00:03Hi, 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
00:39I
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
00:55my body. 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 from the ground up. So you're going from the hips and everything's rotating. Your
01:24torso is turning 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
01:38power away, cast it away if you like, and end up with no power when they get to the ball.
01:43A lot of their
01:44clubs will go the same distance and it'll all feel like hard work. So how can we stop this from
01:50happening? One of the best things that you can possibly do is actually practice without a golf ball.
01:55So take the golf ball out of the equation totally and just practice that winding up and that unwinding,
02:02feel it from the ground up, unwind the body and really turn to the target. So the golf swing becomes
02:09turn and turn. That's going to be quite a simple movement that you can think about while you're out
02:15on the golf course. If you can get through to a lovely photo finish at the end of your swing,
02:20you've probably done the right stuff to get there in the first place. Golfers who aren't doing this
02:25sequence in the right order tend to jump off the ball and end up on their back foot, almost walking
02:30backwards off it and wondering why it hasn't gone where they wanted it to go.
02:36So 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.
02:45The reason that they do that is because they haven't got the postures to begin with. So there's
02:50not that athletic, ready to run somewhere feeling that we need. And you see all the best players in
02:55the world have. Their weight is on the balls of the feet. We're ready to run somewhere. That's how it
03:00should be. What I tend to see is no angles. Everything sort of sat back almost like you're
03:05leaning on a bar stool and weight on the heels. There's no balance there. And with no balance,
03:10you're not going to get the control. So all that's going to happen is you will swing the arms up
03:14and
03:15down. And so you're powering your golf swing with the arms only. If you were to try and get involved
03:20with this lovely wind up of the body and turn, you're going to rock all over the place. So our
03:25bodies
03:25are very clever. They tend to protect us from falling over, which is handy. So if that position
03:31at address is athletic, I can support a lovely coil up and a lovely uncoil. Therefore, the kinematic
03:39sequence is working in the right order. If it's not in the right place to begin with my body,
03:44I've got no balance. It's not going to happen.
03:50So what if you've got a poorly back? If you've got immobility in the hips,
03:54there are some physical limitations that might be the reason that you're not getting into this
03:58position and not getting the sequence correct on the downswing. If you're not in a decent position
04:04at setup, sometimes those physical limitations can cause you to not be able to hold that good
04:09posture, for example. So bear that in mind that actually maybe a Pilates class or a bit of yoga
04:14might just help you to achieve a better impact position. So if you're not getting this downswing
04:20sequence correct, chances are there's faults in the setup and perhaps you're not winding that club up
04:26on the way back. So if you get those things right, the downswing is a reaction to that.
04:32Go and have a lesson, go and get your fundamentals checked. And with that,
04:36you'll start to see a much more tight movement all the way down through the ball and to that photo
04:42finish.
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