Do you take the downswing for granted? Many weekend golfers do. That’s a mistake—one you don’t want to make. A poor downswing short-circuits power, costs you distance, and puts tremendous pressure on your short game. So, you want to get your downswing right.
You’re not just dropping the club toward the ball with your downswing. You’re unleashing the power you stored with your backswing. If you’ve made a complete turn, you’ve stored up enormous power in your swing. But you can’t unleash that power without a good downswing.
Below we’ll look at the four ways to start your downswing, gives you some tips on how to slow your downswing down and generate more power and provide a golf drill to ignite your swing.
Four Ways to Start your Downswing
Transitioning from the top makes your downswing. Start down well, and you won’t have to make an adjustment to save your swing. Plus, you’ll supercharge your power and generate more distance. Hitting a short pitch to the green beats a long approach shot every time:
- Plant that heel — The key to making a good downswing is to start from the ground up. Stamping your front heel helps you do that. It ignites a sound, ground-up sequence that moves you to the downswing. It also smooths out a too-quick transition. It’s a good approach if you tend to shift forward during your swing.
- Fire your hips — Many savvy golfers—weekend or otherwise—make this move. It overrides a lack of power, loss of balance, and “handsey” release. It also prevents falling back on the downswing and sliding laterally instead of unwinding. More importantly, it lets you compress the ball. The move is good for backs, too.
- Drop your arms — Some golfers call this the magic move. Whether it’s magic or not, you decide. But it goes this way: Start by moving your arms in front of your chest, tuck your back elbow into your side, then take an inside track to the ball.
The move helps you achieve an in-to-out swing path, increase swing speed, and stops you from throwing your right shoulder toward the ball—a key cause of coming over the top. If you hit slices, pulls, popups, deep divots with your irons, this move helps.
- Bump your knee — In other words, you move your front knee forward slightly. A slightly move laterally with the knee combats an overactive upper body, overcomes static feet and legs, and encourages an in-to-out swing path. It also promotes good rhythm and cures slices and steep downswings. The move is Ideal for tall players with thin torsos.
Try all these four moves out. See which one works best for you. Give each a good run at the range. Then, pick the one that works best for you and try it on the course.
Slowing Down Your Downswing
Speeding up your downswing throws your center of gravity off. That’s a mistake that causes all sorts of problems. But you can use gravity to slow down your downswing, Here’s how:
- When you address the ball, the point midway between your shoulders—your sternum—becomes your swing center. When you tilt your head behind the ball, you shift your weight back and move the swing center back slightly.
- At this point, some golfers shift their heads forward to try to recapture their original swing centers. That change moves your swing center too far forward, forcing you to speed up your hands to compensate. Needless to say, that move leads to mishits.
- Instead, let gravity do the work. Take your normal address position, shift your head slightly back, make your takeaway to the top, then let gravity pull your club down into the ball. That move keeps your center of gravity right where it should be.
Letting gravity do the work means you don’t have to get handsey or quick with your swing. Instead, you’ll have a nice smooth swing with plenty of power.
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Slow Down Your Golf Swing with this Golf Drill
Slowing down your downswing adds power and control to your swing. But if you want to add power AND control, slowing down your entire swing does the trick. It sounds counterintuitive. But it’s true.
Here’s a drill that helps you slow down your swing and retain control. It’s a modification of a Jim Flick golf drill that he learned from Davis Love:
Go to the range. Take your address with your driver. Then pick out a spot about 100 yards away. Let the club do the work. Do this first part a few times to create harmony within your swing. Try to remember the feel of this swing.
Tee up the ball again, pick out a target about 150 yards away, and try to hit that using the same swing speed you used on the first shot. Just widen your swing arc. Now do everything the same for 200 yards. Then 250 yards.
With practice, this golf drill not only helps boost your power but also teaches you control and consistency. Having a swing like that can help you pump out more distances, take pressure off your short game, and cut strokes from your scores and your golf handicap.
Don’t Let This Power Killer Cost You Distance
Rushing your downswing with your driver short-circuits power. It creates a cramped, narrow downswing and forces you to swing down on top of the ball. That costs you power and direction. Rushing your downswing also forces you to make on-the-fly adjustments during the swing, which often causes mishits.
Here’s how you tame your downswing:
- Complete the backswing
- Find the “slot.”
- Locate the inside track and stay there.
- Flex the back knee and keep it flexed.
- Shift your weight “down the line.”
If you’re like many weekend golfers, you fail to complete your backswing to start your downswing. Rushing the transition like this drains power from your swing and leads to mishits. Instead, finish your backswing first.
Having completed your backswing, you now need to find the “slot.” That’s the halfway point in the downswing where you’re coming from the inside track with your right elbow close to your right hip.
To find the slot, you need to rotate your shoulder a complete 90-degrees (or as close to that as you can get). That move takes the club naturally into the slot on the downswing with power.
Dropping your back elbow down to your side as you come down also delivers the clubface squarely to the ball.
Two more moves boost your power to the next level. One is flexing your back knee slightly and keeping it flexed as you start down creates the resistance you need to power the ball long and straight.
Second, you need to shift your weight forward gradually. Don’t rush this move. Keep it nice and smooth. And keep your knees braced to support your body’s full unwinding.
Here’s a great golf drill to practice getting into the slot on the downswing.
Go to the top of your swing and stop. Then, bring the club down to about waist high. As you do this, feel your right elbow come into your side. Make sure you cock keep your wrists. Pump the club two or three times like this. On the fourth pump, go ahead and hit the ball.
Practice this golf drill often to ingrain the feel of a good downswing. Mastering your downswing delivers power you never knew you had.
Two Backswing Golf Drills That Cut Strokes
What’s the only point in your swing where the club changes direction? It’s during your backswing. And that’s a crucial point in your swing. Get the backswing wrong and you’ll spray shots all over the course, pumping up your scores.
Below are two golf drills that help cut strokes from your scores:
Golf Drill 1: Correcting a Reverse Pivot
Failing to transfer to your weight correctly leads to a deadly swing flaw called the reverse pivot. That’s where you shift your weight to your left during the backswing, then right before you start your downswing.
Here’s a drill that corrects this common but deadly swing flaw:
- Assume your normal stance with the driver. If possible, tee up the ball.
- The key to this drill is foot position. Keep your right foot in your usual spot.
Move your left foot right next to it. Keep the clubhead right behind the ball as usual. This way, the ball will be positioned quite far on the left of your body. This move trains you to shift weight properly.
- Perform a backswing, but just as you reach the top of your swing, return the left foot to your usual position.
- Finally, make your downswing. Notice that you will be forced to shift your weight from right to left.
Shifting your weight incorrectly is among the most common swing flaws in the game. If that’s what’s costing you strokes, working on the golf drill discussed above helps eliminate that swing flaw.
Golf Drill 2: Eliminate Poor Downswing Transition
Here’s a second golf drill that corrects another common swing flaw: poor downswing transition.
- Get a tee and place it in the hole at the end of the grip. Any length tee will do, but the longer, the better, as long as it won’t disrupt your swing.
- Now, tee up the ball, and draw a straight line behind it. You may use vanishing chalk spray on the grass, as long as it is allowed on the course or driving range. You can use white tape if you’re trying this indoor
- Perform a backswing, and pause when you reach the top of the swing
- Now, look at the tee peg, and as you perform the downswing, aim the tee peg at the straight line you’ve drawn/placed
- Try it slowly at first, and as you get more comfortable with the drill, increase the speed.
Perfect your downswing, and you’ll find yourself hitting the ball longer and straighter than ever.
