The big difference between golfers who can break 90 and those who cannot is the focus in the down swing.  The most difficult motion to do in the golf swing is to snap the right upper arm down along the right side of the body during the down swing.  Accomplished golfers focus on the right side during the down swing while inconsistent or struggling golfers focus on the ball in front of the body and try to help the ball up in the air or swing at the ball during the down swing.

Being able to snap down during the down swing requires focus at this crucial point in the golf swing.  Without an effective focus, the golfer is doomed to always wait to swing up in order to help the ball in the air.  Focus is a mental discipline that must not be taken lightly.  As with any discipline, focus requires practice until focus is always done without thinking.  Focus becomes a natural way of being.

What should be the focus?  The focus should be on the feel of club being forcefully snapped down along the right side during the down swing.  Unfortunately, most golfers focus in front of the body to hit the ball or lift the ball.  Their focus is on the ball.  Their focus should be on the downward motion of the club.  When the focus is on snapping the club down along the right side, the energy is released much sooner than when the focus is on hitting the ball.  When the focus in on hitting the ball, most of the energy has dissipated by the time the club is at the ball resulting in a poor golf shot.

An alternate focus is to feel the arms synchronized with the upper body to control the club instead of using only the arms to swing the club.  Poor shots always result from trying to only use the arms to swing the club.

Every golfer already knows what to focus on.  Every golfer who takes a practice swing or two before addressing the ball executes a fairly rhythmic and free golf swing with the proper timing of the release of energy.  Whatever focus is used in the practice swing should be used when the golf ball is present.  Most golfers change their focus when the golf ball is present.  The focus is most often the golf ball.

It takes a lot of practice to focus on the proper motion when the golf ball is present.  It should be the goal of all golfers to find a specific swing thought that will make the focus to be on the proper motion instead of the golf ball.  When you look at golfers on the driving range, it is apparent that the focus is on the ball and not on executing the proper motion.

Practice focusing on the motion by executing a short stroke such as a chipping stroke.  Do this using your rhythm and focus on letting the right upper arm control the club and feel the Snap make the club swing down along the right side.  It is the Snap that causes the arms to swing down and the body to uncoil which causes the club to move toward the target.

Changing the focus to the motion instead of the golf ball is very difficult.  If it were easy, every golfer would be able to do it. Since very few golfers can break 90 means that focusing on the motion is the most challenging part of golf.

Focusing on your swing so that the club is snapped down the right side of the body in the down swing is the best way to develop a consistent swing.  Let the momentum of the right upper arm snapping down to cause the upper body and the club to move towards the target. This takes a lot of practice, but this focus is essential to becoming a better golfer.  My blog, “Feel an Efficient Down Swing,” describes what to focus on during the down swing.