Start of downswing, initiated with shoulders or hips

[GlobeGuy]

I just got into Golf, took 2 lessons so far, and I'm loving it. I'm at a point where I'm working on increasing the distance by shifting the weight from my right to left on my downswing. Which means outside of right foot need to be off of the ground before impact, I cannot seem to do this.

I initiate my downswing with the turn of the shoulders and waist. My friend suggested I initiate my downswing with the turn of the hips and have my shoulders follow soon after. Swinging w/o a club, I can see how this can aid in bringing the outside of my right foot off of the ground before impact. The kicker is, it feels like my right foot is simply following my hips instead of driving the downswing.

How are you suppose to initiate the downswing?

[allin]

I initiate my downswing with the turn of the shoulders and waist. My friend suggested I initiate my downswing with the turn of the hips and have my shoulders follow soon after. Swinging w/o a club, I can see how this can aid in bringing the outside of my right foot off of the ground before impact. The kicker is, it feels like my right foot is simply following my hips instead of driving the downswing.

It is dangerous to give this type of advice to new golfers as you really don't know how you swing the club, but wth.

I feel most golfers don't need to conciously shift their weight. If you turn back and through properly weight shift naturally happens. Concious efforts at weight shift (at least for me) tend to upset my balance, a more critical factor I believe. It is probably accurate to say most down swings are initiated by lower body action. Which action varies by your swing and body type. Tall golfers or golfers who swing the club upright (above shoulder plane) tend to start the downswing with a SLIGHT lateral bump of the forward hip and then roll off the back foot, while allowing the club to fall into place followed by an a more agressive arm dominated finish. (Payne Stewart, Nicklaus and Davis Love) Many shorter golfers swing more on a line (plane) with their shoulders. They tend to squat slightly and open the shoulders and hips up and then swing arms shoulders and hips through pretty much at the same time They don't usually roll their feet as much and rely more on body and hip turn to generate power. Tiger, Ben Hogan, Peter Jacobsen. In both swings if you keep your back knee flexed and firm and your downswing happens in sequence then your weight will shift.

[Young04]

It is dangerous to give this type of advice to new golfers as you really don't know how you swing the club, but wth.

i agree with allin - the weight shift should be natural. don't force it or you may have a tendency to push your head and shoulders in front of the ball (a big no-no). it may seem odd, but you do need to get over on your left side while keeping your head and shoulders back at impact.

also, depending on who you ask (and whether you have a one or two plane swing - a big discussion for another day), starting the down swing with the shoulders can spell trouble. again, you may get differing advice on this, but i think your hips should be more open at impact in relation to your shoulders. if you initiate the downswing with the shoulders, this may be hard to do. for me, when i'm swinging well, i initiate the downswing with my hips (without consciously realizing that i do), and swing my arms straight down from the inside. your shoulders will open naturally, but should be reactive to your arms, not the other way around.

[Young04]

I just got into Golf, took 2 lessons so far, and I'm loving it. I'm at a point where I'm working on increasing the distance by shifting the weight from my right to left on my downswing. Which means outside of right foot need to be off of the ground before impact, I cannot seem to do this.

another tip to get a proper weight shift is to try a small pause at the top of your downswing. as long as you don't have a reverse pivot, by delaying your arms a hair, you'll end up naturally starting the downswing with a weight shift.

[GlobeGuy]

Thanks for the replies. I know what you mean about how thinking can mess up the swing.

I will try the fraction of second freeze at the top of the backswing. I can picture how this can help.

[GlobeGuy]

and whether you have a one or two plane swing - a big discussion for another day

I just looked up one and two plane swing (

http://www.golfdigest.com/instructio...ingplane2.html ) and I realized that I am naturally inclined toward 1 plane swing, but I've been practicing 2 plane swing. I've been having more problems since I attempted to switch to 2 plane swing. I'm going back to one plane swing, since now I know it's not wrong. This swing feels better and smoother for me to execute.

[DBake]

I just looked up one and two plane swing (

I take it you believe in the one or two plane swing?

I am just interested as I am thinking about buying the book and than maybe the DVD's.

[GlobeGuy]

I take it you believe in the one or two plane swing?

I have not used a product called "one or two plane swing". What I meant was I recognize that I had one plane swing that fit my body but through practice I was trying to force my body to do a two plane swing, because I thought one plane swing was an incorrect way of swinging.

[beantown_golfer]

Is this book worth buying? That article gave me some decent information, and I was wondering if anyone had read the entire book and found it worth while.

[Dminn23]

Is this book worth buying? That article gave me some decent information, and I was wondering if anyone had read the entire book and found it worth while.

The book is great (The Plane Truth for Golfers). In my opinion, its not just learning what you need to do to swing the club, its understanding WHY you need to do these things is what will really help your understanding and ultimately help you become a better ball striker. I have learned so much about the golf swing lately through various readings and I'm finally piecing it all together. One of the most reliable sources I have found to be is this book. Jim Hardy is a great teacher and knows a lot about the golf swing. The game of golf is not cheap, but 20 bucks for a book could save you a lot of frusteration, and in the end, maybe save you a lot of balls too! Keep in mind, this comes from someone who hates classes that involve memorization (French, Spanish, Anatomy) but I can succeed in classes where I understand why things work they way they do when I take it apart, an example being Math.

[seattlemudder]

The lower body initiates the swing, however, if you get too quick you will lag and your arms won't be able to catch up usually leaving the face open and the result will be a slice or a push. If you think smooth, i.e. count 1-2-3 from set up through back swing (3 being at the top) and 1-2-3 on the way down with 3 being impact, you'll swing more smoothly.