In this video, PGA Professional Katie Dawkins explains the downswing sequence
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00:00Hi, my name's Katie Dawkins. I'm here today at West Hill Golf Club to explain to you the
00:09downswing sequence. The downswing in the golf swing is something that people get very screwed
00:14up in the head with. There's too many thoughts going on in a movement that takes very little
00:19time to actually do. So it's really important that we don't clutter our minds with lots
00:24and lots of different thoughts. It's important as well to remember that the downswing sequence
00:28really is just us trying to propel an object towards a target. That's no different to me
00:33getting a ball in my hand and chucking it for the dog. Everything happens in the same way.
00:38So if I want to get optimum power and send that ball or whatever I'm chucking straight down the
00:43middle, I've got to first of all be in an athletic position to do that. So I need good posture. So
00:48solid fundamentals are really key here. What I've then got to remember to do is actually use my
00:55body. And this is something that golfers don't do. They tend to just swing their arms up and down.
01:00So from the top of the backswing, what should happen is your body should start to uncoil
01:07from the ground up. And that's the kinematic sequence that we tend to talk about. It's that
01:12movement of power stored in that coil up in the golf swing and starting to unwind. So the first
01:18thing that goes is from the ground up. So you're going from the hips and everything's rotating,
01:24your torso's turning towards the target. The last thing to crack through is that golf club.
01:29So actually when players are standing there and swinging from the top of the swing, the first
01:32thing they tend to do is get this sequence in the wrong order. So they will throw that club from the
01:37top, throw all that power away, cast it away if you like, and end up with no power when they get
01:42to the ball. A lot of their clubs will go the same distance and it'll all feel like hard work.
01:48So how can we stop this from happening? One of the best things that you can possibly do is
01:53actually practice without a golf ball. So take the golf ball out of the equation totally and just
01:59practice that winding up and that unwinding. Feel it from the ground up, unwind the body,
02:05and really turn to the target. So the golf swing becomes turn and turn. That's going to be quite a
02:13simple movement that you can think about while you're out on the golf course. If you can get
02:17through to a lovely photo finish at the end of your swing, you've probably done the right stuff
02:22to get there in the first place. Golfers who aren't doing this sequence in the right order
02:26tend to jump off the ball and end up on their back foot, almost walking backwards off it and
02:31wondering why it hasn't gone where they wanted it to go. So the players that turn up for golf
02:38lessons lacking power, lacking distance, it's usually down to them getting this kinematic
02:44sequence in the wrong order. The reason that they do that is because they haven't got the postures
02:49to begin with. So there's not that athletic ready to run somewhere feeling that we need and you see
02:54all the best players in the world have. Their weight is on the balls of the feet, we're ready
02:59to run somewhere, that's how it should be. What I tend to see is no angles, everything sort of sat
03:04back almost like you're leaning on a barstool and weight on the heels. There's no balance there and
03:09with no balance you're not going to get the control. So all that's going to happen is you
03:13will swing the arms up and down and so you're powering your golf swing with the arms only.
03:19If you were to try and get involved with this lovely wind up of the body and turn, you're going
03:23to rock all over the place. So our bodies are very clever, they tend to protect us from falling over
03:28which is handy. So if that position at address is athletic, I can support a lovely coil up
03:36and a lovely uncoil. Therefore the kinematic sequence is working in the right order.
03:42If it's not in the right place to begin with my body, I've got no balance, it's not going to happen.
03:50So what if you've got a poorly back, if you've got immobility in the hips, there are some physical
03:54limitations that might be the reason you're not getting into this position and not getting the
03:59sequence correct on the downswing. If you're not in a decent position at setup, sometimes those
04:05physical limitations can cause you to not be able to hold that good posture for example. So bear that
04:11in mind that actually maybe a Pilates class or a bit of yoga might just help you to achieve a better
04:16impact position. So if you're not getting this downswing sequence correct, chances are there's
04:22faults in the setup and perhaps you're not winding that club up on the way back. So if you get those
04:29things right, the downswing is a reaction to that. Go and have a lesson, go and get your fundamentals
04:35checked and with that you'll start to see a much more tight movement all the way down through the
04:41ball and to that photo finish.