remains in the original address position.

However, and this is most important, at the precise moment the club head strikes the ball, simultaneously the left shoulder muscles pull the passive arms through the contact area and the right shoulder is forced to rotate under the chin, thus increasing the accuracy of the shot and also injecting extra power into the golf shot.
But all this must be performed whilst also maintaining the upper body angles and continuing to keep the head in the original address position - and then as soon as the both arms are straight, the whole body pivots on the left leg and fully turns to face the target area.

Therefore the whole movement must be performed with a smooth seamless action from the moment the down swing begins, right through to the completion of the follow through movement.

( I can assure you that as long as the hips continue to rotate/pivot towards the target area, even after the ball has been struck, thus forcing the passive twisted body unit to continue to rotate about its axis, the shoulders will automatically rotate about its axis to the completion of the golf swing movement.)

Down Swing.

Assuming that you have correctly used the left shoulder to control the rotational movement of the very compact upper body unit as it rotates around the central core of the spine, but using the rotational movement of the upper body unit to literally push the passive arms to the end of the back swing movement, it is absolutely vital that you hold the compact upper body unit at the end of the back swing movement whilst the movement of the hips begin the down swing movement.

As the hips rotate/pivot towards the target area, the torsion of the muscles between the upper part of the body and the lower part of the body quickly reach their maximum and the twisted body unit is almost immediately forced to rotate about its axis and thus follow the movement of the hips.

This rotation of the hips must continue to force the compact twisted body unit to continue to rotate about its axis, thus using the rotational movement of the compact upper body unit to accelerate the club head into the contact area.

(But what is absolutely vital is that the as the twisted upper body unit rotates about its axis thus automatically returning the shoulders back to the original address position, the golfer must focus on the ball so that the head is firmly held in a position so that the left eye is always slightly behind the ball, so that when the torsion of the muscles of the shoulder region can no longer be contained, the club head will return to the golf ball at speed and square to the target line. You must not try to swing the arms but simply use the rotational movement of the compact upper body unit to create a momentum of the arms thus swinging the club head along the straight to the target line into the impact area.)

However at the precise moment the club head strikes the ball although the movement of the hips continue to force the twisted body unit to rotate about its axis, you must force the right shoulder to rotate under the chin whilst simultaneously the left shoulder muscles pull the passive arms through the contact area, thus increasing the accuracy of the shot and also injecting extra power into the golf shot.

Therefore it is absolutely vital that the head remains in the original address position and the upper body angles must be strictly maintained until well after the ball has been struck.

As the movement of the hips force the twisted body unit to rotate about its axis the shoulders will automatically return the club head to the golf ball, therefore as long as you do not try to physically swing the arms, the club head will return to the ball square to the target line

Therefore you must hold the upper body unit very tightly together from the moment you begin the back swing movement so that the is is only the rotational movement of the shoulders that cause the arms to move - but you must continue to hold the upper body unit in this manner right through to the end of the golf swing.

It importantly you must make a special effort to ensure that the upper body unit, which includes the passive arms, is tightly held together as the club head moves through the contact area.

Therefore to repeat myself, it is absolutely vital that the upper body unit is tightly held together as a very compact unit throughout the down swing and the follow through movement by keeping the elbows held as close together as is physically possible and also holding the chest and the upper back muscles in a taut condition, but you must pay special attention to keeping the upper body unit tightly held together in this manner and simply using the movement of the hips to force the twisted body unit to rotate about its axis and thus return the shoulders back to the original address position and therefore swinging the club head into and through the contact area.

At the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball, you must ensure that the shoulders are parallel to the target line whilst simultaneously the left shoulder muscles pull the passive arms through the contact area and the right shoulder is forced to rotate under the chin, thus injecting power into the golf shot.

Although at this point the professional golfer will forcibly straighten the right arm, any attempt at this stage by a high handicapper to try to apply extra power with the right arm will simply cause the muscles of the forearms to become tense and cause the club head to rotate, thus causing a sliced shot. - but this is all covered in the next lesson - The "Follow Through"

To stop yourself from trying to "HIT" the ball, take a few practice swings prior to playing the actual golf swing. ( I can assure you that during the practice swings most golfers correctly perform a gradual accelerating movement of the club head into and through the contact area. However when they have to strike the ball, something happen within the brain that causes the golfer to put that little bit extra into the swing movement just before the club head makes contact with the ball and it is that little bit extra that causes the muscles of the forearms to tighten up and cause the club head to twist off line.)

So when it comes to play the shot, try to repeat exactly the same swing that you used during the practice swing of using the movement of the hips to force the passive twisted body unit to rotate about its axis, thus swinging the club head through the contact area at a smooth constant accelerating speed - without trying to rotate the shoulders or swing the arms -- and you will be quite surprised that when you do not try to "HIT" the ball, how far the ball goes, but importantly how straight the ball goes

There are nine things that contribute to a successful strike of the ball:-

1) You must use the movement of the hips to force the twisted body unit to rotate about its axis thus setting up the correct down swing sequence of movements.

2) Holding the upper body unit very tightly together as a very compact unit throughout the down swing and the follow through movements.

3) The hands must not return to the original address position until the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball.
( The original address position is the position that you set your own hands at the address position.)

4) The shoulders must be Parallel to the Target Line at the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball.

5) The head must be positioned so that the left eye is slightly behind the ball at the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball.
( Failure to keep the head positioned so that the left eye is slightly behind the ball at the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball is one of the major faults that contribute to poor strike of the ball.)

6) Whilst the shoulders automatically return to the original address position, judging the precise moment when to release the torsion of the muscles of the shoulder region in order accelerate the passive arms/golf club into and through the contact area.

7)Watching the ball whilst the club head moves into the contact area, but importantly, continuing to look at the spot the ball was resting so that you literally see the ball move from the static position.
( Most golfers take their eyes off the ball a fraction of a second before the club head makes contact with the ball.)

8) The weight of the body must be predominantly over the left leg at the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball.

9) Whilst keeping the head in the original address position and maintaining the upper body angle, force the right shoulder to rotate under the chin as the arms interact.

As the hips rotate/pivot towards the target area, the torsion the muscles between the upper part of the body and the lower part of the body quickly reach its maximum, thus forcing the twisted body unit to smoothly rotate about its axis and therefore automatically returning the shoulders into the down swing movement.

However as soon as the twisted body unit begin to rotate about its axis, the inertia effect causes the passive arms/golf club to lag further behind the movement of the shoulders thus building up the torsion of the muscles of the shoulder region.

In this second photograph the movement of the hips continue to rotate/pivot towards the target area thus forcing the twisted body unit to follow the movement whilst simultaneously the torsion stored within the muscles of the shoulder region during the back swing and the early stages of the down swing reach a position where this torsion cannot be contained any longer thus forcing the passive arms to accelerate into the contact area.

However you must control the movement so that the club head makes contact with the ball at the precise moment the shoulders return to original address position.

In this third photograph you will notice that the hips and the shoulders have not moved very far beyond the previous photograph, but the upper body unit is are now back in the original address position and the weight of the body in predominantly over the left leg, whilst the passive arms are about to interact.
( At this point, I am literally forcing the upper body unit to remain tightly held together as the club head swings through the contact area)

As the passive arms interact, the movement of the shoulders slow down quite significantly thus allowing the right arm to fully straighten and simultaneously the right shoulder is forced to rotate under the chin.

The weight of the body will remain predominantly over the left leg whilst the arms interact, thus swinging the club head at a constant accelerating speed to the bottom of the swing arc.

I cannot overstress how tightly you must hold the shoulders, the arms and the golf club so that as the twisted body unit rotate about its axis the whole upper body unit swings the arms like a pendulum, thus keeping the club head square to the target line as it swings through the contact area.
(This movement feel very mechanical when you perform a correct golf swing, but it works.)

But importantly, you must keep the head positioned so that the left eye is slightly behind the ball until well after the ball has been struck.

Therefore just to reiterate, you must ensure that at the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball that the head is positioned so that the left eye is slightly behind the ball, the shoulders are parallel to the target line, the hands are exactly in the original address position and the weight of the body predominantly over the left leg whilst the arms interact and simultaneously the right shoulder is forced to rotate under the chin.

But equally important, you must also ensure that the upper body unit remains tightly held together as a very compact unit especially as the club head moves through the contact area, the left arm must remain in over-all control and you must maintain the upper body angles.

Down Swing Movement animation.
The movement of the hips force the twisted body unit to follow its movement and begin to rotate about its axis and as long as the hips continue to rotate/pivot towards the target area and the upper body unit remains firmly held together as a very compact unit whilst it rotates back to the original address position, the shoulders will automatically return to the original address position of being "Parallel to the Target Line" with the club head square to the target line, but remember, you must not try to swing the arms - simply keep the shoulders and the arms tightly held together as a very compact unit.

However as the shoulders return to the original address position and simultaneously the club head makes contact with the ball, the upper body must be in the same configuration as it was set at the address position, for example, the upper body slightly tilted to the right, the left shoulder slightly higher than the right shoulder, the shoulders are parallel to the target line and the head remains slightly behind the ball.

It is absolutely vital that your main priority as you perform the down swing movement is to ensure that the movement of the hips initially force the passive twisted body unit to rotate about its axis, and then judging the movement so that the club head makes contact with the ball at the precise moment the shoulders return to the original address position, but importantly, at the precise moment the club head make contact with the ball you must force the right shoulder to rotate under the chin..
( But do not try to "HIT" the ball - simply allow the club head to swing at a constant accelerating speed as the arms interact.)

(If the picture does not have an active element, click the mouse whilst it is over the picture and refresh the page.)

If you want to increase the velocity of the club head, simply increase the over-all speed of the golf swing movement, but do not attempt to increase the movement until you master the basic movement.

This is an article by Jim McLean in Golf World about the down swing movement, which reinforces my interpretation of the golf swing.

By Jim McLean with Pete McDaniel
Illustrations By Jim Luft And Jason Lee
Photos By Stephen Szurlej

One of the biggest misconceptions about the X-Factor is that it maxes out at the top of the backswing. The truth is, the gap between your shoulder turn and hip turn should increase during the early part of the downswing. Because the X-Factor measures the amount of coil between the shoulders and the hips, the X-Factor stretch is how much that coil increases from the top to the first move down.

Here's how it works: When you coil into your right side during the backswing (above left), energy is transferred and stored into that side. You release it properly through the correct sequence of body motion at the transition, starting with a substantial lateral move of the hips toward the target. Your shoulders and arms follow. That's right: The upper body and lower body should work independently. The hips and legs separate from the upper body and start forward (above right). That's when the X-Factor peaks.

To maximise your stretch, learn to start the downswing with your lower body. Place your left hand on your left-front pocket and simulate a backswing with your right arm. Then shift your hips toward the target, feeling your front-left pocket move forward before you start your right arm down. That's the X-Factor stretch -- the primary reason an average-size tour player can drive the ball so far.

Courtesy of "Golf World"- open the instruction section in Golf World to learn more.

This brings us on to the follow through position.

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