How To Perform The Perfect Golf Downswing

Being able to execute a good downswing is one of the most gratifying skills for any golfer. This is due to the fact that the entire golf swing motion hinges mostly on this single move, and thus a bad downswing ruins the whole motion 95% of the time. Learning how to perform a good downswing therefore, is crucial to improve one's game. This is done by identifying and correcting the common mistakes that one makes during this move.

There are three problems that commonly contribute to make a bad downswing.

(1)The turning of the hips without shifting the weight to the side.

(2) Turning the right shoulder high towards the ball as the rotating motion is taking place.

(3) Trying to move the club head or slowing the hands in an effort to gain more control.

These three problems can cause the ball to hit too soon, and from outside going in, limiting the driving distance causing it to hook or slice the ball.

Therefore, to perform a better golf downswing, the first thing to learn is to move the hips laterally, and not simply rotate it. This is to prevent the shoulders from turning excessively, and making the club hit the ball from the outside going in. Of course, one has to allow for some turning movement of the hips, but the key point is to get them going laterally in the transition, as you swing down. They will then move naturally to the right extent without needing much thought.

The second thing to learn is to keep the head to the back of the ball while you move your hips laterally. This is because the head helps to keep the tension of the swing, and moving it forward with the hips is part of the tension that was built up during the backswing, to be lost. Taking this into account during the transition, the head should naturally hang back, maybe even drop a little bit during the downswing, preserving the tension and transferring more power to the ball.

The third thing to learn is not to move the club as it goes down. To do this, imagine the arms and hands as being one piece of metal that is fused to the club. Then this metal should be allowed to drop like a dead weight from the backswing, as soon as the hips begin to move to the left, until it passes the hips, at which point the arms naturally swing more and hits the ball. This motion helps preserve what is known as the eternal triangle, or the imaginary shape which the club, arms and shoulder forms during the transition.

And you should be it. By knowing all these things have no value unless you practice it. So go out and play, take into account the pointers above, and soon you will be performing a golf downswing like a pro.