Lower Body Movement - Final Frontier

I have reached a conclusion that swing sequencing driven by lower body initiated downswing, or from the ground up, is my final frontier. I have added 40 yards to the driver when my lower body initiates the downswing. In fact just yesterday I hit a 285 yard drive when my "normal" distance three months ago was 220-230. I have not hit a 285 yard drive for 30 years! My primary focus is on lower body movement and timing. As a side note about the backswing, if someone wanted to they could literally pick a club up, set it in position at the top, check all the positions, then swing. Couples is a primary example of looking like he lifts the club and places it into position at the top. My point is downswing movement is where everything starts to go haywire for most folks because it's the "let go" part of the swing.

At the top, my club head/shaft position, right elbow, etc, must be in a position to work with, or be in sequence with my lower body initiation. The movement of the lower body and lead leg "post up", when done correctly, creates a "whip action". The snap or "crack of the whip" occurs when my lead hip moves left & up, meaning my lead hip moves up due to lead leg extension. This accelerates the club head at a much higher rate of speed right at the ball. I'm not "snapping" or "jolting" my lower body to start the downswing. It's more of a smooth first movement that is initiated just prior to the club reaching the top which creates a sense of fluidity, kinda like how one's arm and wrist might feel right before snapping a towel.

After my brain finally decided to let my lower body initiate the downswing (this was quite a battle), the ensuing timing of the lead hip movement relative to the club head position, and the timing of the "post up", or extension of the lead leg is the hardest part. However, it's also very exciting because when done right, the feel, sound, and look of my shots are vastly improved. My swing looks relaxed, effortless, and my belt buckle ends up being the closest point of my body to the target upon completing my swing. A few guys yesterday said "it's amazing how far you hit the ball because it doesn't even look like you're swinging hard at all!!!" I'm not swinging hard, I'm simply creating a whip action for which my lower body creates the foundation to "crack of the whip". Many LPGA players are prime examples of employing swings that appear like they're not swinging hard. Nellie Korda is a prime example. Lexi creates a whip action that practically sends her jumping off the ground when hitting a driver. Fred Couples swing looks lazy, almost like he's not exerting much of any energy.

One major point regarding lower body movement is having a connected shoulder driven swing. A lower body initiated swing cannot be properly executed using an arm swing because arm swings are by default disconnected swings. What I mean by being "connected" is the club handle must be moving relative to my lower body movement, thus the position of the club handle needs to be at a certain position right before the lead leg extends, or posts up. This is, for me, is entirely a feel move because it happens too quickly. However, the strike of the ball tells me what I did right or wrong. Did I hit behind the ball or thin the ball? I could have posted up too early, and/or the hands lagged behind (disconnected), or my trail elbow blocked the movement.

From the top, if for whatever reason the club handle "lags" behind and has to catch up to the lower body movement, the sequence fails because the lead leg already posted vs. the lagging hands. I forget where I saw the video but a study was done of tour pro's hand speed during the downswing. Their hands are moving down much faster than amateur hands. The reason is the pro's initiate their lead hip movement earlier than amateurs, often as the club is still reaching the top of their backswing. Therefore, because they have connected swings, their hands likewise move down faster. I now understand why pro's hit lousy shots. It's because their sequencing is miss-timed because it's very hard to time every single swing. See Tom's backswing videos because he clearly shows the connected move on the takeaway which is massively important to achieve the above. This is an absolute MUST.

Another key attribute is the right elbow. Tom's magic elbow video shows the movement, and this is vital to ensure the club can move relative to the hip movement on the downswing. Otherwise, the right elbow can get into a position whereby it gets blocked by the torso on the downswing. Keep in mind everything is happening very quickly so if there's even the slightest "blockage" the timing of the swing is lost. Thus my setup checklist is ball position (from toes and where in the grid), line, then right elbow.

I think lower body separation is the the hardest part to learn in the golf swing because far too many players want to swing with their upper body and arms and thus they chase all kinds of fixes because the real fix is swinging from the ground up, not top down.

As for some good news, the driver is the easiest club to start learning how to initiate the downswing with the lower body because it's a long club, there's more time if you will to feel the movement. Even my chips and pitches have improved because I now initiate those shots with a very slight hip bump that gets the club moving on a much better path.

So now I think "ok hips, let's get that club moving down to the ball and crack the whip". I used to think "ok hands and arms, let's get the club moving down to hit ball". Two completely different approaches.