Great swing tip review. Since I have been starting the downswing with my arms and shoulders for 60+ years, it is not easy to change to your “Uncoil the hips” with “Powerless arms” method but when I do it, I love it!!
Thanks for going through this key move slowly and thoroughly!
The hard part is realizing that a feeling of nothing goes as far if not farther than your feeling of hitting hard. Why swing hard if you don’t have to?
I have really appreciated your feelings series. I have found them to be a comprehensive review of the basics and have also discovered a few nuances that I somehow missed along the line.
For example, you discussed springing off your back foot in this video and in another recent video. The nuance that springing involves rolling along your back foot instep from heel to toe became so much clearer.
Glad you like the tips. I keep explaining things a little differently for the very reason you just experienced which is different people learn differently. For some it clicks the first way I say it. Others get it down the road. Glad you understand it now. This is a very important part of the swing. Now you just have to master it.
I uncoil by turning back my belt buckle. It seems to keep me more perpendicular around the axis. I first tried your trigger of pushing the right leg but I was sliding with that. So I changed to the belt buckle and it works better for me with less sliding. Thanks for all your tips!
The belt buckle is a great way to trigger the swing. We had one student do it and shot 73. He never broke 80 before in his life. Once he told us about this I added it to the list of triggers. Please keep using it if you like it. We don’t want a slide that’s for sure.
This interesting video lesson is centered entirely on the rotation of the lower body and the feelings you experience from it .We all know this is the basis of your teaching and we try to emulate you,with more or less success .
Now what do you ” feel” with your upper body ,those arms the use of which you proscribe ,in particular .Do you feel a big void under your right armpit ,or do you feel the upper forearm close to your torso?
Do you feel your club and hands marking a pause at the top or not ?
Do you feel them ‘high”,like JIM FURYK or JACK NICKLAUS or at shoulder level like BEN HOGAN ?
Do you feel your hands accelerating slowly from the top or starting full speed?
In the FRYS OPEN ,this week end ,I saw a top player doing his backswing with the right arm very close to his torso ,while still moving up his club nearly to parallel!Correct or not ?
Do you feel a big void under your right armpit ,or do you feel the upper forearm close to your torso?
I feel my upper body turned OFF! This was the whole point of the tip. If you do nothing with your upper the mass will flatten towards 90 degrees to the axis. In doing so the right arm would tuck against your side.
Do you feel your club and hands marking a pause at the top or not ?
If you coil the mass of the club would be the last thing to reach 0 mph. Your body would start first the other way so the club would be the last thing to move. So it appears to pause or hesitate.
Do you feel them ‘high”,like JIM FURYK or JACK NICKLAUS or at shoulder level like BEN HOGAN ?
I trained my arms to go up. Do it think of lifting them up? No. I have done it so long they go up without thinking. If you are flat and working on getting them up you will have to manually lift them up until they go up on their own. If you are trying to do this make sure your shoulders are turning more level going back otherwise you will never get them up.
Do you feel your hands accelerating slowly from the top or starting full speed?
I am not feeling anything with my hands. They are powerless. My body is telling them how fast to swing.
In the FRYS OPEN ,this week end ,I saw a top player doing his backswing with the right arm very close to his torso ,while still moving up his club nearly to parallel!Correct or not ?
Some people have flatter swings. Others have more upright swings. I promote it being more upright because most of the best players of all time were upright. The exception was Hogan but on page 39 of Golf My Way it shows a silhouette of Nicklaus and Hogan. The only difference? Hogan’s arms were flatter. Their bodies are on the same angle. So if you are flat you need at taller setup and coil not too tilted as I have said many times in the past.
If you want more power get the club up higher at the top.
Paul ,
Two questions :
How important is it to keep the right knee flexed in the backswing (And what amount of flex ).The right leg has a tendency to straigthen out naturally during the backswing ,bringing you out of your swing
-Is it important to keep the left wrist flat in the backswing ?
Cupping it slightly going back implies you have to “roll “the clubface during the throughswing to square the clubface ,while if the left wrist is flat there ‘s no need to do so .
The flex in the back knee is vital because it puts you in position to fire the lower body first in the downswing. It should have the same flex you had at address.
You never want the left wrist flat at the top. There is a slight angle relative to a 2 knuckle grip position. It simple appears flat when its in motion.
Paul. Fabulous tip and the heart of your approach. Easy to understand, hard to learn!!! may have to wait for November golf school! But i keep trying. Pat
Glad you liked it. Yes, we will be covering this in the Nov. school. While you are waiting try to master grip, setup and follow through. If you can get to this that’s fine but I always teach the follow through first. You can get a head start if you work on this area of your swing.
Paul, this particular tip/lesson explains the proper downswing in the clearest SIMPLEST way. I once spent 3 days at Grand Cypress in Florida being told my “hitting position was identical to my address position.” Unfortunately, the instructor didn’t explain why this was happening and I spent a lot of money not addressing the reason for the problem. Standing there, without a club, and practicing the proper hip/right knee rotation, would have done me a lot of good. I’ve spent years looking for the proper feeling at the instant the backswing ends and the downswing begins. Finally, I have a clear understanding of what I should do to initiate the downswing. Maybe I’m a little dense, but if your simple explanation was ever described in Golf Magazine or Golf Digest, I missed it!
Glad you understand it. I went many years without the answers this is why I explain it in a way you can get it. I feel if you get it, you will think it is important and actually do it. If no one can tell you “why” then why would you do it? Golf Mags (other than Golf Tips Magazine) seem to keep putting me off and finding excuses to not publish articles about me or my technique. Maybe they are scared that once people know how the golf swing works they won’t need their tips anymore! This would be a great day … for me and everyone else who is not improving! Now, you know why I am not with RG anymore. Too many cooks in the kitchen only leads to confusion.
Great video as usual. Everything crystal clear but very difficult to get used to it (too many years hitting with hands and arms).
My problem is that whatever the trigger I use I have push o even push fades. I’ve been trying to slow it down but somehow the ball goes everywhere
I know what I have to practice but still not getting the ball with the right direction. I have felt the powerless arms swing that went further than ever and that somehow surprised me when I hit the ball. I have to balance and find the right direction.
It is difficult because human nature is telling you to hit the object plus you want a powerful feeling in your mind because you think this is going to produce a long shot.
So you have to to against human nature. Know full well that not trying to hit anything will produce tons of power and trust this way of swinging.
If you are hitting pushes and push fade while trying to do the trigger you are trying to do it at full speed. If your release is timed for a slow swing and you only speed up one element of the swing of course you are doing to hit pushes and push fades. You need to work on release first. Get it hooking then work on body. I can’t believe you have not seen my tips on this.
So immediately stop what you are doing. Watch the tip above. Master this then add legs again. Now your release will be timed with a harder leg drive. You’ll see.
Paul, there are so many confusing explanations of the golf swing, it’s no wonder few duffers are improving, in spite of the new forgiving equipment.
As an electrical engineer, I’m used to reading technical literature in my field of work, but some of the golf instruction makes Quantum Physics seem simple. Your swing technique is very logical and easily understood, Too bad years of powered arms make it difficult to master.
Paul ,You’ll probably be covering the downswing and the throughswing in your next “feeling “videos:please touch on the role of the elbows as BEN HOGAN held them very close to his body going through ,ending with the left wrist bowed out ,thus decreasing the loft and compressing more the ball.(I remember you telling me you disagreed with this”bowing out “of theleft wrist ,but it is a fact which is visible in the slow motions of his swing )
These tips are already shot and ready to go. I can’t remember how much I talk about it. I really don’t stress the right arm that much. It tucks in the downswing due to the rotation of the body. It then extends fully to the release point after the ball is hit.
I do not disagree with the left wrist bowed. I just said that is an effect of the body more tilted in the downswing and the club not at the widest point of the arc. If the club is not at its widest point of course it would be bowed. This is no magical move. It occurs due to the right fundamentals NOT because you are purposely trying to bow it.
Paul,
This was a gem of a lesson. My mishit has been due to a closed clubface with an in to out path, tail away hooks. After viewing this lesson i realized i’ve been turning but not shifting. I know this because eventhough my knees touch, I am leaning back with some weight still on right foot at the finish. What is best drill to make sure I’m shifting as I turn?
Also against my better judgement, I read cover article of recent Golf where Stacy Lewis says the secret to her square face at impact is droping her arms to hip level before turning. She says, “try to feel your arms falling straight down while rest of body stays in place. This is where weekend players get in trouble- they think as soon as backswing is over, the hips must immediately jump into action, Not True.”
I immediately scrapped the article. RIGHT, we are suppose to immediately use the trigger to get our hips turning and then let arms fall into place. Now my understanding is to get the lower body shifted to the left as well.
I hate when pro golfers say they dropping their arms first. This may be what they feel but it is far from reality. Mark O’Meara said this when he was on the cover of Golf Digest years ago only to take it back once he had the facts. It has been proven for years now that in all good swing the kinematic sequence starts from the bottom up.
Also, keep in mind that from the top to impact is approx. 1/4 of a second. As soon as the person thought they dropped their arms they would have already hit the ball. You blink in .33 of a second. So it is less than the blink of an eye.
So how does she explain how her hips turn upwards of 90 degrees in a 1/4 of a second when they move pretty slow in life compared to the arms. After all they turned 45 on the way back and are approx. 45 open at impact. That is 90 degrees in less than the blink of an eye.
Now you see why people get confused and have trouble learning this game.
You definitely need the weight on this back foot and the legs touching so you get feedback to remember how to do it forever. Stick with it. This is the power source in your swing.
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22 Responses to “Feelings Series – Starting Down”
October 12, 2014
JimMerwinGreat swing tip review. Since I have been starting the downswing with my arms and shoulders for 60+ years, it is not easy to change to your “Uncoil the hips” with “Powerless arms” method but when I do it, I love it!!
Thanks for going through this key move slowly and thoroughly!
Jim Merwin
October 14, 2014
Paul WilsonJim,
The hard part is realizing that a feeling of nothing goes as far if not farther than your feeling of hitting hard. Why swing hard if you don’t have to?
October 12, 2014
JohnBabbPaul –
I have really appreciated your feelings series. I have found them to be a comprehensive review of the basics and have also discovered a few nuances that I somehow missed along the line.
For example, you discussed springing off your back foot in this video and in another recent video. The nuance that springing involves rolling along your back foot instep from heel to toe became so much clearer.
Much appreciation –
John Babb
October 14, 2014
Paul WilsonJohn,
Glad you like the tips. I keep explaining things a little differently for the very reason you just experienced which is different people learn differently. For some it clicks the first way I say it. Others get it down the road. Glad you understand it now. This is a very important part of the swing. Now you just have to master it.
October 12, 2014
CarlFuchsI uncoil by turning back my belt buckle. It seems to keep me more perpendicular around the axis. I first tried your trigger of pushing the right leg but I was sliding with that. So I changed to the belt buckle and it works better for me with less sliding. Thanks for all your tips!
October 14, 2014
Paul WilsonCarl,
The belt buckle is a great way to trigger the swing. We had one student do it and shot 73. He never broke 80 before in his life. Once he told us about this I added it to the list of triggers. Please keep using it if you like it. We don’t want a slide that’s for sure.
October 13, 2014
RaymondCHASTELThis interesting video lesson is centered entirely on the rotation of the lower body and the feelings you experience from it .We all know this is the basis of your teaching and we try to emulate you,with more or less success .
Now what do you ” feel” with your upper body ,those arms the use of which you proscribe ,in particular .Do you feel a big void under your right armpit ,or do you feel the upper forearm close to your torso?
Do you feel your club and hands marking a pause at the top or not ?
Do you feel them ‘high”,like JIM FURYK or JACK NICKLAUS or at shoulder level like BEN HOGAN ?
Do you feel your hands accelerating slowly from the top or starting full speed?
In the FRYS OPEN ,this week end ,I saw a top player doing his backswing with the right arm very close to his torso ,while still moving up his club nearly to parallel!Correct or not ?
October 14, 2014
Paul WilsonRaymond,
Answers:
Do you feel a big void under your right armpit ,or do you feel the upper forearm close to your torso?
I feel my upper body turned OFF! This was the whole point of the tip. If you do nothing with your upper the mass will flatten towards 90 degrees to the axis. In doing so the right arm would tuck against your side.
Do you feel your club and hands marking a pause at the top or not ?
If you coil the mass of the club would be the last thing to reach 0 mph. Your body would start first the other way so the club would be the last thing to move. So it appears to pause or hesitate.
Do you feel them ‘high”,like JIM FURYK or JACK NICKLAUS or at shoulder level like BEN HOGAN ?
I trained my arms to go up. Do it think of lifting them up? No. I have done it so long they go up without thinking. If you are flat and working on getting them up you will have to manually lift them up until they go up on their own. If you are trying to do this make sure your shoulders are turning more level going back otherwise you will never get them up.
Do you feel your hands accelerating slowly from the top or starting full speed?
I am not feeling anything with my hands. They are powerless. My body is telling them how fast to swing.
In the FRYS OPEN ,this week end ,I saw a top player doing his backswing with the right arm very close to his torso ,while still moving up his club nearly to parallel!Correct or not ?
Some people have flatter swings. Others have more upright swings. I promote it being more upright because most of the best players of all time were upright. The exception was Hogan but on page 39 of Golf My Way it shows a silhouette of Nicklaus and Hogan. The only difference? Hogan’s arms were flatter. Their bodies are on the same angle. So if you are flat you need at taller setup and coil not too tilted as I have said many times in the past.
If you want more power get the club up higher at the top.
October 13, 2014
RaymondCHASTELPaul ,
Two questions :
How important is it to keep the right knee flexed in the backswing (And what amount of flex ).The right leg has a tendency to straigthen out naturally during the backswing ,bringing you out of your swing
-Is it important to keep the left wrist flat in the backswing ?
Cupping it slightly going back implies you have to “roll “the clubface during the throughswing to square the clubface ,while if the left wrist is flat there ‘s no need to do so .
October 14, 2014
Paul WilsonRaymond,
The flex in the back knee is vital because it puts you in position to fire the lower body first in the downswing. It should have the same flex you had at address.
Backswing Load and Flex: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-load-flex/
You never want the left wrist flat at the top. There is a slight angle relative to a 2 knuckle grip position. It simple appears flat when its in motion.
Cupped or Flat: https://ignitiongolf.com/top-backswing-cupped-flat
October 13, 2014
PatRobinsPaul. Fabulous tip and the heart of your approach. Easy to understand, hard to learn!!! may have to wait for November golf school! But i keep trying. Pat
October 14, 2014
Paul WilsonPat,
Glad you liked it. Yes, we will be covering this in the Nov. school. While you are waiting try to master grip, setup and follow through. If you can get to this that’s fine but I always teach the follow through first. You can get a head start if you work on this area of your swing.
October 13, 2014
RonCalabresePaul, this particular tip/lesson explains the proper downswing in the clearest SIMPLEST way. I once spent 3 days at Grand Cypress in Florida being told my “hitting position was identical to my address position.” Unfortunately, the instructor didn’t explain why this was happening and I spent a lot of money not addressing the reason for the problem. Standing there, without a club, and practicing the proper hip/right knee rotation, would have done me a lot of good. I’ve spent years looking for the proper feeling at the instant the backswing ends and the downswing begins. Finally, I have a clear understanding of what I should do to initiate the downswing. Maybe I’m a little dense, but if your simple explanation was ever described in Golf Magazine or Golf Digest, I missed it!
Thanks, Ron
October 14, 2014
Paul WilsonRon,
Glad you understand it. I went many years without the answers this is why I explain it in a way you can get it. I feel if you get it, you will think it is important and actually do it. If no one can tell you “why” then why would you do it? Golf Mags (other than Golf Tips Magazine) seem to keep putting me off and finding excuses to not publish articles about me or my technique. Maybe they are scared that once people know how the golf swing works they won’t need their tips anymore! This would be a great day … for me and everyone else who is not improving! Now, you know why I am not with RG anymore. Too many cooks in the kitchen only leads to confusion.
Keep at it.
October 13, 2014
JoseCarcellerGreat video as usual. Everything crystal clear but very difficult to get used to it (too many years hitting with hands and arms).
My problem is that whatever the trigger I use I have push o even push fades. I’ve been trying to slow it down but somehow the ball goes everywhere
I know what I have to practice but still not getting the ball with the right direction. I have felt the powerless arms swing that went further than ever and that somehow surprised me when I hit the ball. I have to balance and find the right direction.
October 14, 2014
Paul WilsonJose,
It is difficult because human nature is telling you to hit the object plus you want a powerful feeling in your mind because you think this is going to produce a long shot.
So you have to to against human nature. Know full well that not trying to hit anything will produce tons of power and trust this way of swinging.
Powerless Arms – The Trust Factor: https://ignitiongolf.com/the-trust-factor/
How Human Nature Wants to Make You Hit at the Ball: https://ignitiongolf.com/human-nature-hit-ball/
If you are hitting pushes and push fade while trying to do the trigger you are trying to do it at full speed. If your release is timed for a slow swing and you only speed up one element of the swing of course you are doing to hit pushes and push fades. You need to work on release first. Get it hooking then work on body. I can’t believe you have not seen my tips on this.
Watch:
Release Progression: https://ignitiongolf.com/release-progression/
So immediately stop what you are doing. Watch the tip above. Master this then add legs again. Now your release will be timed with a harder leg drive. You’ll see.
October 14, 2014
RonCalabresePaul, there are so many confusing explanations of the golf swing, it’s no wonder few duffers are improving, in spite of the new forgiving equipment.
As an electrical engineer, I’m used to reading technical literature in my field of work, but some of the golf instruction makes Quantum Physics seem simple. Your swing technique is very logical and easily understood, Too bad years of powered arms make it difficult to master.
Thanks, Ron
October 14, 2014
Paul WilsonRon,
Thanks for the kind words. Just trying to make everyone understand exactly what they are supposed to be doing. That alone is huge.
October 14, 2014
RaymondCHASTELPaul ,You’ll probably be covering the downswing and the throughswing in your next “feeling “videos:please touch on the role of the elbows as BEN HOGAN held them very close to his body going through ,ending with the left wrist bowed out ,thus decreasing the loft and compressing more the ball.(I remember you telling me you disagreed with this”bowing out “of theleft wrist ,but it is a fact which is visible in the slow motions of his swing )
October 14, 2014
Paul WilsonRaymond,
These tips are already shot and ready to go. I can’t remember how much I talk about it. I really don’t stress the right arm that much. It tucks in the downswing due to the rotation of the body. It then extends fully to the release point after the ball is hit.
Knuckles Down At Impact: https://ignitiongolf.com/knuckles-down-impact
Back Wrist at Impact: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-back-wrist
I do not disagree with the left wrist bowed. I just said that is an effect of the body more tilted in the downswing and the club not at the widest point of the arc. If the club is not at its widest point of course it would be bowed. This is no magical move. It occurs due to the right fundamentals NOT because you are purposely trying to bow it.
Watch:
How to Release the Golf Club: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-wrist-release/
Why The Shaft Is Leaning At Impact: https://ignitiongolf.com/shaft-leaning-impact
How To Work On Forward Shaft Lean And The Full Release: https://ignitiongolf.com/shaft-lean-full-release
October 15, 2014
DrewPaul,
This was a gem of a lesson. My mishit has been due to a closed clubface with an in to out path, tail away hooks. After viewing this lesson i realized i’ve been turning but not shifting. I know this because eventhough my knees touch, I am leaning back with some weight still on right foot at the finish. What is best drill to make sure I’m shifting as I turn?
Also against my better judgement, I read cover article of recent Golf where Stacy Lewis says the secret to her square face at impact is droping her arms to hip level before turning. She says, “try to feel your arms falling straight down while rest of body stays in place. This is where weekend players get in trouble- they think as soon as backswing is over, the hips must immediately jump into action, Not True.”
I immediately scrapped the article. RIGHT, we are suppose to immediately use the trigger to get our hips turning and then let arms fall into place. Now my understanding is to get the lower body shifted to the left as well.
October 15, 2014
Paul WilsonDrew,
Glad you liked it. Thanks.
I hate when pro golfers say they dropping their arms first. This may be what they feel but it is far from reality. Mark O’Meara said this when he was on the cover of Golf Digest years ago only to take it back once he had the facts. It has been proven for years now that in all good swing the kinematic sequence starts from the bottom up.
Here is their data: http://www.mytpi.com/articles/biomechanics/kinematic_sequence_basics
Also, keep in mind that from the top to impact is approx. 1/4 of a second. As soon as the person thought they dropped their arms they would have already hit the ball. You blink in .33 of a second. So it is less than the blink of an eye.
So how does she explain how her hips turn upwards of 90 degrees in a 1/4 of a second when they move pretty slow in life compared to the arms. After all they turned 45 on the way back and are approx. 45 open at impact. That is 90 degrees in less than the blink of an eye.
Now you see why people get confused and have trouble learning this game.
You definitely need the weight on this back foot and the legs touching so you get feedback to remember how to do it forever. Stick with it. This is the power source in your swing.