Golf Swing Downswing Slot

admin  4/10/2022
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This week’s video tip comes to you from a long drive champ and a former long drive world record holder Brad Peterson.

Michael Breed, host of 'The Golf Fix,' gets your arms and shoulders to show you how to start the downswing. Click HERE for more Golf Fix content. Download our instruction app from iTunes or Google. Swing your left arm across your chest on the backswing and keep it connected to your chest on the way down. Instructor Jim Hardy has tour players hit balls with a head cover under their left armpit to learn this feeling. If the head cover falls out during the downswing, then your arm is dropping freely rather than being pulled by your body. Second, you should always load your wrists in the backswing. Loading the wrists means that the club shaft is at about a 90 angle to your hands at the top of the swing. This loading action stores power to be released through impact. Third, a great golf backswing should set you up to have a proper swing path for the downswing. The downswing is the most crucial moment in the swing. An area Jack Nicklaus says causes golfers two incredibly common (and easy to solve) issues. Luke Donald plays so consistently because he gets into 'the slot' so often. Chances are that you've heard of 'the slot.' It's a position halfway into your downswing from where you can hit the ball.

How you take the golf club to the top of your backswing has a huge effect on your swing path and the power of your golf shots. That’s why this week’s video is so important.

Let’s start off with the basics. Each person will have a unique backswing that should feel comfortable, but all good golf backswings should have a few things in common.

First they should all rely primarily on the twisting motion of the torso to get the club back. This twisting of the torso stores power.

Second, you should always load your wrists in the backswing. Loading the wrists means that the club shaft is at about a 90 angle to your hands at the top of the swing. This loading action stores power to be released through impact.

Third, a great golf backswing should set you up to have a proper swing path for the downswing. This last point is the main focus of this video. A proper swing path creates consistency and accuracy. If you get the other two right you may be storing a lot of power, but when your swing path is off you won’t be able to translate that power into long straight golf shots.

To get your swing path off to a good start you need to pay attention to where your hands and club are at the top of your backswing.

As Brad explains in the video, when your hands are too far back your golf club swing path will be too flat. You’ll have trouble getting solid contact with the ball and your shots won’t be straight.

If your hands are too far forward (toward your head) you’ll also have trouble hitting consistent golf shots because your swing path will be too steep. This usually results in popped up shots, you know, the ones that leave a nasty mark on the top of your driver.

Golf Swing Downswing Straighten Right Arm

Learning these principles is easy, it’s feeling them and knowing where the happy medium is that’s the tough part. As Brad demonstrates in the video that happy medium is usually when your hands and the golf club are over the space between your head and your right shoulder.

A great way to visually check this in your own swing is to get in front of a full length mirror and go through the motions. Just remember to keep an eye on the ceiling fan.

Remember making a solid connection at impact is a lot easier when you start your downswing from the right spot.

To get your hands on Brad’s A-Z golf instructional program check out his 7 Steps to Smokin’ Hot Club Head Speed DVD Package.

Chances are that you've heard of 'the slot.' It's a position halfway into your downswing from where you can hit the ball on a slightly in-to-out path. You might think of it as the lower part of your swing plane, starting at the point when (if you're a right-handed player) that your right elbow drops down close to your right side.

Golf swing downswing sequence

Step 1

Address the ball normally. Everyone's setup is slightly different, but your feet should be about shoulder-width apart when using your driver and slightly narrower for the shorter clubs. Bend forward from your hips so your spine leans toward the ball and your knees are slightly flexed as if you were squatting to lift something. Let your arms hang down, with your triceps resting lightly against your chest and the club head behind the ball.

Step 2

Start your takeaway by turning your shoulders, keeping your arms relaxed without bending your elbows.

With your triceps resting lightly against your chest and your knees slightly flexed, you'll be able to turn your shoulders and carry your hands (and the club) to nearly waist high before your right elbow will need to bend. You'll have made most of your shoulder turn at this point.

Step 3

Bend your right elbow toward your right shoulder. This will simultaneously cock your wrists and allow you to finish your shoulder turn.

When you finish this part of your swing, your shoulders will have turned roughly 90 degrees from your address position, pointing the club shaft down the target line and parallel to the ground. A quick checkpoint: At the top of your backswing, your right shoulder will be visible underneath the upside-down V formed by your hands and forearms, and your right forearm will be parallel to your spine.

Your hips will be turned slightly to the right and your left knee pointing slightly behind the ball. You'll feel tension in your right knee as it resists your hip twist; this is what most golfers refer to as a 'weight shift.'

Step 4

Golf Swing Downswing Sequence

Drop into the slot by letting your knees return to their address position – both flexed – and let your arms drop slightly so your right elbow moves closer to your right side. Although this action causes a chain reaction. Your hips will start to unwind, your shoulders will start to uncoil, and your downswing will start. Dropping into the slot feels as if you are just exhaling so you can relax for an instant – but only an instant.

Step 5

Golf Swing Downswing Slot Machine

Hit the ball as hard as you want. The 'relaxing' started your hips unwinding and, as Ben Hogan wrote, 'After you have initiated the downswing with the hips, you want to think of only one thing: hitting the ball.' Once you're in the slot, it's hard to go wrong. All you need to do is straighten your right elbow, finish your downswing, and hammer the ball toward the target.