The golf downswing is absolutely and without a doubt THE most important movement in golf. It doesn’t matter what comes before it. If the downswing isn’t right, it doesn’t matter how good your grip is or how perfect your alignment is or how flawless your backswing is. If your downswing is wrong, everything else is wasted. Everything we do before starting the downswing – the grip, the stance, the alignment, the withdrawal, the backswing – is a preparation that allows us to make the golf swing as perfect as possible.

The most common mistake golfers make is to initiate the downward swing with their arms or shoulders. What this usually creates is “outside in” movement, causing us to swing across the intended target line. To compensate for this, we have to open up the clubface to allow the ball to return to the target, which creates side spin that creates that destructive slice. If, like me, your natural swing is a fade/slice, you know how difficult things can be when playing into a headwind or left to right. The other problem this can cause is if we DON’T open the clubface to compensate. Result. A jerk shot to the left.

The downswing should be the very natural result of everything that preceded it. You must start from scratch. This sounds a bit complicated but it simply means that the first movement of the downswing must be done by the lower body. Coaches and swing gurus argue about this movement and which part of the body moves first. It is vital that we do not have too many technical thoughts in our heads at this point in the swing. We should have only one trigger thought and only one.

Golf Tip #1 A great trigger move is to move your right knee toward your left knee and plant your left heel on the ground. Planting that left heel starts the process of moving the hips forward.

Golf Tip #2 Allow your body to unwind naturally in response to this trigger movement. Let your legs do the work. If your lower body is moving and turning, your upper body should be too. Let it happen with as little conscious participation as possible on your part.

Golf Tip #3 It is imperative that you make sure that your shoulders, arms and hands follow exactly the same path as you did with your backswing. If you can master this part of the lowering then you will eliminate that “outside in” swing.

Golf Tip #4 Practice this off-the-ball shooting motion. Practice that feeling of moving your right knee and planting your left foot on the ground. Rehearse how it feels to have the same path for your backswing and your downswing. Repeat it until it becomes natural, until you don’t have to think about it.

Golf Tip #5 Probably the best tip you’ll ever get is to swing inside yourself. Feel that your swing is around 85% for all your shots. This will give you time to swing and will greatly improve timing. The result is longer, more accurate shots.

Be relaxed at all times. None of us can perform any physical task while tense. Let the swing flow. Try to have only a few specific swing thoughts. It’s also possible that the thoughts bouncing around in your head at any time will only make things more difficult. Master this aspect of the swing and then we can work on improving other aspects of the golf swing at a later stage.

Keep in mind that there is much more to the perfect golf swing than just the downswing, but mastering the perfect golf downswing will greatly improve your game and your chances of getting that handicap dropping down.