Instruction
Three thoughts to start your downswing
Ah yes, the transition. It’s one of the most troublesome movements in the golf swing for everyone from beginners to professionals.
“What’s the best way to begin my downswing?” golfers ask me on the lesson tee.
As I try to answer that question, I will break down the transitional feels into three areas for you to improve. These are not the only feels, obviously, they are just the most common. I have seen great players use each of these three feels, so if you’re struggling try one of more of these on and see if they suit your game.
- Bump the hips
- Move the right shoulder back and down
- Shallow the shaft
These feelings are described on my YouTube Channel on a Playlist Called “Transitional Feels” that can be found on my website www.tomstickneygolf.com
Bump the hips
Every golfer in the world has heard the old adage, “Start the downswing from the ground up,” but what does this mean exactly?
Basically, as the club moves into its last few milliseconds of the backswing, the hips begin to move weight back into the front foot, and your body leverages the ground as it completes the downswing into and through the ball.
The player’s club above is just about at the top of his backswing. In the next frame below, you will see that the hips will cross the vertical line I drew on his left hip before his club shaft passes the line I drew on the way back. This shows that the hips bumped forward first and the shoulders, arms and club followed, allowing his path to be from the inside at 1.5 degrees from in-to-out.
His shaft is in nearly the same position it was before at the top, but look at how far the hips have bumped forward! When he does this, you will see that this player’s weight is moving from his right side into the ball of his left foot. This diagonal hip motion, or bump into right field, allows the right shoulder to drop downward during the transition setting up the proper delivery into the ball.
So to recap the hip bump:
- The hips bump into right field.
- The weight moves into the ball of the left foot.
- The right shoulder drops rearward to begin the downswing.
- The club follows into the delivery position (clubhead shown by green circle).
- The path is from in-to-out (shown by the blue line).
Move the right shoulder back and down
Another popular transitional motion is one where the player feels that he is keeping his back to the target longer in the downswing, holding the right shoulder back to start the downswing, and/or allowing the right shoulder to fall downward to begin the transition. The upper body dominates the feeling of this type of transition, which is led by the motion of the right shoulder.
This is exactly the opposite of a transition that involves throwing the right shoulder outward, a common mistake that moves the path leftward — or “over the top.”
Here you can see the right shoulder moving outward as shown by the yellow arrow, and the path (the blue line) is moving from out-to-in at -11.9 degrees.
So what’s the secret move for this type of upper body dominated golfer? What “feel” will get them to stop throwing the right shoulder out and over?
It must be a downward-and-holding-back movement of the right shoulder for a golfer whose feel comes mostly from the upper body during the transition.
In the frame above, you’ll now see that in the delivery phase of this downswing, the shoulders are still pointing into right field and the right shoulder has dropped more downward, rather than outward. Thus, this path is 5.9 degrees from in-to-out as shown by the blue line. When this occurs, the player will tell me that they felt like the shoulders were closed to the target line for a longer time in the downswing, or pointing into right field longer than normal. This would be the correct feeling for a right-shoulder transitional player.
Shallow the shaft
Nick Faldo and Nick Price made this transition popular. When you looked at their swings from a down-the-line view, you would see a noticeable shallowing of the club shaft into the downswing.
When the shaft flattens, or shallows, in the downswing, the shoulders don’t rotate forward quite as quickly, allowing the arms and club shaft to fall to the inside as shown above.
The yellow arrow drawn down the club shaft in the second photo above shows that the club has flattened so that the butt of the club points just outside the ball. If the shaft gets steeper into the delivery position, the shaft will point inside of the golf ball, which forces the path leftward.
The key to using the shaft-flattening technique is to make sure you have a slower transition from the top. If you jerk it down, then you will throw your right shoulder forward and your path will shift leftward.
I hope by now you have identified the type of transitional feel you have and can use these thoughts to improve your transitional move.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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Yuni Triasih
Oct 5, 2017 at 12:43 am
i am always following this website to get perfect idea about golfing knowledge. thanks a lot for this necessary knowledge
NuckandCup
Mar 11, 2015 at 9:12 am
The entire golf swing takes 1.5 seconds on average….and you have 3 thoughts on the downswing?
One swing thought per swing……Free. Your. Mind.
Barry S.
Feb 24, 2015 at 7:19 pm
Good article! If you are using natural forces similar to twirling a rock on a string the hip slide puts the COG ahead of the SCC (swing circle center) setting up a holding force that resists the pulling force of the club head.
Tanner
Feb 21, 2015 at 7:36 am
Tom,
Thanks, for sharing and trying to clarify of the mysteries of the golf swing.
Can one of these move save a bad backswing or if you have a bad badswing you are doomed?
Tanner
Aiden
Feb 18, 2015 at 4:06 pm
Great article Tom, quick question… Will feeling the shoulder going back and down cause the shallowing of the shaft anyway or is it just a swing thought that works for some players and others have to think about a different swing thought to make it work for them.
Enjoying reading your articles. Keep it up!
tom stickney
Feb 17, 2015 at 6:01 pm
Steve– try hitting balls off an uphill sidehill lie (ball above your feet) this might help your arms shallow out a touch
Steve
Feb 17, 2015 at 6:37 pm
Thanks Tom ill give it a try.
tom stickney
Feb 17, 2015 at 6:00 pm
Philip– love it
tom stickney
Feb 17, 2015 at 6:00 pm
Gub– go troll somewhere else
tom stickney
Feb 17, 2015 at 5:59 pm
Alvin– Sounds like you are spinning out a touch early in the downswing. Make sure when you bump you stay on your left side. Thanks!
Alvin
Feb 17, 2015 at 8:03 pm
Thanks! I’ll make note of that tip the next time out.
Gubment Cheez
Feb 17, 2015 at 1:29 pm
Don’t post anything about the swing or ask a question unless you can shoot mid 80s some of the time. Trust me, you got bigger problems than the start of your downswing
Alvin
Feb 17, 2015 at 3:38 pm
Notwithstanding your narrow-sighted and condescending recommendation, the writer is welcome to answer or not answer as he pleases.
Alvin
Feb 17, 2015 at 12:44 pm
Thanks for the article! I’ve been struggling recently with being inconsistent in my swing, often coming over the top. I’ve been coached and have read about how I should feel, but it’s been difficult for me to put into motion. However, having Feel #2 as a conscious thought in my mind before every swing significantly increased my consistent during my last practice session. Moreover, where I tend to overdraw with my irons, I tend to slice with my driver (presumably due to the exaggerated motion of a driver swing). But applying that thought resulted in a drastic improvement in consistency and distance. Only time will tell if I can maintain the consistency. My main issue with Feel #2 is that when I’m driving, I tend to hit off my back foot or slightly lose my balance backwards through impact. I played around with widening my stance but came to the same results. I’m wondering if this is just a deficiency in my hip/core strength, where I’m unable to physically shift my weight forward when I’m dropping my shoulder back. Any suggestions on other things to try?
Thanks!
Philip
Feb 17, 2015 at 12:10 pm
Nothing ever worked for me until I learned to apply the motion of walking and turning to the swing – which is similar to what we are trying to do. We are turning towards the target. If you place a your right foot forward and then turn counter-clockwise to the left you realize you turn by turning your right foot clockwise (equal and opposite actions). I apply that same turning of my right foot (I play right-handed) to trigger the downswing and let my body handle the rest.
My grip controls the rest from setup, swing plane to follow-through. I don’t think I can get it any simpler. If my grip feels correct and I feel my swing trigger – all falls into place.
Steve
Feb 17, 2015 at 11:54 am
Hi Tom, interesting article, I am really struggling to get enough arm swing in the downswing, on video my right arm stays locked to my chin for way too long. The obvious swing thought is to let my arms to drop, but I am really struggling to do this when it counts. Any thoughts on other transition thoughts I could use.
tom stickney
Feb 17, 2015 at 11:43 am
SR- I would say that most students describe a feeling of the center of gravity moving from their rear foot into the front portion of the left foot…this helps to allow the rear shoulder to drop downward during the transition
tom stickney
Feb 17, 2015 at 11:41 am
Simon- the range is the only place for mechanical thoughts. It’s there that you will produce a feel that you will then take with you to the course
simon
Feb 18, 2015 at 2:35 am
so how many balls do you think I need to hit to bring this ‘feel’ to the course?
VIjay SIngh once said 1000 to know it 5000 to own it.
How does the average hack do this? Well he/she cant thats why most cant take it to the course.
1 thought to begin the downswing is more practical.
tom stickney
Feb 17, 2015 at 11:39 am
SD- I would suggest slow motion swings until you have some “feel” and work your way back up to full speed
SteelyDan
Feb 17, 2015 at 12:05 pm
Thanks! Funny I never tried that before. I did try to pause on top, but the problem appeared again afterwards.
SteelyDan
Feb 17, 2015 at 5:43 am
Hi Tom, once again, great article! I personally have the problem that I can’t feel the club in the transition at all. Everything looks fine on top in the practice swing, but when the ball sits down there, my left wrist will bow on top, shutting the clubface and the club will cross the line. I think all this actually happens while I’m already busy with the transition/downswing, so I am kind of “losing it” up there. Any idea how to control the club better on top? Thanks, SD
simon
Feb 17, 2015 at 1:27 am
Too many thoughts for a split second
paralysis by analysis
good luck with that
Tom Stickney
Feb 17, 2015 at 12:56 am
Billy– sounds like you could be too deep from the inside when you bump. Try one of the other ways.
Billy
Feb 17, 2015 at 12:07 am
Tom, I tried the “Bump the hips” technique. I shank it when I try it since it’s new to me. I also still cast it, I still have same yardage’s on the simulator? Is it more of a right wrist issue for a RH player?
Tom Stickney
Feb 16, 2015 at 8:18 pm
M– it should happen naturally if your pivot is correct for sure.
tom stickney
Feb 16, 2015 at 5:54 pm
Alan– Great thought as well
tom stickney
Feb 16, 2015 at 5:53 pm
G– Hard for me to tell people what they will “feel” as we’re all different…that’s why I gave you three options to test
gerald
Feb 16, 2015 at 5:45 pm
Describing a physical action has been done many times by many authors.The reason this action is still evasive to many is, it is a ‘feel’, that people describe as a physical action and is never described as a feel. i.e. It ‘feels’ like you are skipping a stone with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand in a backhanded motion. Bumping the hips, dropping the right shoulder, shallowing the plane, relate to physical actions that have no reference to previous activity. Hard to develop “feels’.
alan
Feb 16, 2015 at 3:55 pm
nice article. im sure i do some variation something mentioned but ive found what works pretty well for me is to keep my back to the target longer. i used to use my core to turn the club and would outrace my club and flip at at. now the club is more more in front of my body.
SRSLY
Feb 17, 2015 at 6:43 am
I agree. Tom, would you be willing to quickly describe physically what is happening in the first two ‘feels’? The third feel is more of a by product of the physical action.
tom stickney
Feb 16, 2015 at 3:00 pm
T– Whatever thought works best for you is always better in my opinion! 🙂
Trevor
Feb 16, 2015 at 2:12 pm
Hi Tom,
I have always been a major offender when it comes to over the top move. Recently one thing that i have done that has helped is to make sure my at the top of the swing my left shoulder is lower than my right shoulder, then my thought process is to bring the right shoulder down to revert the process. This has helped in avoiding having the right shoulder move straight to the target (and the resulting pulling of the ball into the woods). Do this sound reasonable?