Downswing Sequence Explained

Golf Monthly

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

Transcript

00:00Hi, my name is Katie Dawkins. I'm here today at West Hill Golf Club to explain to you the

00:09downswing sequence. The downswing in the golf swing is something that people get very screwed

00:14up in the head with. There's too many thoughts going on in a movement that takes very little

00:19time to actually do. So it's really important that we don't clutter our minds with lots and

00:24lots of different thoughts. It's important as well to remember that the downswing sequence

00:28really is just us trying to propel an object towards the target. That's no different to me

00:33getting a ball in my hand and chucking it for the dog. Everything happens in the same way. So if I

00:39want to get optimum power and send that ball or whatever I'm chucking straight down the middle,

00:44I've got to first of all be in an athletic position to do that. So I need good posture.

00:48So solid fundamentals are really key here. What I've then got to remember to do is actually use my

00:55body. And this is something that golfers don't do. They tend to just swing their arms up and down.

01:00So from the top of the backswing, what should happen is your body should start to uncoil from

01:07the ground up. And that's the kinematic sequence that we tend to talk about. It's that movement of

01:13power stored in that coil up in the golf swing and starting to unwind. So the first thing that goes

01:19is from the ground up. So you're going from the hips and everything's rotating, your torso's

01:25turning towards the target. The last thing to crack through is that golf club. So actually when

01:29players are standing there and swinging from the top of the swing, the first thing they tend to do

01:33is get this sequence in the wrong order. So they will throw that club from the top, throw all that

01:39power away, cast it away if you like, and end up with no power when they get to the ball. A lot of

01:44their clubs will go the same distance and it'll all feel like hard work. So how can we stop this

01:50from happening? One of the best things that you can possibly do is actually practice without a golf

01:55ball. So take the golf ball out of the equation totally and just practice that winding up and that

02:01unwinding. Feel it from the ground up, unwind the body and really turn to the target. So the golf swing

02:08becomes turn and turn. That's going to be quite a simple movement that you can think about while

02:15you're out on the golf course. If you can get through to a lovely photo finish at the end of

02:20your swing, you've probably done the right stuff to get there in the first place. Golfers who aren't

02:24doing this sequence in the right order tend to jump off the ball and end up on their back foot,

02:30almost walking backwards off it and wondering why it hasn't gone where they wanted it to go.

02:33So the players that turn up for golf lessons, lacking power, lacking distance,

02:41it's usually down to them getting this kinematic sequence in the wrong order. The reason that they

02:46do that is because they haven't got the postures to begin with. So there's not that athletic ready

02:52to run somewhere feeling that we need and you see all the best players in the world have. Their weight

02:57is on the balls of the feet. We're ready to run somewhere. That's how it should be. What I tend to see

03:01is no angles. Everything sort of sat back almost like you're leaning on a bar stool and weight on

03:07the heels. There's no balance there. And with no balance, you're not going to get the control. So

03:11all that's going to happen is you will swing the arms up and down. And so you're powering your golf

03:17swing with the arms only. If you were to try and get involved with this lovely wind up of the body and

03:22turn, you're going to rock all over the place. So our bodies are very clever. They tend to protect us

03:27from falling over, which is handy. So if that position at address is athletic, I can support a

03:35lovely coil up and a lovely uncoil. Therefore, the kinematic sequence is working in the right order.

03:41If it's not in the right place to begin with my body, I've got no balance. It's not going to happen.

03:47So what if you've got a poorly back? If you've got immobility in the hips, there are some physical

03:55limitations that might be the reason that you're not getting into this position and not getting the

03:59sequence correct on the downswing. If you're not in a decent position at setup, sometimes those

04:06physical limitations can cause you to not be able to hold that good posture, for example. So bear that

04:11in mind that actually maybe a Pilates class or a bit of yoga might just help you to achieve a better

04:16impact position. So if you're not getting this downswing sequence correct, chances are there's faults in

04:23the setup and perhaps you're not winding that club up on the way back. So if you get those things right,

04:29the downswing is a reaction to that. Go and have a lesson, go and get your fundamentals checked and

04:36with that you'll start to see a much more tight movement all the way down through the ball and to

04:42get that photo finish.

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