The backswing and the downswing phases of the golf swing have dramatically different needs and considerations.
Confusion and frustration often present themselves when a player tries to simply mirror the various swing requirements in both directions. Having a solid understanding of what is required, and when, is an important step toward increasing your physical progress and decreasing your mental frustration.
What are some of the key things to remember in each phase of the swing?
Let’s start by establishing the fact that both the backswing and downswing are simply rotational movements of the body (shoulders/hips) using your spine as an axis. This is sort of where the similarities begin and end.
Although both hips and shoulders rotate in each phase, they do so with different requirements. Things like the amount of rotation, timing of the rotation and the effects of the rotation are important for every player to understand.
Start by considering the order in which the rotations happen.
When swinging the club back, the shoulders rotate first, with the hips rotating second. This creates what we call coiling or loading up of the muscles.
Inversely, when swinging the club down, things happen in the opposite order. The downswing sequence begins with the lower body (hips) moving first and the shoulders delaying their rotation and coming through second… essentially creating a whipping action through impact.
Not only do the two phases rotate the shoulders and hips in a different sequence, at times, they will see different amounts of rotation as well.
When coiling up, the shoulders will turn roughly twice as much as the hips as the club is taken back. The downswing sequence will see similar amounts of rotation above and below the belt as a player rotates through all the way to a full finish position.
Is there any lateral movement in the motion, or is it simply a rotary movement?
On the backswing, the shoulders and hips only turn. This rotation will see a player’s weight shift slightly, so it favours the back leg (right for a left-handed player) during the loading phase. Because the body only turns, the weight shift is very subtle and smooth.
The downswing however, is far more aggressive and will ultimately see the player finish with all their weight on their front leg. In order for this full weight shift to take place, the hips not only rotate and open up to the target, they also must shift laterally toward the target at the same time. The amount of weight shift on the second phase is much larger, more aggressive and extreme.
Now that you understand the basic requirements of the two phases, be sure to spend some time on the range assessing your movement patterns and correcting any deficiencies along the way.
Trevor Moore is a PGA of Canada professional and a TPI Certified Golf Fitness Instructor with the Titleist Performance Institute. Based in Medicine Hat, he runs his Advantage Golf Academy out of Cottonwood Coulee Golf Course and coaches the Medicine Hat College Rattlers golf teams. For comments or questions, you can contact him via his website trevormoore.ca or follow him on Twitter @trevormooreinc.
