Transition/down swing drills

[staylor]

Has anyone got any good downswing drills. I have played for about a year now but still tend to hit from the top, ie i swing withmy arms . My back swing is ok (according to my pro) but I am struggling in getting the correct transition at the top. An associated problem is that I am told that my transition is too quick, ie at the top my club should be still before the downswing starts.

[BDR444]

Re: Transition/down swing drills

When you say you are using your arms too much, are you saying that you're casting? If so, are you being robbed of decent distances? A drill to fix this is to place your glove under your right arm and try to take a 2/3 swing and keep the glove under your arm without it falling out.



About the too fast of a downswing, my advice would be to keep in mind that a lot of golfers think that to get power you have to use force. Which in turn, puts more tension into your muscles and actually makes it worse. Just keep that swing easy and let the club do the work. Another thing if you are having problems at the top, go back slow and try stopping at the top. Then try swinging. If you are coiled right, you won't loose hardly any power.


Hope this is of some help.

[gord962]

Re: Transition/down swing drills

To get the proper downswing, you MUST have the correct position at the top. You said you already have that, so you're already ahead of the process! Just one note, your club should still be going back when your downswing starts, otherwise your club will get way out infront.

To start the downswing, you must transfer the weight that was shifted to your right leg during the backswing. To move the weight to the left leg, drive your right knee towards the target by 'pushing off' with your right leg. This will start the hips turning towards the target. Remeber, the left hip is to act like a gate post. That means it stays still and the body rotates around that hip. As the hips come around, they bring the torso. The last part of the body to come is the arms, but don't force them. As your arms start moving, keep your right elbow on your right hip until it's time to release the clubhead. Let your big muscles (legs) create the power and and your smaller muscles (arms) control the clubhead and keep the shaft on plane.

Remember to keep you backswing slow. If you rush your backswing it makes it harder to get to the correct position at the top. If this happens, the downswing is usually rushed and creates all sorts of problems.

[TeachingPro]

Re: Transition/down swing drills

I have something you can try to help you get the feeling of the correct transition.

Let me first explain to you what I understand has to happen. At the end of the backswing, your hips should be turned 45 degrees or so, your shoulders 90 degrees or so and the club should be above your right shoulder. The 'thing' that triggers the downswing should be the left side ... your left hip should start to turn left, behind whre it started from ... then your left shoulder gets pulled towards the ball and the arms drop inside the line, pulling the club with it. So, hip - shoulder - arms - club.

Cool?

Right, here's a drill to help you make this happen. Remember, drills are drills - they mimick the actual golf movement and exaggerate the actual golf movement. When you have the drill waxed, you need to quiten it down for when you "really" swing.

Address the ball using a medium iron (6 or 7), turn back slowly and stop just before you reach the finish of the back swing. Don't stop for more a than a fraction of a second, now drop the club "behind you" (ie carry on swinging back) more no more than 2 or 3 inches of travel and at the same time GO with the left side - Go fast and left and release with the right, through impact and finish - all in 1 fluid motion.

It's a great drill because in a "real" golf swing, the momentum of the golf club will make it travel some distance before your left side starts to pull it down, (hopefully) inside the line. The drill re-creates this feeling.

Good luck and let me know!

[pnearn]

Re: Transition/down swing drills

I struggled with this foir a long time as well and I can tell from my own experience that the idea of pushing off the right foot just didnt work for me as I couldnt stay in balance

From the top my transition move 'feels' like I am driving the left knee down wards towards the ground whilst keeping my upper body 'still' (that is my left arm stays connected to my chests and my shoulders remain facing the target). This has the effect of keeping my spine angle straight as I get into a 'squat' pre release position

From there I keep my left arm connected to my chest, head behind the ball and just swing my shoulders through the ball

Try it and good luck

[TeachingPro]

Re: Transition/down swing drills

I like pnearn's reply, it's simple and it works for him. In fact, his transition seves 2 purposes:

1. By keeping his shoulders back, it stops an 'over the top' move and forces the arms and club on an inside path to impact. Just be careful though, the shoudler has to move pretty quickly (it's actually just the feeling of keeping the shoulders back) or else the club gets too far ahead.

2. By pushing the knee first, starts to get the weight and focus onto the left side where it should be. I like the move, provided the kneee straightens and braces with the left legs to take all the energy and weight through impact. If it's weak, you will lose a lot of power and you end all 'buckled' at the finish (like Jim Furyk with his left leg not braced at all).

I like it!

[gord962]

Re: Transition/down swing drills

Sorry, I will better describe what I mean by 'pushing off' with the right foot.

You have stored a lot of energy transferring your weight to your right side. To harness that energy, you must transfer the energy back to your left side. By pushing off you are transferring the weight. To do this correctly, you simply want to apply force on the ground with your toes. DO NOT push so hard you are lifting yourself or creating a sliding motion.

[pnearn]

Re: Transition/down swing drills

Gord

I think thats the problem with the push off the right side analogy you hear so often. For high handicappers ( and I only play off 12 myself although have been better than that lately) you think about turning, so you try and push and 'spin' but it doesnt work. Its definitely more a move to the left with the lower body whilst really trying to hold the shoulders in place. I tried last night thinking about pushing the right knee towards the left, or straightening the left leg, all of which work ( although I have to be careful not to lean backwards during this move and catch the ball thin)

[cct]

Re: Transition/down swing drills

I have the same problem.

Something to work on is imagining puting your right elbow into your right pocket on the downswing (right handed golfer). This should get your downswing on the correct plane.

Also work on letting your arms drop from the top as opposed to swinging them from the top. And practice a short pause at the top of your backswing. This pause should be slightly exaggerated and only used as a practice drill.

[pnearn]

Re: Transition/down swing drills

I was talking to a friend of mine today who plays off scratch and his view was that you should never even think about the transition

His tip was to intorduce a pause at the top of the swing. As you pause your upper body has coiled fully but your lower body will automatically start to slowly unwind so as to get your body back into a balanced state. From there you can go ahead and fully release the club through the ball

Tried it today at the range and trusting the pause takes time but the results were pretty impressive