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If you're familiar with conventional swing instruction, this article may
seem controversial. I will be asking you to incorporate some thoughts
regarding the downswing that are the polar opposite of what you're used
to reading or hearing. But hear me out, and give what I have to say an
honest try on the practice tee, because I believe this different
approach to the downswing can work wonders for your game.
Most of us who have played
golf for a long time have been tricked by the illusion of what appears
to be happening on the downswing. It seems as though the clubhead is
"pulled" down from its position at
the top of the backswing. It's also taught (for right-handed players)
that this pulling motion is governed by the left hand, motion has been
to keep the wrists cocked in order to "delay" the release of
the clubhead until the last possible instant, and to prevent breakdown
of the left wrist through impact. This "delayed release" is
meant to generate the greatest possible clubhead speed through the
impact zone.
Unfortunately, most of us who
try to delay the release of the clubhead do not enjoy maximum
speed at impact, and the clubface comes into the ball open at impact,
resulting in a weak push or slice.
| Learn To
Swing 'A' to 'B'
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Your main task on the downswing, I believe, should be to get
the clubhead back down to the ball sooner rather than later.
Think of the clubhead as object "A" and the ball as
object "B." You should think of making A hit B as
quickly as possible. And to do this, think only in terms of uncocking
your wrists, arms and the clubhead to start the downswing as early
as possible.
Look back at the opening
photo. I am swinging a sledgehammer at a wedge of wood. Imagine
you're doing the same. You want to hit that wedge as hard and as
solidly as you can. Let me ask, what thoughts would best help you
accomplish this? Would you think of shifting the weight onto your
left side? Sliding your left hip to the left? Pulling down with
your left arm?
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Keeping your wrists cocked for as long as possible before
impact? No, you wouldn't think any of these. You'd simply think
of swinging the sledgehammer toward the wood as fast as
possible. Why should your intentions in hitting a golf ball be
any different?
I believe most golfers
can benefit immensely from realizing that the hands are the
source of motion and power in the golf swing. The body will
always respond to what the hands are doing. If you learn to use
your hands and wrists correctly as you start down, the body will
follow their lead. You won't have to worry about other swing
thoughts, and you can focus on simply hitting that ball.
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| Move
Clubshaft In Line With Left Arm |
Despite what you may have read or heard before, using your
hands and arms to throw the clubhead at the ball will not sap
your power prior to impact-as long as you do it correctly.
In these photos, I'm swinging a long pole with a flag at the
end, which shows greater flex than a regular golf shaft. From
the top of the backswing (1), all I am doing is using my hands
to get the flag back to the ball as fast as possible. |
Throughout almost the entire downswing (2) and (3), the
shaft is bent well backward, the flag lagging well behind
the shaft. It's only when the shaft passes through the
impact zone that the flag catches up to the handle. When
hitting a golf ball, the faster I attempt to uncock my hands
and wrists from the top, the more the clubhead lags and the
greater the speed at impact. |
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There is one technical key you need to know when you throw
the clubhead at the ball: Uncock your wrists along the
line of your left forearm. Look at photos (4) and (5), in
which I'm back to using a regular club. I have gripped
down several inches to help illustrate this "line of
uncocking." In (4), I'm starting my hands down. In
(5), I have uncocked my wrists so that the grip is against
the underside of my left arm. If you uncock your hands and
wrists in an aggressive attempt to simply hit that ball,
you'll be amazed at the power you can generate. Your body
will follow this lead and move in to support this hitting
action, without your having to worry about when and how to
shift your weight, when or how much to turn your hips or
shoulders, and so on.
So why have we
always been told never to "throw" or
"cast" the club from the top? That's where
uncocking along the line of your left arm and uncocking
the clubhead toward the ball is the key. Look at (6),
which illustrates incorrect uncocking. In this photo, I'm
uncocking the club "over" or "outside"
the line of the left arm. This is the most common
uncocking error, although many golfers uncock
"under" the line the left arm. Either one of
these faults causes loss of clubhead speed, because you
simply can't continue to release if your wrists are
uncocking at an angle other than along the line of your
left arm. By uncocking the club off-line, you'll release
the clubhead well before impact and the clubface will not
strike the ball squarely toward the target.
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| Practice
The Early Release |
Here's a drill that will benefit you greatly. Grasp a
driver at the bottom of the grip. From the top of the
backswing (1), in slow motion simply uncock your
wrists fully, along the line of your left arm as
discussed (2 and 3). Don't do anything with the rest
of your body. Just push the clubhead down to the point
where your left arm is straight and the wrists are
fully uncocked as shown in (3) while keeping the rest
of your body in place.
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This is only a drill. Uncocking at full speed will
change the body's dynamics when you're actually
hitting the ball. On the course, your total focus
should be on throwing the clubhead directly at the
ball. |
Don't Pause At
The Top
In order to move
the clubhead as fast as possible down to the ball, here is
another piece of advice that will help you: Don't pause at
the top of the backswing. In fact, I believe it should
feel as if you are starting the downswing nearly before
you have completed the backswing. By immediately beginning
the uncocking motion at the top, your wrists will have the
greatest amount of "snap" at the bottom-like
cracking a whip-and it's much easier to uncock in line
with your left arm as you fire the clubhead from A to B.
Conversely, if you
have a distinct pause at the top, there will be a much
greater tendency for your hands and arms to get "out
of line"-most often throwing the hands and club
outside that left arm line. So, do yourself a favor and
avoid any conscious pause at the top.
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| Clubhead
Will Square Up Automatically
How will the clubface get back to square at
impact? The short answer is the will happen
automatically, as long as you uncock your
wrists along the line of your left arm. The
only way you won't square the face correctly is if
you uncock off-line or if you try to
"guide" the clubhead by pulling it
through impact.
In photos
1-4 I'm using a tennis racquet to illustrate,
because the "face" of the racquet is so
big that it's easy to see. In this sequence, I'm
uncocking my hands and wrists along the line of my
left arm as fast as I can from the top of the
swing to the ball. Look at what happens to the
"clubface" when I do this. You can see
that halfway down (2), I have begun the uncocking,
and the face of the racquet is moving in line with
my left arm. However, just past impact (3), the
speed of the release has caused my body to turn
through the shot, squaring the racquet at impact
and closing it just beyond. In (4), the sheer
momentum I've built up has carried the racquet up
and over my left shoulder, into a classic finish
position. Remember, the slower the swing the
earlier the uncocking occurs, and the faster the
swing the later it occurs.
Focusing
on moving the clubhead from A to B by uncocking
the hands and wrists, as described, will benefit
all golfers, especially seniors who can't rely on
the body turn alone to hit the ball for good
distance. Learn this downswing technique and
you'll be amazed at how much speed you can still
generate-and how far and straight you can still
hit that ball.
Peter
Croker is the director of instruction at Belfair
in Hilton Head, South Carolina
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