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Hi Shepard,
There are 2 kinds of swings, a hitters swing and a Swingers swing. A Hitters swing is dominated by the left hand and the Swingers the right.
I am a Hitter of the ball. There are some fundemental differences. In a hitters swing the left arm comes to a point at the top of the backswing, the angles from the waist up are a 90* angle between the waist and the left elbow and another 90* angle between the left shoulder and the left hand. This should be checked in a mirror. In the backswing the left knee is pulled back into extension without locking the knee. The right knee will kick out toward the ball, don't over do it.
Now the downswing, this is where most players problem starts.
Most players think the most powerful swing you can make from this position is to Start the hands, arms and shoulders first; then activate the hips. This thought pattern is backwards. If you throw from the top without activating your hips your body is at the wrong angle to hit the ball. And all the stored power is gone when you get to the ball.
The correct motion is to activate the hips first. There are several things that activate the hips. I like to play "crack the whip" with my body. The more whip, the stronger the hands will crack or snap at the end. Starting at the transition, the most imporant part of the through swing, as the club nears the pinnacle of the swing the lower body activates, for a split second your body is being turned in two directions. The lower body forward and the upper body completing the backswing. By lifting the left heel, as the first move this causes a chain of events. The knees shift in oppposite directions, the right hip moves laterally to a post position that the left hip will rotate around. The left shoulder will move from a high postion to a low position. This motion will cause the left arm to straighten, which will cause the left wrist to straighten through impact. The left wrist straightening through impact will give you the power. The flat right wrist will deliver it straight down the fairway. All of this takes place in about 3-4/10th of a second.
Good posture and a slight knee flex are essential to hit this shot.
A couple of good drills and a check point to get your lower body activated:
Checkpoint - Your navel is the balance point in a golf swing, it should be 4-6 inches in front of your chin throughout the swing. It should also move 8" back and 16" forward through the swing.
Drill one - Place a golfball under your left heel, during the transition this will help you move your weight to the right side.
Drill two - Say out loud "Step and throw" at the through swing. Make a consience effort to step down on the right foot and then straighten the left arm and left wrist through. Let the arms extend through the bottom, your left arm will catch up to the right at the right shoulder ball line. It will fell awkward at first because you have been doing it backwards for a while. Don't pick your head up until your left shoulder brings it through to the finish, no peeking!!!
The transition is the most confusing thing in a swing. It is done wrong the most in a swing also. The whole hip motion I think is a mystery to higher handicap golfers. Once you learn this action your scores will go down and you will feel the real swing. It's not a violent action to get the ball way out there it is an understanding of the motion.
There are 2 kinds of swings, a hitters swing and a Swingers swing. A Hitters swing is dominated by the left hand and the Swingers the right.
I am a Hitter of the ball. There are some fundemental differences. In a hitters swing the left arm comes to a point at the top of the backswing, the angles from the waist up are a 90* angle between the waist and the left elbow and another 90* angle between the left shoulder and the left hand. This should be checked in a mirror. In the backswing the left knee is pulled back into extension without locking the knee. The right knee will kick out toward the ball, don't over do it.
Now the downswing, this is where most players problem starts.
Most players think the most powerful swing you can make from this position is to Start the hands, arms and shoulders first; then activate the hips. This thought pattern is backwards. If you throw from the top without activating your hips your body is at the wrong angle to hit the ball. And all the stored power is gone when you get to the ball.
The correct motion is to activate the hips first. There are several things that activate the hips. I like to play "crack the whip" with my body. The more whip, the stronger the hands will crack or snap at the end. Starting at the transition, the most imporant part of the through swing, as the club nears the pinnacle of the swing the lower body activates, for a split second your body is being turned in two directions. The lower body forward and the upper body completing the backswing. By lifting the left heel, as the first move this causes a chain of events. The knees shift in oppposite directions, the right hip moves laterally to a post position that the left hip will rotate around. The left shoulder will move from a high postion to a low position. This motion will cause the left arm to straighten, which will cause the left wrist to straighten through impact. The left wrist straightening through impact will give you the power. The flat right wrist will deliver it straight down the fairway. All of this takes place in about 3-4/10th of a second.
Good posture and a slight knee flex are essential to hit this shot.
A couple of good drills and a check point to get your lower body activated:
Checkpoint - Your navel is the balance point in a golf swing, it should be 4-6 inches in front of your chin throughout the swing. It should also move 8" back and 16" forward through the swing.
Drill one - Place a golfball under your left heel, during the transition this will help you move your weight to the right side.
Drill two - Say out loud "Step and throw" at the through swing. Make a consience effort to step down on the right foot and then straighten the left arm and left wrist through. Let the arms extend through the bottom, your left arm will catch up to the right at the right shoulder ball line. It will fell awkward at first because you have been doing it backwards for a while. Don't pick your head up until your left shoulder brings it through to the finish, no peeking!!!
The transition is the most confusing thing in a swing. It is done wrong the most in a swing also. The whole hip motion I think is a mystery to higher handicap golfers. Once you learn this action your scores will go down and you will feel the real swing. It's not a violent action to get the ball way out there it is an understanding of the motion.