Lesson 4 - The Down Swing. -(Changed - 05/05/2008)

The main objective of the down swing movement is use the movement of the hips to force a very compact twisted body unit to rotate about its axis thus automatically returning the shoulders back to the original address position.
( As long as the hips continue to rotate/pivot towards the target area even after the ball has been struck, thus forcing the whole twisted body unit to continue to rotate about its axis, the shoulders will automatically rotate right through to the completion of the golf swing movement.)

But importantly, as the shoulders automatically and slowly returns to the original address position, the golfer must judge the precise moment when to release the torsion which was built up within the muscles of the shoulder region in order to return the club head to the golf ball at speed and square to the target line, and if you wish to hit the ball straight, the club head must also be moving along the straight to the target line at the precise moment the club head strikes the ball.

Therefore you must ensure that the shoulders are parallel to the target line at the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball.

Therefore it is absolutely vital that the shoulder/arms-unit is firmly held together as a very compact unit throughout the down swing and the follow through movement and I mean very firmly held together, by keeping the elbows held as close together as is physically possible, especially as the club head swings into and through the contact area.

However to achieve the perfect down swing movement you must keep the twisted body unit totally passive to the movement of the hips even whilst the torsion within the muscles of the shoulder region are released, so that the club head continues to swing with a smooth gradually accelerating movement right through until the both arm are straight.

You must aim to swing the club head into and through the contact area at a constant accelerating speed - without any attempt to alter the tempo of the movement of the club head.

Therefore you must ensure that the shoulders are parallel to the target line at the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball -- and then simply allow the arms to interact without trying to force the movement.

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 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 add that extra bit -- 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

Higher velocity of the club head.

If you want to increase the velocity of the club head, simply increase the speed of the hips during the down swing and follow through movements, thus forcing the twisted body unit to rotate faster.

Assuming that you have correctly used the left shoulder to control the rotational movement of the very compact shoulder/arms-unit as it rotates around the central core of the spine, but using the rotational movement of the shoulders to literally push the passive arms to the end of the back swing movement.

As the shoulders reach the end of the back swing movement, they are held in this position for a milli-second whilst the left foot is gently pressed to the ground and simultaneously the hips are forced to rotate/pivot/sway towards the target area which almost instantaneously forces the twisted body unit to rotate about its axis, thus causing the shoulders to rotate into the down swing movement.

However it is important to note that from the moment the back swing movement begins right through the back swing and the down swing until the torsion of the muscles within the shoulder region is released, the tempo of the golf swing is very slow.
The tempo of the golf swing only gradually begins to increase when the torsion of the muscles within the shoulder region is released thus accelerating the club head into and through the contact area.

Therefore the movement of the hips must always remain in over-all control whilst the twisted body unit remains in a totally passive condition.
( I can assure you that it is physically possible to keep the twisted body unit in a passive condition whilst the hips rotate/pivot/sway towards the target area - you simply have to concentrate.

However when you do succeed in keeping the twisted body unit totally passive to the movement of the hips, you will achieve a strike of the ball that is so sweet and beyond belief for mere amateurs.)

However, regardless of how firmly you hold the shoulder/arms-unit together, the inertia effect will not allow the passive arms/golf club to immediately follow the movement of the shoulders - ( this delay is minuscule but nevertheless it occurs) - Therefore the passive arms/golf club begin to lag slightly further behind the movement of the shoulders thus storing up a large amount of torsion/energy within the shoulder region which will be released during the later stages of the down swing.
( I use the description "passive" to describe the condition of the arms, but it should be understood that the arms are all held in a very firm condition as the shoulders/arms-unit rotates into the down swing movement -- In fact the arms should be considered as an integral part of the shoulder/arms-unit in so much that the arms will immediately respond to any movement of the shoulders regardless of how small this movement may be. Therefore the description"passive" means that the muscles of the arms are completely dormant, except to hold the elbows as close together as is physically possible.)

Therefore as the shoulders get very close to the original address position, the golfer allows the energy that was built up within the muscles of the shoulder region to be released, thus allowing the passive arms/golf club to accelerate into the contact area and therefore catch up with the shoulders at the impact position.

Therefore it is the skill of the golfer to judge the down swing movement so that the club head returns to the golf ball at the precise moment the shoulders return to the original address position.

At the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball, the shoulders must be in the original address position, the head must be positioned so that the left eye is slightly behind the ball, the hands must not be ahead of the original address position and the weight of the body predominantly over the left leg.

However as soon as the shoulders return to the original address position and simultaneously the club head makes contact with the ball, the shoulders almost stop rotating whilst the passive arms interact, thus causing the right arm to fully straighten but also swinging the club head at a constant accelerating speed to the bottom of the swing arc.

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

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

1) Watching the ball whilst the club head swings into and through the contact area, but importantly, continuing to look at the spot the ball was resting until the head is forced to move away from this position.
( Most golfers take their eyes off the ball a fraction of a second before the club head makes contact with the ball.)

2) Holding the shoulder/arms-unit very firmly together as a very compact unit whilst the movement of the hips force the twisted body to slowly rotate about its axis.

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) You must use the movement of the hips to force the twisted body unit to rotate about its axis which automatically returns the shoulders back to the original address position.

7) Whilst the shoulders automatically return to the original address position, judging the precise moment 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 at a steadily increasing tempo.
(You must not try to alter the accelerating tempo of the swinging action of the club head.)

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

In the first photograph, the hips force the twisted body unit to smoothly and slowly rotate about its axis, thus automatically rotating the shoulders into the down swing movement, but causing the passive arms/golf club to lag further behind the movement of the shoulder/arms-unit thus building up the torsion within the the muscles of the shoulder region.
( From the very beginning of the down swing movement, the twisted body unit must remain totally passive to the movement of the hips.)

In this second photograph the movement of the hips continue to slowly rotate the twisted body unit around its axis thus returning the shoulders back to the original address position whilst the energy that was stored within the the muscles of the shoulder region is released, thus allowing the passive arms to accelerate into the contact area but correctly timed 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 shoulders 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.

However as the passive arms interact, the movement of the shoulders slow down quite significantly thus allowing the right arm to fully straighten.

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 overstate how smoothly the club head swings through the contact area as the arms interact- I simply allow the arms to interact without any attempt to force the movement.

But importantly, you must keep the head positioned so that the left eye is slightly behind the ball until the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball.

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.

But equally important, you must also ensure that the elbows remain held as close together as is physically possible, the left arm must remain in over-all control and you must maintain the upper body angles.

Down Swing Movement animation.
As the movement of the hips slowly force the twisted body unit to rotate about its axis, it will automatically cause the shoulders to rotate into the down swing movement and as long as the hips continue to rotate/pivot towards the target area, the shoulders will automatically return to the original address position of being "Parallel to the Target Line"

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 ensuring that the club head makes contact with the ball at the precise moment the shoulders return to the original address position and as soon as the club head makes contact with the ball you must force the arms to interact.
( 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 speed of the hips during the down swing and follow through movements, thus forcing the twisted body unit to rotate about its axis at a faster rate.

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.

Please Note.

If you have any comments relating to this website, or if you want anything clarified about the golf swing as described, please contact me:- Here

Contact - Site Map