swinging the club head to the bottom of the swing arc by basic steps to perfect golf

I do not consider the down swing movement to be fully completed until the club head reaches the bottom of the swing arc, therefore during the down swing movement you concentrate on swinging the club head so that it stikes the ball with a descending blow thus compressing the golf ball, this will automatically cause the club head to swing to the bottom of the swing arc - a position that is well after the ball has been struck.

However in order to perform this action correctly, you must keep the head firmly fixed in the original address position until well after the ball has been struck and the right heel firmly on the ground until just before the club head strikes the ball.

If you allow the head to sway away from the original address position during the back swing movement and fail to return the head to the original address position at the precise moment the club head strikes the ball you will almost certainly his the ground before you strike the ball. ( See below for further details.)

Notice how the weight in on the outside edge of the left foot as the club head strikes the ball.

This Photograph shows the difference between the way High Handicapped golfers and Professional golfers strike the ball.

The bottom of the swing arc for the average PGA Tour player is approximately four inches in front of the golf ball.

However in contrast, the bottom of the swing arc for a high-handicapper is an inch or so behind the ball.

A high-handicap golfer would reduce his or her average score by four strokes for every forward inch of improvement made for the bottom of the swing arc.

In other words, if you want to break a scoring barrier, focus on improving your club's position through the impact zone so that the bottom of your swing arc is four inches beyond the ball position.

Therefore you must focus on striking the ball with a descending blow thus fully compressing the golf ball - this will ensure that the club head swings to the bottom of the swing arc - which is well after the ball has been struck!!

This also applies to the short game.

As the first section of this lesson illustrates, every top class golfer aims to bottom out the golf swing about four inches in front of the ball, except when using the driver.
This means that when playing irons and woods the ball is struck with a descending blow, an action which imparts back spin on the golf ball, thus giving the ball a unique flight trajectory.

For instance, when long irons and woods are used, it creates a moderate back spin action of the golf ball which causes the ball to curve upwards to its maximum height until the back spin dissipates.

However, when short irons are used it creates a much higher back spin action and therefore the ball moves on a much more pronounced upwards curve as it soars to it maximum height, but importantly the ball will still be spinning at a high rate as it hits the ground, thus causing the ball to spin back.

To understand where the bottom of the swing arc is located, carry out the following exercise using a three wood:-

Adopt the normal address position and place a marker on the ground just left of the centre of your stance, to indicate the normal ball position.

Step back a couple of inches so that the clubhead is adjacent to the marker.

Just before you perform a back swing movement, hold the club head so that it is just touching the ground.
( It is important to hold the head firmly in the original address position throughout this exercise.)

You will note that as you slowly rotate the shoulders into the back swing movement, the club head moves smoothly away and upwards from the ground.
( Remember to keep the elbows as close together as it is physically possible.)

However, if you simply rotate the shoulders, the hands and the club head back to the original address position and then continued to rotate the upper body unit beyond the original address position, you will note that as long as you hold the height of the body at a constant level, the club head immediately begins to dig into the ground, thus stopping the club head from moving any further.

This indicates that the bottom of the swing arc of the golf swing is to the left of the ball position.

The position of the bottom of the swing arc is adjacent to the big toe of the left foot and this is the actual point that you must focus on as you carry out the golf swing, but this actual point is only applicable as long as the golfer ensures that head remains firmly held in the original address position throughout the complete golf swing movement. Why is it so important?? -- let me explain.

If your head moves ahead of the original address position during the down swing movement ( towards the target area) and remains in that position until the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball, it means that the whole body has also swayed slightly towards the target area, thus causing the bottom of the swing arc to move forward by the same amount.-- However because the ball is stationary, it means that the ball position effectively moves back in the stance, thus creating a situation where the golfer could possibly hit the ball "thin"

Similarly, if your head sways away from the original address position during the back swing movement ( away from the target) and remains in this position until the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball, it means that the whole body has swayed slightly away from the target area, thus causing the bottom of the swing arc to move backwards by the same amount.- However because the ball is stationary, it means that the ball position has effectively moved forward in the stance, thus creating a situation where the golfer could possibly hit the ball "fat"

So concentrate on holding the head in the original address position from the moment you begin the back swing movement - right through until the follow through movement has been completed.

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