Downswing Sequence Explained

Golf Monthly

In this video, PGA Professional Katie Dawkins explains the downswing sequence.

Transcript

00:00 (golf club clacks)

00:02 - Hi, my name's Katie Dawkins.

00:05 I am here today at West Hill Golf Club

00:07 to explain to you the downswing sequence.

00:10 The downswing in the golf swing

00:12 is something that people get very screwed up

00:14 in the head with.

00:15 There's too many thoughts going on

00:17 in a movement that takes very little time to actually do.

00:20 So it's really important that we don't clutter our minds

00:23 with lots and lots of different thoughts.

00:25 It's important as well to remember

00:27 that the downswing sequence really is just us

00:29 trying to propel an object towards a target.

00:32 That's no different to me getting a ball in my hand

00:34 and chucking it for the dog.

00:36 Everything happens in the same way.

00:38 So if I want to get optimum power and send that ball

00:42 or whatever I'm chucking straight down the middle,

00:44 I've got to first of all be in an athletic position

00:46 to do that, so I need good posture.

00:48 So solid fundamentals are really key here.

00:51 What I've then got to remember to do

00:53 is actually use my body.

00:56 And this is something that golfers don't do.

00:58 They tend to just swing their arms up and down.

01:00 So from the top of the backswing,

01:02 what should happen is your body should start

01:06 to uncoil from the ground up.

01:08 And that's the kinematic sequence

01:10 that we tend to talk about.

01:11 It's that movement of power stored in that coil up

01:15 in the golf swing and starting to unwind.

01:17 So the first thing that goes is from the ground up.

01:21 So you're going from the hips and everything's rotating,

01:24 your torso's turning towards the target.

01:26 The last thing to crack through is that golf club.

01:28 So actually when players are standing there

01:31 and swinging from the top of the swing,

01:32 the first thing they tend to do is get this sequence

01:34 in the wrong order.

01:35 So they will throw that club from the top,

01:38 throw all that power away, cast it away if you like,

01:41 and end up with no power when they get to the ball.

01:43 A lot of their clubs will go the same distance

01:45 and it'll all feel like hard work.

01:48 So how can we stop this from happening?

01:51 One of the best things that you can possibly do

01:53 is actually practice without a golf ball.

01:55 So take the golf ball out of the equation totally

01:58 and just practice that winding up and that unwinding.

02:02 Feel it from the ground up, unwind the body,

02:05 and really turn to the target.

02:07 So the golf swing becomes turn and turn.

02:11 That's gonna be quite a simple movement

02:14 that you can think about while you're out

02:15 on the golf course.

02:16 If you can get through to a lovely photo finish

02:19 at the end of your swing, you've probably done

02:21 the right stuff to get there in the first place.

02:24 Golfers who aren't doing this sequence in the right order

02:26 tend to jump off the ball and end up on their back foot,

02:30 almost walking backwards off it and wondering

02:31 why it hasn't gone where they wanted it to go.

02:34 So the players that turn up for golf lessons,

02:39 lacking power, lacking distance,

02:41 it's usually down to them getting this kinematic sequence

02:44 in the wrong order.

02:45 The reason that they do that is because

02:47 they haven't got the postures to begin with.

02:50 So there's not that athletic, ready to run somewhere

02:53 feeling that we need, and you see all the best players

02:55 in the world have.

02:56 Their weight is on the balls of the feet,

02:58 we're ready to run somewhere, that's how it should be.

03:00 What I tend to see is no angles,

03:03 everything sort of sat back almost like you're leaning

03:05 on a bar stool, and weight on the heels.

03:07 There's no balance there, and with no balance

03:10 you're not gonna get the control.

03:11 So all that's gonna happen is you will swing the arms up

03:14 and down, and so you're powering your golf swing

03:17 with the arms only.

03:18 If you were to try and get involved with this lovely

03:21 wind up of the body and turn, you're gonna rock

03:23 all over the place.

03:24 So our bodies are very clever, they tend to protect us

03:27 from falling over, which is handy.

03:29 So if that position at address is athletic,

03:33 I can support a lovely coil up and a lovely uncoil.

03:38 Therefore the kinematic sequence is working

03:40 in the right order.

03:42 If it's not in the right place to begin with my body,

03:44 I've got no balance, it's not gonna happen.

03:50 So what if you've got a poorly back,

03:52 if you've got immobility in the hips?

03:54 There are some physical limitations that might be

03:56 the reason you're not getting into this position

03:58 and not getting the sequence correct on the downswing.

04:02 If you're not in a decent position at set up,

04:04 sometimes those physical limitations can cause you

04:07 to not be able to hold that good posture for example.

04:10 So bear that in mind, that actually maybe a Pilates class

04:13 or a bit of yoga might just help you to achieve

04:16 a better impact position.

04:17 So if you're not getting this downswing sequence correct,

04:21 chances are there's faults in the set up

04:23 and perhaps you're not winding that club up on the way back.

04:27 So if you get those things right,

04:29 the downswing is a reaction to that.

04:32 Go and have a lesson, go and get your fundamentals checked.

04:36 And with that, you'll start to see a much more tight movement

04:39 all the way down through the ball and to that photo finish.

04:43 (upbeat music)

04:45 (upbeat music)

04:48 (upbeat music)

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