Newton’s third law of motion is: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  How this applies to the golf swing is because much of what is seen in the golf swing is a REACTION.  Most golfers focus on erroneously trying to DO the reaction because they do not know the action that causes the reaction.  This results in a sequence of very complex and inefficient motions.  The key to the consistent golf swing is to allow the lower body, upper body, shoulders, and arms to react to the actions of the following four parts of the body:

1. The top of the right calf
2. The right upper arm
3. The back inside corner of the ball of the right foot
4. The little fingers

My blog articles, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” and “How to Use the Fingers,” describe how specific reactions are the result of actions of these parts of the body.

Here is a list of reactions and the action that caused the reaction:

Back Swing – The back swing coil is created by allowing the right upper arm and the hands to react to the vertical action of the top of the right calf and the back inside of the back of the right foot.  Allow the upper body to coil over a supporting lower body.

Down Swing – The down swing is the one area where golfers try to do too much because they believe that what is seen with their eyes is something they must do.  They do not know what causes what their eyes see.  The following describes the reactions and the motions that cause the reactions:

• Left Arm Pull – The pull of the left arm in the down swing is a reaction to the hands stretching away from the body
• Weight Shift – The weight shift is started at the end of the back swing as the reaction to the stretch to the right of the top of the right calf, the stretch of the hands away from the body, and the continued stretch down of the back inside of the ball of the right foot.  The weight shift is completed as the reaction to the snap up of the back inside corner of the ball of the right foot.
• Hips – The hips turn toward the target is a reaction to the bounce up of the back inside corner of the ball of the right foot
• Upper Body -The upper body uncoils automatically as a reaction to the bounce up of the back inside corner of the ball of the right foot
• Right Heel – The right heel swivel is a reaction of the upper body turning toward the target
• Right Elbow -The drop of the right elbow on the down swing is the reaction to the quick stretch up of the back of the right upper arm and the inside of the tips of the little fingers
• Lag – The lag of the club head is the reaction to the snap down of the right upper arm and the vertical engagement of the inside of the tips of the right and left little fingers
• Club Head Direction – The club moving towards the target is a reaction to snap down of the back of the right upper arm

Commit and trust that focusing on doing the correct action and feeling the reaction will help in developing an efficient and repeatable motion.  This action must be executed using a precise rhythm as described in my blog article, “How to Feel Rhythm.”