Golf Swing Trainer – The Down Swing (part 1)
In an earlier post here on golf swing trainer I spoke about the top of the swing. After you reach the top there is only one way to go, down. The down swing is just as important as the rest of the swing (upswing and the top of the swing).
The first movement from the top of the swing is a lateral thrust of the hips to the left, eventually followed by an automatic turning of the hips. This is true. But there is more than that. Here are some great tips to improve your downswing.
Not only should the hips move to the left and turn, but their movement must be very much tied to the left arm that it pulls the arm and the club down as it they whips through the ball.
It is vitally important that movement is done for you to become a good golfer It must be a definite, conscious feeling that this happens. To finish the proper movement, the hips must turn towards the target as they reach the extension of their lateral movement. You hips need to be in the proper position when you hit the ball.
What happens, actually, is that the left arm itself is being pulled by the hips. The arm is merely the connecting rod between the hips and the club. When the hips exert this pulling action, they cause the shoulders and the left arm to revolve so fast around the axis of the upper spine that the hands have little or no time to manipulate or do anything whatever with the club except hang onto it.
I know it sounds quite easy to do and to understand, but nearly all golfer fail to do it. We’ve all heard it and read about it as well as in pictures, yet many still go on by starting down with their hands or pulling with their arms or even forget to follow through with their hips by stopping them after they start them.
What are the reasons that they fail?
The first is that this is a big movement and they are afraid to make it. The second is that, preoccupied with what they think they must make the club head do, they completely forget the fundamental hip action and let it die.
The biggest source of power you can get in your golf swing is from the hips. The big muscles of the upper legs and of the torso are giving the club a flying start before the hands do anything.
If you can imagine, think of a rope running from the left hip up your left side to your shoulder and then out through your left hand. This rope is pulled tight at the top of the swing. As the hips start the downswing by moving to the left and turning, they will pull your shoulder, arm, and club with them so long as the rope is tight.
The rope can be kept tight only if the hips move first and only if they keep moving and then turning, on past the ball. If not, the rope will have slack in it and the club will never gain the speed it needs when it reaches the ball.
How do we know when to start the hip movement?
We start it the instant we feel the backward momentum of the club start to pull against our hands at the top. This is a reflex action with most of us, but for those who want the moment pinpointed, there it is. And once you start to move the hips, keep them flying—all the way through until they turn toward the target. This action alone will cure a great number of golfing ills.
I’ll have more to say in regards to the down-swing in a later post, but for now I know if you follow this it will improve your game.
Tags: downswing, golf, Golf Swing, Golf Swing Trainer, golfer, upswingRelated posts
Golf Swing Trainer – The Down Swing (part 2)
In my first post I discussed the importance of your hips and the role it plays in you down swing. In the post of golf swing trainer, I’ll talk about how it should feel and what to expect from your results (if done correctly) of a well-executed down-swing .
When you let your hips lead the way and have your arms and clubs follow them, you will see a great improvement in your game. How do you know if you’re doing it correctly? I’m sure that about 95% of all golfers have been hitting from the top and from the outside for quite some time, but if you follow the steps laid out in part one of this post, those actions should feel strange to you and my problem is how am I to describe it to you.
There seems to be only two ways that I could describe it to you. One, we coil ourselves up on the backswing to gain tension that is going to be released as late as possible on the downswing. Holding that tension is the “staying uncomfortable” feeling, the “storing up” feeling. That is what gives us distance.
Second, as we move our hips laterally and keep our head back, but do nothing else, there is a complete absence of effort in our arms and hands. Then, if we have kept ourselves from uncoiling, the hands and club come down on the inside. That, plus club-face position, gives us direction.
If the swing has been made correctly and if the hand-wrist position gained by the backward break has been held, then one knuckle of the left hand should be visible and two of the right, the club face should be at about a 45-degree angle with the ground, the right arm should be firm .against the, right side, and if the hips have gone through as they should, the player should be able to see the outside of his right leg from the hip to the foot.
Except for seeing the outside of the right leg, these check points are exactly the same as they were after the stationary wrist break on the backswing.
Tags: backswing, downswing, golf, Golf Swing, Golf Swing Trainer, golfer, golfersRelated posts
Golf Swing Trainer – Top Of The Swing
In a golf swing there are three different parts that make up the entire swing, the upswing, the top of the swing and the downswing. In this post of golf swing trainer, I’ll cover the top of the swing.
The top of the swing a vital position, and when it is reached the next fatal flaw makes its appearance.
It might be wise to first take a look at the top of the back-swing. Actually there is no absolute top, in a sense that everything which has been moving in one upward and backward direction will reach it’s limit at the same time and start forward and down together. All the parts of the swinging system the club, hands, arms, body, and legs-do not reach their backward limits at the same time.
When we speak of the top of the back swing here, we mean the top of the swing for the hands.
Your swing can be thrown off, caused by an early body twist with a late upward wrist break. A swing that starts out great can easily be ruined as it nears the top.
What happens is that as the swing goes up, it gets tighter and tension develops. You will feel it mostly in the upper part of your body and it’s not a comfortable feeling. Subconsciously the player checks the shoulder turn, letting the left hand bend backwards as the wrist collapses and he/she looses the left hand grip.
At that point any well laid out plan just disappears. The restriction of one’s shoulder turn and the collapse of the left wrist permit the person to bring the club up instead of back and around. Relaxing of the left hand lets the club drop down into an over-swing. The right elbow comes up, and generally more weight settles on the left leg, as the player pivots instead of moving his weight, and settles himself into a more comfortable position the easy chair slouch.
At that point, all bets are off. The result will be a horrible shot that will have you looking for your ball somewhere you don’t want to be looking. The ball can and will fly just about anywhere. Most often resulting in a slice, but it can also be pulled, smothered, hooked, scuffed, topped, skied, or shanked.
How can you avoid having this happening to you?
The Answer:
The move that avoids the easy-chair slouch and gets you to the top correctly is simply a purposeful shoulder turn with a firm retention of the wrist position gained by the backward break. The shoulders are the motivating force, so let them turn then pick up the momentum and let it swing the hands to the top.
The key is to have you shoulders turn on the back swing, not rock. As the hands are brought up and around, the shoulders should tilt somewhat, with the right eventually becoming higher than the left. But one of the worst things that can happen is for the left shoulder to duck.