Starting the downswing

[kevster84]

Trying to work on a consistent way of starting the downswing. Tend to slide rather than turn. Reading up it appears there are a number of triggers such as pressure on left heel, left knee over foot, hip turn, dropping arms. How do you start your downswing?

 

[chrisd]

Slight bump of the hip to the target, which transfers my weight, and then turn the hips just ahead of the hands coming through to impact

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Slight bump of the hip to the target, which transfers my weight, and then turn the hips just ahead of the hands coming through to impact

Yeah, but your hips are made of Titanium and have more mass, you should have heard what Mrs D said after she was thrown across the floor during "The Bump" at the Xmas disco

to the OP, everyone is different, try different options untl you see something work for you :thup:

 

[guest100718]

always a problem for me. my killer shot is a quick snatch from the top and then everything else rushes to follow. I've found concentrating on getting a full shoulder turn has helped. seems to set of a good lower body drive naturally for me.

 

[chrisd]

Yeah, but your hips are made of Titanium and have more mass, you should have heard what Mrs D said after she was thrown across the floor during "The Bump" at the Xmas disco

to the OP, everyone is different, try different options untl you see something work for you :thup:

Youre just jealous cos my scrap value is immensely higher than yours 🤣

 

[Imurg]

Youre just jealous cos my scrap value is immensely higher than yours 🤣

Well he has got bits missing....:mmm:

 

[chrisd]

Well he has got bits missing....:mmm:

Brain?

 

[Imurg]

Brain?

That too.....

 

[3565]

I use the Jack Nicklaus method of surfing the knees, arch the feet and holding the corner and step with energy routine. Seems to work.

 

[Curls]

For me the key to starting down through the transition is more about tempo, if I get quick it doesn't matter what I do I'll cast the club way outside the plane and its a pull or a slice depending on how the clubface impacts. Not good. Someone told me once imagine pulling down a chain with your left arm. Ernie Els talks about the box in the clip below, which is also a good mental picture. Personally I don't think it matters what you do as long as you aren't trying to kill it from the top, if you can start down at the same pace you went up you'll be in great shape to speed up at impact and deliver all the energy when it's needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzIRQXMMIG4

 

[Deleted member 21258]

For me the key to starting down through the transition is more about tempo, if I get quick it doesn't matter what I do I'll cast the club way outside the plane and its a pull or a slice depending on how the clubface impacts. Not good.

Absolutely agree with that. Also I try not to swing it back to fast & to far in the backswing as that wrecks my chances and throws the timing off.

I feel I am pulling the club with my hands/arms back to the ball, I do not think about lower or upper body, I just let the rest happen.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Good drill here from Peter Finch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcGNjcMew_Y&t=0s

 

[MadAdey]

I've given this great little tip out I've been using for over 20 years. My first motion from the top of the swing is to start moving the hands, this keeps my on the inside and generates the lag needed for power. The trick I use for this is by putting a long tee peg in the top of the grip and try to fire that down towards the ball. Once you get use to this you will find that your body will just naturally follow the hands down and release the club nicely at the ball.

 

[lex!]

I've given this great little tip out I've been using for over 20 years. My first motion from the top of the swing is to start moving the hands, this keeps my on the inside and generates the lag needed for power. The trick I use for this is by putting a long tee peg in the top of the grip and try to fire that down towards the ball. Once you get use to this you will find that your body will just naturally follow the hands down and release the club nicely at the ball.

This sounds like a really good tip. I am prone to driving hard from the top and I am working on being much softer, trying to generate the speed at the end rather than from the start. Letting the hands drop a little is a good swing thought I agree.

 

[bobmac]

This sounds like a really good tip. I am prone to driving hard from the top and I am working on being much softer, trying to generate the speed at the end rather than from the start. Letting the hands drop a little is a good swing thought I agree.

Should be used with care and preferably under educated supervision.

 

[kevster84]

Adopted the Ernie Els swing in the box tip with good affect in today's round. However at the end I was hitting very high pushes/blocks?

 

[MadAdey]

Should be used with care and preferably under educated supervision.

Definitely use with caution, because if you are someone who starts the downswing with the lower body this action is getting you to do the opposite, so can really mess you up. But on the other hand if you can do this then you will create tons of lag which in turn generates lots of power. I can’t get the club all the way back to the top because of a shoulder injury 7 years ago so only use a 3/4 backswing with everything, but with the lag being created I can still smash it out there.

 

[SocketRocket]

I drop my right elbow in front of my right hip while turning my left hip back.

 

[the_coach]

Trying to work on a consistent way of starting the downswing. Tend to slide rather than turn. Reading up it appears there are a number of triggers such as pressure on left heel, left knee over foot, hip turn, dropping arms. How do you start your downswing?

to be real honest there's a number of things that might be a better individual focus for different folks to key into thru transition to 'feel' a good start for themselves into the downswing

to a fair extent what anyones best focus might be can be governed by how the body and club move back to the top - can even go further back to how someone sets up

one big factor to be in good shape to make a decent transition move is making sure that a player internally rotates into the trail hip has decent width in the backswing

along with some decent depth to where the hands/handle finish at the top

-then take a 'tad' at the top in 'feel' or 'collect' the club what folks feel maybes as a momentary pause (so maybes that feels like hideki matsuyama but in reality is not that long - not that in reality hideki is a long time at all just looks that ways in relation to what folks are used to 'seeing')

then at transition in the lower body feel the trail hip trail leg 'hold' position just a fraction as the lead thigh moves back 'in feel' towards target with the players back staying 'looking' to target a 'tad' - hands/arms start to come down then the upper body starts rotate against a posting lead leg & turning into the lead hip in internal rotation with the lead glute moving/pivoting back to accommodate this

yep know that sounds complicated - i get that - no coach or pro would list everything at once in a one to one lesson (but that's a deal different to 'discussing an issue an explanation' thru the written word in a post on a forum or in a golf instruction book to that

- in a one to one lesson that affords the time the contact for the teacher to work with the student & be able to pick the part of the puzzle before them that will immediately start to change how the sequence works with various feels/triggers suggestions to how to achieve that given the person that's in front of you to best suit their needs in order to improve

& not suggesting to anyone to start & try to work to all of that detailed explanation out in play ever - that's not how stuff should work at all

- but can be surprising how some thought over the above to get an understanding of the sequence of a swing motion - plus a work through slowly through the points detailed in practice without a ball - then with a ball - whilst comparing this to the normal swing which is not really working so good - so slow detailed practice of new feels without the pressure of striking a ball - along with slower swings through a ball with maybes the ball on a low tee to take worrying over ground contact out of the equation - also with a feel of the swing moves that have not really worked so good before - those comparisons a feel os the 'bad' to working to feel the change then can for sure help folks work to a change for the better that has a better chance to stick overtime
but for sure a feel or trigger is a very individual thing to process for each particular person - 'different strokes for different folks'