The contribution of the body to the golf swing has been over emphasized for years. The reason for this fact is that body positions were easy to point out in a golf magazine. Problem is, the over use of he body or excess body motion continues to be the killer of the golf swing for many a golfer, holding them back from their true potential.
The biggest killer by far is the starting of your downswing with your shoulders. The body has such a small territory to cover in the downswing while the arms have so far to travel that you must start your downswing with your arms or you will travel over the top on your downswing causing you to pull the ball and more importantly release the power angle created at the top of your backswing too early.
Another by product of starting your shoulders first on the downswing is swinging on too steep a plane during your approach to the golf ball. You can get away with swinging a little steep with a wedge up to a seven iron. Once you get in to the longer clubs you need to get the arms going first so the club shallows out on the approach.
The angle on a wedge would be about 65 degrees. On a driver the angle is 55 degrees. All clubs are swung on plane, being the shaft angle at address and every golf club has its own plane. The longer the golf club the flatter or more shallow the plane. To get the longer clubs to shallow out you need to start your arms earlier on the down swing.
You may feel a little flat or rounded on your swing with a driver but that’s a good thing. It is a lot easier to fall down to the plane rather than rise up to it. Taking the golf club back low and behind you might cause you to swing steep on the down swing because you need to turn your shoulders first to get the golf club out in front of you to get to the golf ball.
Pretend like you are facing 12 o’clock while at the address position. The n take your club to the top of the backswing. Pick your head up a look at the 2 o’clock position. Hold that position in your chest and head and start pumping the golf club down with your arms holding the body perfectly still. That’s the feeling you need to get the arms going first.
Another great drill is to put a stick in the ground about 3 feet high and one foot outside your back foot and even with the golf ball. Try to put the stick in the ground at the same angle as the shaft on your golf club. Take the golf club back outside the stick and bring it down to the ball inside the stick.