The downswing essentially starts before the backswing is completed. In other words the left hip starts moving forward as the weight shifts from the back foot to the front foot, before the shoulders have completed turning into the back swing.

This is what creates the lag in the golf swing, and that whipping action of the hands at impact. Ben Hogan’s swing probably is the best example of this lag, and he was know for his ball striking and the ability to hit the ball a long way, while being relatively small in stature. Today, Sergio Garcia is probably the best example of this lag.

Unfortunately, most golfers tend to do the opposite of this.  They start the downswing with their upper body, and this often leads to an early release of the club, and a loss of power.

In other words, they try to “hit” the golf ball with the upper body, rather than swing the golf club by letting the lower body lead.

The fact is that your legs are far more powerful than your upper body. You can leg press far more weight than you can bench press. With this in mind, it is crucial to learn how to start the downswing with the
lower body.

I often equate starting the downswing with throwing a punch. Once the golfer has reached the top of the back swing, it is crucial to generate power from the ground up as the downswing begins. When throwing a punch, you will have far more power if you remain grounded, or rooted to the ground.

This is also the case with the golf swing. You must draw the energy from the ground and transfer through your body, into your hands, and ultimately through the golf club at impact.

When you get to the top of your back swing think “feet, knees, hips.” Think of corkscrewing into the ground as you begin the weight shift to your front side and your left hip shifts toward the target. Then feel the energy from the ground travel up to your hips, which then turn to the left.

The transfer of weight to your front foot leads to the unwinding of the torque created by your shoulders being turned more than your hips in the back swing. As the hips move forward and begin to turn, the arms start to drop, but the upper body stays back.

It is important to maintain your original spine angle and keep the head from moving forward in the downswing. Furthermore, it is key to keep the shoulders from turning through too soon. It is absolutely crucial that the hips lead the shoulders all the way to the follow through.

My swing here is a good example of the lag you’d like to see in the downswing. Notice how when my left forearm is parallel to the ground, the club is still tilted toward the target.

In the case of many golfers I teach, in this position, their club is pointed away from the target. That is an early release position and leads to very weak shots because the stored up energy is released too soon.

At impact, 90% of your weight should be on your front foot, and you should have a strong front side. Ideally, your left arm is nice and extended at impact and the back of your left hand faces the target.

Your upper body may be straight up or have a slight lean away from the target. After the club passes through the impact zone, your hips continue to turn and your arms will be fully extended about two feet beyond impact.

In the top photo is my impact position. Notice how similar the angle of my clubshaft is on the left as it is compared to my set up position in the bottom photo.. You can see in the top photo that I have shifted my weight to the left foot, and my hips are now more open. Also, my center of gravity has dropped, and while my upper back is a little more rounded, I have maintained my overall spine angle pretty well.

Halfway into my follow through position you can see the extension of my arms after impact. Again, when the club reaches parallel to the ground, it should be parallel to the target line, or slightly inside of that. The head should be going with the ball now as well.

Many students are told to keep the head down because they top the ball, and they end up keeping it down too long. This results in a disconnect between the upper and lower body.

At the end of your golf swing your belly button would be facing the target, all your weight should be on your front foot, and you should be standing tall. You should be up on the toe of your back foot, but totally balanced on your front foot.

If you pick up your back foot, you should not have to adjust your balance to avoid falling over. If I were standing behind you, I should see the entire bottom of your back foot. If I don’t then you have not transferred all of your weight.

And that concludes our discussion of the full swing.  For more info, check out the video below.  In our next lesson, we start the actual swing building process.