Strengthen Your Golf Down Swing For More Explosive Shots

The importance of the proper golf down swing is often overlooked and underestimated. Most of us spend our practice time focusing on our alignment, takeaway, tempo and follow-through. All of these golf swing areas are crucial, but the down swing is equally important – and often forgotten about on the range.

When you read this, it will sound absolutely obvious: the power in your golf shots comes from the golf down swing. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

But the next time you really try and crush a drive, pay attention to your swing. Are you swinging hard on your golf down swing? Probably not! More than likely you’ll find that you’re trying to find power by gripping the club harder, taking a faster or farther backswing, widening your stance or just clenching your teeth (or clenching something else…)!

To start with, let’s spend a couple minutes covering what the golf down swing is all about.

For right handed golfers, the primary muscles used in the golf swing are the left tricep, both forearms and wrists, the hips, and the right leg (quadriceps and calf, primarily). The shoulders and back don’t play as vital of a role as they do in the backswing.

An important point to note – you should never try and fix a fault in your backswing by compensating for that fault in your down swing. Fix the backswing first and then the downswing will come naturally.

For example, let’s say a golfer has a really flat swing. To hit the ball, the golfer will compensate for their flat swing by introducing a hitch at the very top of the down swing. This hitch will appear as an “over-the-top” type of down swing.

The success of your golf down swing is determined by your backswing. If you have an improper backswing, your down swing and follow-through will never live up to their potential.

With a proper backswing in the bag, now let’s focus on the down swing mechanics.

The fundamental goal of the golf down swing is that when the clubface strikes the ball, it is in the exact same alignment as it was when you lined up to the target.

To really get the golf down swing right, you need to focus on four key areas. For purposes of this article, again, we’ll assume a right handed golfer.

Throughout the down swing, pull the club through with the left arm
Completely rotate the hips – clear the hips out of the way
Keep your head down and behind the ball
Aggressively rotate your wrists through the shot

Pulling With Your Left Arm

If you're a right handed golfer, you may assume that most of your power comes from your right arm. It's actually the opposite - the left arm pulls the club through the golf down swing. This pulling action generates the swing speed that helps you hit that crushing drive.

At the beginning of your down swing, you should feel tension in your left tricep. The tricep is the muscle on the back of your upper arm. Quite simply put, when you feel this tension, you're properly pulling the club through.

To help you get the hang of this, simply try completing your swing with only your left arm. Take the club back with both arms - at the top of the swing, take your right hand off the club. Practice finishing strong with only your left arm.

Completely Rotate The Hips

Your hips are a key pivot point in your golf swing. They rotate backwards during your backswing. They must then rotate forwards during your golf down swing.

A common problem that golfers face is that they don't rotate their hips quickly enough during the down swing. The timing of the rotation is off. When the hips don't rotate, or clear, quickly enough, golf shot problems are bound to happen.

Believe it or not, a proper hip turn creates a tremendous amount of power. Once you master the hip turn, you'll be amazed at how much farther you hit the ball. Your golf shot trajectory will also improve.

The best way to improve the hip turn timing is to feel a pulling sensation in your left hip at the same time you feel the pulling sensation in your left arm. Pull together - rotate together. Slide your hips through the shot and always end up facing the target.

Keep Your Head Down And Behind

We've all been there - we look up too early in our golf swing. This causes a host of issues: topped shots, weak fades, or even whiffs!

In your golf down swing, it's crucial that you keep your head down and behind the ball. Keeping your head still allows your body to complete a proper turn in the down swing. If the head moves forward when you're hitting the ball, your swing axis changes.

When your swing axis changes during your golf down swing, the body is forced to compensate. This compensation slows down your swing as the body tries to get back into the proper position.

Practice keeping your head down. You should raise your head only when you feel your right shoulder touching your chin.

Aggressively Rotate Your Wrists

One final note to help you complete a powerful golf down swing. Just prior to hitting the ball, you should feel your right wrist rolling over your left wrist. This is called the wrist turn.

While your wrists will gradually start to rotate about halfway through your down swing, you should sense a snapping action right before you hit the ball. This snapping sensation is felt when the right hand completely turns over the left hand.

Grab a screwdriver (real or imaginary) and loosen a screw (turn the screwdriver to the left). This wrist motion will be almost identical to the proper wrist turn in your down swing.

Rotating your wrists largely happens automatically. However, if you're lacking power in your shots, pay attention to your wrist action. You may want to consciously snap your wrists at the point of impact to gain a few yards.

Learn more about your golf swing like these golf down swing tips here.