Downswing Sequence Explained

Golf Monthly

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

Transcript

00:00Hi, my name's 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

00:24and lots 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 a 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.

00:38So if I want to get optimum power and send that ball or whatever I'm chucking straight down the

00:43middle, I've got to first of all be in an athletic position to do that. So I need good posture. So

00:48solid 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

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

01:12movement of power stored in that coil up in the golf swing and starting to unwind. So the first

01:18thing that goes is from the ground up. So you're going from the hips and everything's rotating,

01:24your torso's turning towards the target. The last thing to crack through is that golf club.

01:29So actually when players are standing there and swinging from the top of the swing, the first

01:32thing they tend to do is get this sequence in the wrong order. So they will throw that club from the

01:37top, throw all that power away, cast it away if you like, and end up with no power when they get

01:42to the ball. A lot of their clubs will go the same distance and it'll all feel like hard work.

01:48So how can we stop this from happening? One of the best things that you can possibly do is

01:53actually practice without a golf ball. So take the golf ball out of the equation totally and just

01:59practice that winding up and that unwinding. Feel it from the ground up, unwind the body,

02:05and really turn to the target. So the golf swing becomes turn and turn. That's going to be quite a

02:13simple movement that you can think about while you're out on the golf course. If you can get

02:17through to a lovely photo finish at the end of your swing, you've probably done the right stuff

02:22to get there in the first place. Golfers who aren't doing this sequence in the right order

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

02:31wondering why it hasn't gone where they wanted it to go. So the players that turn up for golf

02:38lessons lacking power, lacking distance, it's usually down to them getting this kinematic

02:44sequence in the wrong order. The reason that they do that is because they haven't got the postures

02:49to begin with. So there's not that athletic ready to run somewhere feeling that we need and you see

02:54all the best players in the world have. Their weight is on the balls of the feet, we're ready

02:59to run somewhere, that's how it should be. What I tend to see is no angles, everything sort of sat

03:04back almost like you're leaning on a barstool and weight on the heels. There's no balance there and

03:09with no balance you're not going to get the control. So all that's going to happen is you

03:13will swing the arms up and down and so you're powering your golf swing with the arms only.

03:19If you were to try and get involved with this lovely wind up of the body and turn, you're going

03:23to rock all over the place. So our bodies are very clever, they tend to protect us from falling over

03:28which is handy. So if that position at address is athletic, I can support a lovely coil up

03:36and a lovely uncoil. Therefore the kinematic sequence is working in the right order.

03:42If it's not in the right place to begin with my body, I'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, there are some physical

03:54limitations that might be the reason 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

04:05physical 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

04:22faults in the setup and perhaps you're not winding that club up on the way back. So if you get those

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

04:35checked and with that you'll start to see a much more tight movement all the way down through the

04:41ball and to that photo finish.

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