Lesson 5

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The Down Swing. (Changed 12/05/2013)

The method of performing the down swing movement that I describe in this web site is exactly the same as performed by the professional golfer but you will not find it described in this way in any golf manual, but I can assure you that if you can perform the down swing movement as per my instructions, you will hit the ball long and straight.

It is absolutely vital that you create a pause in the movement of the upper body unit at the end of the back swing movement for a millisecond whilst the hips begin to turn to face the target area, thus allowing the down swing sequence of movements to slot into the correct order - but you must be aware of your head position so that it remains firmly in the original address position.

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Throughout the back swing movement the upper body unit has been held as a very compact unit whilst you must focus on the left arm as the dominant arm whilst the right arm plays a dormant role.

At the end of the back swing movement the whole body has also adopted a fully twisted condition, but importantly, the forearms have not been allowed to rotate.
(If you look at your hands at the end of the back swing movement you will note that the left arm is pointing behind your right side at least 45 degrees to the parallel to the target line depending on your flexibility.)

Therefore it is important that the left arm/arms are held close to the right shoulder and the whole body is held in the fully compact and twisted condition as you begin the down swing movement.

Down swing movement.

To begin the down swing movement, press down with the left foot and simultaneously force the hips to rotate towards the target area whilst holding back the very compact upper body unit from moving away from the top of the back swing position for a milli second.

(It is absolutely vital that the upper body unit is held together as a very compact unit during the down swing/follow through movement.
You will find it very difficult to hold the shoulders and the arms as a compact one piece unit during the down swing movement because the automatic urge is to swing the arms independently of the shoulders.
This becomes even more difficult as you move into the follow through movement, but persist and you will soon be able to rotate the upper body as a solid one piece unit into and through the contact area and apply substantial power into the back of the ball.)

The delay that you are able to create before the upper body is forced to follow the movement of the hips will only be for a milli second, but this delay has to be created in order to build up the torsion of the core muscles to their maximum.

The torsion of the core muscles reaches a point when the upper body unit is forced to follow the movement of the hips and from that point onwards, the hips and the very compact upper body unit becomes a solid one piece unit and rotate into the down swing movement as a single unit. but focusing on the left arm as the dominant arm whilst the right arm plays a dormant role.

The principle behind my teaching is to maintain the upper body unit as a compact unit at all times as it rotates into the down swing in complete synchronisation with the movement of the hips.

The upper body unit must be held as a very compact unit in order to stop the arms from moving independently of the torso until the ball is struck and even then the only independently movement of the arms is strictly limited in order to cause the arms to interact.

(The key to very good golf is to use the turning movement of the hips to create a rotational movement of the upper body unit, and when the both parts are rotating into the down swing keeping the rotational movement of the hips as the dominant element, but to be successful, the upper body unit must remain firmly held together as a solid one piece unit until well after the ball has been struck.)

Obviously the faster you can turn your hips to fully face the target area, the higher torsion you will create between the lower part of the body and the upper part of the body.
When the upper body unit is ultimately forced to move in synchronisation with the hips, the upper body unit will be also be rotating faster, thus increasing the swinging action of the club head through the contact area.

However it is absolutely vital that the head does not sway away from the original address position, not even a fraction of an inch, whilst you perform the down swing movement.

You must perform this action relatively slowly until you are able to correctly time the action of ensuring that the club head strikes the ball at exactly the same time the hands return to the original address position and then ensuring that as the club head strikes the ball, the whole compact upper body unit, in complete synchronisation with the movement of the hips, immediately begin to turn to fully face the target area, at the same speed that the club head moves through the contact area.

Once you begin the down swing movement and the hips and the upper body unit are moving as one, the hip movement must remain in overall control but the left arm sn the controlling element of the upper body unit.

Once the hips and the upper body unit are moving as one, use a steady accelerating turning movement of the whole body in conjunction with the pulling action of the left arm to swing the club head back into the back of the ball.
( The hips must remain rigidly held over the centre of your stance as they turn to fully face the target area.)

At first you will find it almost impossible not to physically try to swing the arms independently of the shoulders whilst the upper body unit is rotating around the central core of the body, therefore in order to train yourself, practice rotating the hips and the upper body unit as a solid one piece unit, all the way from the end of the back swing - right through to the end of the follow through movement whilst held as a one piece unit.

This will help to understand the movement, but when you perform these practice swings, you must perform the movement much slower than you would normally swing the golf club, because timing the correct movement is absolutely vital.

The ultimate aim of the down swing movement is to eventually rotate the hips and the upper body unit as a solid one piece unit and use the energy of the very compact upper body mass as it rotates through the contact area, coupled with the flexibility of the wrists to hit the ball solidly.

You must keep the elbows held close together at all times.

However as the hip movement and the upper body unit rotate into the down swing movement in unison, you must judge the whole movement so that from the precise moment the club head strikes the ball, the whole body quickly turns to face the target area .

But importantly, the head must remain in the original address position and the upper body angles must be maintained - correctly time the movement and you will see the ball go straight as a die.

However at the precise moment the club head strikes the ball the interaction of the arms takes place.

The biggest danger during the down swing/follow through movement is not turning the the whole body to completely to fully face the target area in one swift movement from the precise moment the club head strikes the ball.

However although the hips and the upper body unit rotate into the down swing movement as a solid one piece unit, the hip movement must be the dominant factor from the moment the down swing begins, right through to the completion of the golf swing but also you must focus on the left arm as being the dominant arm whilst the right arm remains dormant.

However it is vital that the head remains firmly in place with the eyes fully focused on the back edge of the golf ball, and the hands do not go beyond the original address position until the club head strikes the ball, but to ensure accuracy, the upper body angles must be maintained.

The ultimate aim of the down swing movement is to ensure that the club head strikes the ball at the precise moment the hands return to the original address position and from that point you move into the follow through movement.

For this action to be successful, you must watch the back edge of the golf ball until the precise moment the club head strikes the ball and you must not allow the upper body unit to disinter grate.

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Additional information.

As I pointed out during the previous lesson which was the back swing movement, you must not allow the hips to sway away from the original address position, nor must you allow the left heel to lift off the ground nor must you allow the head to move laterally away from the original address position, but in addition, you must stop the forearms from rotating so that the club head remains square to the ball position for as long as possible.

Therefore very similarly, throughout the down swing movement and well into the follow through movement, although the hips must rotate towards the target area with sufficient energy to lead and ultimately work in conjunction with the movement of the upper body unit, you must not allow the hips to sway away from the original address position as they rotate to fully face the target area, nor must you allow the head to move in a lateral movement away from the the original address position.

In addition, the upper body angles must be maintained as the club head swings through the contact area.

Simply use the rotational movement of the hips and the lower back muscles to create the momentum of the upper body unit.

The six big mistakes golfers make as they perform the down swing/follow through movements are:-
(1) Try to force the upper body unit to rotate into the down swing movement independently of the hips rather than ensure the hips and the upper body unit work in complete synchronisation.

(2) Allowing the elbows to drift apart and thereby allowing the upper body unit to disintegrate.

(3) Trying to move the arms independently of the shoulders too early, prior to the ball being struck.

4) Failure to watch the ball right up to the precise moment the club head strikes the ball.

5) Failure to turn the whole body in a swift movement to fully face the target area from the precise moment the club head strikes the ball.

6) Failure to maintain the upper body angle as the club head swings through the contact area.

A good way to get the memory muscle is to perform two or three practice swings simply rotating the hips and the upper body unit as a one piece unit but with the hips in overall control just before you intend to play your shot.

This action prior to striking the ball programs the mind to keep the upper body unit passive during the actual swing movement.

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When you have mastered the basic movement, you can begin to think about performing the Key Movement. This action begins just before the club head strikes the ball but is fully implemented at the precise moment the club head strikes the ball.

Please Note.
To initiate the down swing movement you must perform two actions simultaneously whilst the upper body unit remains in a compact and totally passive condition and held at the end of the back swing movement.

1) Press down on the ground with the left foot and after a milli second (2) Simultaneously force the hips and the upper body unit to rotate into the down swing movement (do not allow the hips to sway)

(It is important that the rotational movement of the hips continue to be the overall controlling element from the moment the down swing movement begins.)

The upper body unit must remain in a compact and a passive condition throughout the down swing movement and it is only in the later stages of the down swing movement that the shoulder muscles force the arms to become involved in the swing process.

These action are achievable, it takes a lot of practice.

The ultimate aim is to ensure that the club head strikes the ball at the precise moment the hands return to the original address position and then force the whole body to turn to fully face the target area - therefore it is absolutely vital that you learn to perform this part of the golf swing with precision.

However, it is very important that you keep the head in the original address position and that you watch the back edge of the golf ball until the precise moment the club head strikes the ball.

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Video.

Watch this video of Adam Scott playing the 3rd hole at Augusta and notice how the arms/hands to swing inside the parallel to the target line from the moment the club head strikes the ball, but importantly, notice how the lower part of the body is practically facing the target area, the right shoulder has begun to rotate under the chin and the whole body is turning to fully face the target area.

What you cannot see from this video is that his head remains firmly held in the original address position throughout the down swing and into the follow through movement so that the arms swing past the body.

I can tell you that when you first perform the golf swing whilst performing this action is feels very weird but when you see the ball fly straight and true, you will understand how professional golfers are able to be so accurate.

Exercise.
Look at this Video of a overhead view of the golf swing and notice how the rotational movement of the hips and the upper body unit is well advanced before the ball is struck, and notice how the momentum of the compact upper body unit forces the hands/arms to swing inside the parallel to the target line as soon as the club head strikes the ball and the whole body turns to fully face the target area.
This is how the golf swing should be performed.

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Video.

See another Video of Adam Scott in slow motion and notice how the hips and the upper body has already begun to turn to face the target area and the arms/hands are swinging inside the parallel to the target line from the precise moment the club head strikes the ball.

This indicates the the lower part of the body is turning the fully face the target area before the club head strikes the ball.
But also notice that the right elbow is tucked into the waist at the point of impact and the upper body angle is maintained.

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Rotational movement of the upper body and the hips during the down swing movement.

The upper body rotates around the central core of the spine whilst held at the same angle that the upper body is positioned at the address position, which is about 45 degrees from the perpendicular.

Similarly, the hips must rotate on the same angle that the hips are set at the address position, which is only a slight angle, but importantly, the hips must not sway away from the address position as they rotate towards the target area.

Imagine the upper body and the lower part of the body as two component of a universal coupling with the waist line acting as the universal joint but both turning at the same speed whilst held at different angles as they rotate into the down swing movement.

(Definition of a Universal coupling - One transmitting power by a shaft at any selected angle.)

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The weight of the body moves slightly from left to right during the back swing movement and then from right to the left during the down swing movement.

However although the weight of the body moves slightly during the golf swing, you must not allow the hips to sway back and forth - the hips must never sway away from the centralised position, they must only rotate around a central point which is directly under the hips.

Similarly, your head must not be allowed to move away from the original address position especially as the club head swings through the contact area.
Do not allow your head to sway back and forth with any lateral movement during the down swing.

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It is vital to understand that most of what you learn in this web site will be absolutely wasted unless you learn to keep the head firmly in the original address position and also watch the ball until the club head strikes the ball with every shot,
So the first thing you must do is to learn these basic principles.

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