Transition to Downswing

[abraxas]

sorry for any wrong terminology but hope you get the gist...

so i had a lesson today where the instrutor told me to focus on turning my hips open (pivoting on my right leg) while almost at the end of my backswing to start the downswing. i tried to practice that move but it feels sooo spastic, not smooth at all. what do you guys think? how do you make that transition?

[senorchipotle]

do this drill: invert your back foot so that it is at 10:30, or a quarter turn inside with your feet shoulder width apart. now, turn your lead foot a half turn so that it's pointing at your target. bend your knees and put 80 per cent of your weight on your front foot. take an easy three quarter swing with a slight shoulder turn, still keeping the weight on your lead leg. now, take a swing. do it.

[jamo]

sorry for any wrong terminology but hope you get the gist...

Well he basically told you to adapt a Hogan-esque transition. Possibly helpful if you normally hit a big hook, but it is mostly just a compensation for another underlying problem in you swing. It encourages a slice, FWIW.

[Addicted2Golf]

Well he basically told you to adapt a Hogan-esque transition. Possibly helpful if you normally hit a big hook, but it is mostly just a compensation for another underlying problem in you swing. It encourages a slice, FWIW.

Maybe I'm not understanding the original question, but I always thought that a little more hip rotation at the end of the backswing would help if you were slicing. I'm not saying this to challenge your statement, I really want to know because I struggle with a slice off the tee, and was told that I should rotate my hips a bit more at the end of my backswing. Help me understand this a little more.

[jamo]

Maybe I'm not understanding the original question, but I always thought that a little more hip rotation at the end of the backswing would help if you were slicing. I'm not saying this to challenge your statement, I really want to know because I struggle with a slice off the tee, and was told that I should rotate my hips a bit more at the end of my backswing. Help me understand this a little more.

I took the OP to mean that he was starting the downswing with his hips before he got to the top with his hands. Maybe i was wrong?

[Addicted2Golf]

I took the OP to mean that he was starting the downswing with his hips before he got to the top with his hands. Maybe i was wrong?

I see. Now your reply makes more sense to me. Would you agree, then, that a little more hip turn at the top could be beneficial to a slicer?

[jamo]

I see. Now your reply makes more sense to me. Would you agree, then, that a little more hip turn at the top could be beneficial to a slicer?

Hmmmm... I think so. Maybe we should stay away from the words slice and hook for a minute. This made me actually grab a club and take some swings:

Situation 1- If he turns his hip more on the backswing (ie. continues the backswing longer) his hands are likely going to beat your hips to the ball, barring any compensations, and the face will be closed. Under the "new" ball flight rules, this would be a pull because the face is closed. Situation 2- If he starts the downswing with his hips while the hands are still in the backswing, the hips will beat the hands to the ball, the face will be open. This would be a push. That's what it seems to me...

[abraxas]

do this drill: invert your back foot so that it is at 10:30, or a quarter turn inside with your feet shoulder width apart. now, turn your lead foot a half turn so that it's pointing at your target. bend your knees and put 80 per cent of your weight on your front foot. take an easy three quarter swing with a slight shoulder turn, still keeping the weight on your lead leg. now, take a swing. do it.

funny you mention this b/c this was one of the first drills we did

but doing the full swing with two almost contralateral movements seem awkward to me maybe ill get used to it.... hmm

[abraxas]

I took the OP to mean that he was starting the downswing with his hips before he got to the top with his hands. Maybe i was wrong?

yes youre absolutely right!

when or how do you start your downswing?

[Addicted2Golf]

Hmmmm... I think so. Maybe we should stay away from the words slice and hook for a minute. This made me actually grab a club and take some swings:

I apologize for hijacking this thread, but it really got me thinking. Your description to situation 1 is exactly why I was given this advice. My hips were beating my hands to the ball, which left the face wide open. The result was a push slice. Turning the hips allows my hands to catch up and get the face a bit more closed. The other benefit is that in turning the hips a bit more, the club gets to the inside a little more. As long as I start the downswing by sliding the hips, the OTT move I've constantly struggled with is reduced.

I'm just thinking out loud now. Thanks for the reply.

[senorchipotle]

funny you mention this b/c this was one of the first drills we did

i'm telling you man. if you do exactly what i wrote and hit ten shots with a 6 iron before you hit balls then you'll know what it should feel like in the impact position cause your weight is on your left side, and you'll have no choice but to clear your hips unless you want to fall down. yeah, it's awkward at first. but so is golf.

[jamo]

yes youre absolutely right!

Well, IMO, both of the situations I listed are sort of compensations for other things that are going wrong in someone's swing. If I'm in the middle of a round and I'm pulling the ball, I'll go to a slightly Hogan style transition. If I'm hitting big pushes mid-round I will extend my backswing a little. I wouldn't try to do either of these if I was building my swing. One of the things that I am working on now is to match up my hip turn and my shoulder/hand turn, so I don't really know where I start the downswing. But I do try to get am of my body to the top before I start down.