Downswing
January 24, 2015
Over the years teaching coaching golf I have seen or read many articles on the downswing. Some good. First off let me state emphatically you will never consistently start the downswing well without a correct efficient backswing. You may ask, “what about Jim Furyk?” That is another article. As would Fred Couples back swing also not look technically correct but you can move the club outside then rotate your body and let the club drop inside and be fine. Would I teach that? No, but it is a correct out to in motion, just not as efficient as I teach. Works for them. Ok, so lets talk about the downswing. What starts the correct motion down? Even with Fred and Jim. Your left hip and oblique pulling hard into your left heel. Your left knee should straighten through impact. If you pull as I would coach you your rotation of your left pocket would move or bump forward towards the target then pull straight back towards your left heel. Your torso will then unwind pulling your right shoulder with a right handed player through while staying in the correct tilt of your torso from the waist abdomen. This is why the stronger your hips and stomach low back are, the better and faster your swing. The swing I teach generates speed from the inside out. Much like kids playing crack the whip. The kid on the inside moves somewhat slowly but the kid on the outside moves extremely fast. If you have never skated or roller bladed I will use a simpler analogy a door opens and shuts the hinges on that door move very little distance while the door handle moves a great distance relative to the hinges. This is why I named my DVD system Center Force. The center moves the club head if done correctly. That is of course not the only source of power but if done right it is your primary mover. Wrist cock and arm set are secondary movers. You can not hold lag without proper wrist cock and correct arm set. Lag is what Ben Doyle one of my past great teachers use to drum into my head. Forward shaft lean with a flat left wrist at impact is imperative for all shots other than the short game where you want no lag with most shots so as to use the bounce of the club. That is what he demanded from me and after many coaching sessions I finally got it and knew how to repeat it. Watch how great players strike the ball. None better than Hogan watch how his left hip oblique pulled the club so hard Hogan stated he wished he had three right hands so as to cover the swing going left. You should always end the swing posted on your left side in good balance. All this can be easily learned by almost anyone without physical limitations. I have coached men and women well into their 60s and all have gained distance and greatly improved there game.