Most golfers have inefficient down swings. By this, I mean they are wasting energy. An efficient down swing uses the least amount of energy to create the greatest result. If you watch the LPGA golfers, you will see women who are barely over five feet tall hit their drives 250 yards. That is what I mean by efficient.
Energy is built by creating tension like drawing back the string of an archery bow. It is a fallacy to say that there should be no tension in the golf swing. What is meant is that there should be no tightness in the golf swing. If there is tightness in the golf swing, resistance cannot be created. Tension is the feeling of stretch created by resistance.
Back Swing
- Feel the chin swing to the right and feel the top of the right thigh “bounce” to the left
- Using maximum energy, feel the back inside of the ball of the right foot “bounce” down and feel the top of the right pectoral stretch up
- Feel the momentum swing the right shoulder, upper arms, and hands up
- Feel the point at the top inside of the right leg remain fixed in space while the upper and lower body pivot around the fixed point
The momentum of the coil created by the active back swing swings the arms and hands up quickly. The coil should be actively quick: not slow or jerky.
How long should the back swing be? Every golfer has their own optimal back swing length. The key is to be aware of the amount of stretch that will result in the most distance. The amount of optimal stretch is much less than what most golfers realize. My blog post, “Do More by Doing Less,” describes how to find the maximum back swing length.
The “Bounce”
The “bounce” is an important part of an efficient golf swing. The concept of an efficient “bounce” in the golf swing is unknown in traditional golf instruction. The “bounce” in the golf swing is done unconsciously in accomplished golfers. At the end of a stretching motion, the “bounce” is a very quick and very short action to generate the maximum snap in the opposite direction. For example, to create the snap up of the back inside of the ball of the right foot in the back swing, feel the back inside of the ball of the right foot start with a subtle stretch down before doing a very quick and very short “bounce” down to generate a forceful snap up. The “bounce” is not visible, but the effect of the “bounce” is seen. So, the quick downward “bounce” of the back inside of the ball of the right foot is not visible, but the resulting upward snap is seen. In an efficient golf swing, the “bounce” is executed by the lower body, upper body, arms, and hands.
Key Components of the Down Swing
The arms snapping down over a supporting lower body is the most efficient method to cause the club to snap toward the target. The following describes how to effectively snap the arms down.
Stretch
Feel the bottom of the front right hip bone stretch up against the resisting top of the front right hip bone, and feel the stretch up of the hands mature. The Stretch causes a counter move of the left hip shifting onto the left foot, as the shoulders continue to coil, that Ben Hogan feels is the most important move to start the down swing. My blog post, “How to use the Fingers,” describes how to feel the stretch in the hands.
Snap
Feel the bottom of the front right hip bone “bounce” up and feel the hands stretch up. This causes the right upper body to snap down and the left side to snap up to the left and causes the arms to snap down and up to the finish.
The Stretch followed by the Snap occurs very quickly, less than a tenth of a second, to produce an efficient golf swing. It is important to feel the arms snap down and up to the finish and not care where the ball is going. The ball will go somewhere.
Do Vertical Motion but Feel Horizontal Motion
It is more efficient and precise to use vertical motion to create horizontal motion. This concept is crucial to creating an efficient golf swing. It is important to do vertical (up and down) motions but feel horizontal motion. The horizontal motion is created because the arms are attached to the shoulder and the upper body is attached to the spine. The attachments of the arms and the upper body are pivot points that transform vertical motion to horizontal motion.
During the back swing, feel the back inside of the ball of the right foot “bounce” down and feel and feel the top of the right pectoral stretch up. Feel the momentum swing the right shoulder, arms, and hands up.
During the Stretch, feel the right pectoral stretch up some more, feel the bottom of the front right hip bone stretch up against the resisting top of the front right hip bone, and feel the stretch up of the hands mature.
During the Snap, feel the bottom of the front right hip bone “bounce” up and feel the hands stretch up. This causes the right upper body to snap down and the left side to snap up to the left and causes the arms to snap down and up to the finish. Vertical (up and down) motion provides the best chance for a solid impact of the club to the ball.
Golfers with efficient swings do vertical motions and allow the body to react in order to feel horizontal motion of the arms and the club. Golfers with inefficient swings do manipulative horizontal and diagonal motions. Embrace the concept of doing vertical motions and feeling horizontal motion to create an efficient down swing.
When the arms use vertical motion in the down swing, gravity is being exploited because the force of gravity’s direction is down. The force of gravity is also powerful with an acceleration of 32 ft/sec/sec. Any attempt to use horizontal motion is very inefficient because horizontal motion does not exploit the force of gravity efficiently. Young and strong golfers can be inefficient because they are young and strong. Older golfers cannot overcome inefficient motion and lose distance dramatically because they lose their strength and explosiveness as they age. Using vertical motion and gravity can extend the years a golfer can continue to play from the back tees.
The Slot
When professional golfers talk about feeling the club dropping down into “the slot” on the down swing, the slot is not at a fixed location at the right of the body. What they are feeling is the vertical motion of the right upper arm. The club dropping into the “slot” is automatic when vertical motion is used. The position of the “slot” is always in front of the upper body. The slot moves to where the upper body stops at the end of the back swing.
Empty Forearms
The proper use of the fingers as described in my blog post, “How to Use the Fingers,” relaxes the wrists and forearms and eliminates any attempt to hit or help the ball and enables the wrists and forearms to stretch to add power. The attempt to hit the ball or to help the ball up will cause the forearms to tighten. The forearms must feel empty or hollow, but not tight, in order to feel the stretch in the forearms. During the Stretch, feel the top of the right pectoral stretch up and feel the stretch of the hands mature. This stretches the forearms. During the Snap, feel the hands “bounce” up and feel the front right hip bone snap down. This automatically spins the right forearm down with abandon in the way that is described in the following video:
Applying more energy to create the stretch and the “bounce” of the inside of the right elbow will increase the club head speed by increasing the speed of the right elbow.
Leverage the Ground
“Leverage the ground” to add power during the down swing is a popular concept in the analysis of the golf swing. Using the ground to support vertical motion is much more efficient than using the ground to support horizontal motion. Feel the lower body “leverage the ground” to support the upper body and arms during the back swing and the down swing.
Back Swing
Use the ground during an active back swing. When the top of the right thigh “bounces” to the left, feel the back inside of the ball of the right foot “bounce” down and feel the top of the right pectoral stretch up. Feel the momentum swing the right shoulder, arms, and hands up.
Down Swing
Feel the top inside of the left latissimus dorsi stretch up to the right, feel the bottom of the front right hip bone stretch up to the left, feel the bottom of the right quadriceps stretch down to the right, and feel the stretch up of the hands mature. This causes the feet to leverage into the ground to stabilize the lower body and causes the weight to shift to the left.
Feel the bottom of the right quadriceps “bounce” down, feel the bottom of the front right hip bone and the top inside of the left latissimus dorsi “bounce” up, and feel the hands stretch up. This causes the left side, and the feet to snap up, the upper body to unwind, and the arms to snap down and up to the finish. There is no conscious effort to swivel the hips and the lower body toward the target. This happens automatically as a reaction to the “bounce” of the lower body.
These down swing actions can be seen in the video of all professional golfers: the stretch of the right pectoral and the “bounce” of the front right front hip bone. My blog post, “Famous Golfers Swing Videos,” shows that even though back swings are individual, the down swings are the same efficient motions. It is the efficient stretch and “bounce” triggering the snaps of the lower body, upper body, head, and arms that results in the powerful down swing motions.
The Right Side of the Head
A subtle, but important, movement of the right side of the head is seen in all of the best golfers. This movement is done subconsciously and is key to triggering the motion for an efficient, rhythmic, and powerful back swing and down swing. The movement is seen in the back swing, the Stretch, and the Snap.
- Back Swing – Feel the back of the right temple stretch up to trigger the start of the back swing.
- Stretch – As the back swing is completing, feel the stretch in upper and lower body and feel the back of the right temple stretch to the right. This loads the lower body, upper body, and the arms. This puts the head and the body in a balanced and powerful position.
- Snap – Feel the back of the right temple remain steady and feel the bottom of the front right hip bone “bounce” up.
The action of the right side of the head in the back swing and the down swing helps to develop a consistent golf swing. Focus on the action of the right side of the head to maintain the spine angle and support the actions of the lower body, upper body, and the arms. This subtle action of the right side of the head can be seen in my blog post: “Famous Golfers Swing Videos.”
Here are additional videos that show the motion of the right side of the head, the right pectoral, and the front right hip bone: