The next part of the golf swing is the shoulder and upper body turn. The left arm has swung across the body near the right armpit. The natural continuation of this motion is to begin the turning of the shoulders.
The shoulders will turn from parallel to the target line to approximately perpendicular to the target line depending on your own flexibility. As this happens, the hips and then legs will also become involved in the turn.
Wouldn’t you like to feel more body torque build up in your golf back swing? Of course! A friend gave me this golf swing tip just the other day. Maybe you’ll find it to be as helpful as I did. Instead of trying to create body torque by turning your shoulders, think of turning your lower chest (Let’s say about six inches above your bellybutton) away from the target.
Of course when you do it this way your shoulders will still turn but you should feel much more torque building through your body.
Don’t let the knee of your back leg turn or fly out or to the back as the back swing progresses. You’ll lose part of your body torque. At the height of the back swing, you’ll feel like your back is over top of your back leg. At this point your weight has shifted back over your back leg.
It is truly a myth that the head stays over the ball as at address and the body turns on an axis formed by a line traveling through the head and the backbone. In reality, the body turns on an axis formed by a line traveling through the head and the back leg.
Keep in mind that the head is moving slightly backwards. The head should stay fairly level and not bob up and down. Where are the arms and club at the end of the back swing? Should the golf club be parallel to the ground?
Honestly, you shouldn’t really don’t give that much thought. As long as you don’t bend the left arm more than slightly, these positions will be determined by how far you can turn your upper body.
If you keep your back knee in, the back foot will feel your body weight on the inside as the shoulders turn. Towards the end of the golf back swing, some golfers make the mistake of letting the heel of their front foot leave the ground.
If the back swing coils the spring, the feet must stay anchored to the ground to give the body something to coil against. Better to let the front foot roll or sort of lay down on the inside of the foot without dragging.
If you start with a correct golf stance, grip, and back swing, the best advice for your down swing for the most part is to just let it happen! The down swing and follow through should be the very natural result of everything that precedes it.
You may want to use the “No Arms Drill” in the next section to memorize the feel of the golf swing which leads to a more comfortable, automatic golf swing. If you’re at the correct position at the top of your back swing, your body will start to unwind releasing the golf club which will strike the golf ball and lead to a balanced follow through.
Think of the follow-through as your victory salute to a successful golf swing! Your front leg will be fairly straight and your hips will be forward forming a straight line with your front leg.
Your head may feel like its back a bit and your back leg will be forward of the back foot which has rolled to the inside, front of the foot. Most all of your weight will be on your front foot, completing your weight shift from the back side to the front side.
This is like a barometer of your entire swing. When your golf swing is balanced and smooth, you end with that nice reverse C position at the end. On the other hand, you could end your golf swing off balance and catching yourself from falling down.
Then it’s time to go back to the beginning of your golf swing and find where you lost that balance.
You should have only one swing thought during your golf down swing. That’s because you really don’t have time for two. Consequently, your only thought should be to turn your belt buckle (or bellybutton) towards the target as fast as you possibly can.
This movement should begin about a third or half way through the golf down swing. It will end, of course, when you are pointed towards the target at which point you will have already hit the golf ball and you’re into the follow through.
And you should also be seeing the golf ball traveling straight down the fairway!
On the golf down swing your body will move forward and turn on an axis formed by a line traveling through the head and the front leg.
Keep in mind that the head will be moving forward from its position at the end of your golf back swing; however, the head should stay fairly level and not bob up and down.
Since the golf down swing starts from the bottom and works its way up, then the feet are the place to start. Let’s see, at the end of the back swing, the front foot was rolling (almost laying down) on the inside of that foot.
Consequently, a good trigger motion would start by moving the left side towards the target and placing that foot back to being flat on the ground. To trigger this move, you should plant your front foot by moving the front knee towards the target. Your lower body will slide towards the target.
Since both knees are still slightly bent and flexed, this move will give you sort of a squatty look and feel. You might feel as if you’re dropping down slightly. Planting that front foot begins the chain reaction of your body uncoiling and your weight will shift back to the left (front) side. What you do not want to do is start the down swing with your arms and shoulders.
This move will cause your wrists to un-cock too soon (called casting) resulting in some pretty nasty results (topped shots, slices).
The most effective golf swing tip I’ve found to prevent casting is also a very logical one. Begin your down swing before you finish your back swing. Makes sense!
You’re not likely to start your down swing with your arms and upper body if they’re still winding up. So, as you feel your upper body approaching the end of the back swing you will move your front knee towards the target. As you do this, you’ll feel that low, squatty position and know that you’re starting your back swing properly with the lower body.
Often the golf swing feels uncomfortable and awkward, so you may want to try the following drill until you start feeling better about the golf swing.
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