What Starts the Golf Downswing?

You’ve navigated the takeaway and coiled up at the top of your backswing, full of potential energy. But what happens next? This is the moment of truth in the golf swing, the transition that separates fluid, powerful ball-strikers from players who struggle with contact and consistency. This brief half-second determines whether your club will slice across the ball or drop perfectly into the slot to deliver a pure strike. In this guide, we’ll break down exactly what kick-starts a great golf downswing, leaving the confusing jargon behind and focusing on a simple, repeatable sequence that you can feel and trust.

The Great Misconception: Don't Start With Your Hands and Arms

Before we learn what to do, we have to unlearn the most common instinct. When you stand over the ball, your brain's primary message is, "Hit that little white thing." Our most direct tools for hitting things are our hands and arms. It feels completely natural, then, to start the downswing by throwing the club at the ball with your upper body. Unfortunately, in golf, this is the one move that almost guarantees a poor outcome.

When your hands, arms, or shoulders are the first things to move from the top, you create a classic - and dreaded - "over-the-top" swing. Picture the clubhead at the top of your backswing. If your arms fire first, they throw the club "over" the ideal swing plane, causing it to stray away from your body. From here, the club attacks the ball on a steep, out-to-in path. What does that cause?

• Slices: The out-to-in path puts sidespin on the ball, causing it to curve weakly to the right (for a right-handed golfer).
• Pulls: If you manage to square the clubface despite the steep path, the ball starts left of your target and stays there.
• A Massive Power Leak: All the speed you could have generated by unwinding your body is wasted before it even reaches the ball. The swing becomes a weak, arms-only chop instead of a powerful, rotational unwinding.

Think about throwing a baseball. You don’t just stand flat-footed and launch it with your arm. You step, rotate from the ground, and lead with your hips before your arm releases the ball. If you start your downswing with your arms only, you’re missing out on potential power. Start swinging like you're throwing a fastball, using your whole body, not just your arms.

The Real Initiator: Starting From the Ground Up

So, if not the arms, what starts the movement? The answer lies below your waist. A powerful and "in-slot" downswing is a chain reaction that begins with your lower body. Think of it less as a "hit" and more as an "unwinding" that starts from the ground up. This small, subtle sequence of moves is what allows the best players in the world to look so effortless while generating so much speed.

The entire motion can be broken down into two distinct but connected feelings: a slight lateral shift followed by a rotational unwinding.

Step 1: The Weight Shift (The Lateral Move)

At the very top of your backswing, as you complete your turn, the first move down is not rotational. It's a small, lateral shift of pressure toward the target. You've loaded into your trail leg on the way back, and now it's time to transfer that pressure to your lead side.

This isn't a big, dramatic lunge. It’s a subtle but distinct feeling. Your lead hip might feel like it "bumps" an inch or two towards the target. You'll feel pressure move from the inside of your trail foot towards your lead foot. Many great players describe feeling this pressure move toward their lead heel as the downswing begins. This move is fundamentally important because it ensures that your strike will bottom out in the right place (hitting the ball first, then the ground) and it creates the necessary space for your arms and club to drop down into the "slot."

Step 2: The Hip Unwinding (The Rotational Move)

As soon as that slight lateral shift happens, the rotation begins. Having shifted forward, your hips can now start to forcefully clear and turn open to the target. Your belt buckle, which was pointing away from the target at the top of the swing, now wants to race to point at the target by the time you make impact. This is your engine. This is where your power comes from.

It’s this "shift then turn" sequence that sets everything else in motion. The upper body simply responds to what the lower body initiated, protecting you from that fatal over-the-top move.

Putting It All Together: The Downswing Sequence

Visualizing the proper chain of events can simplify things on the course. At the top of your backswing, your swing thought shouldn’t be "smash it." Instead, it should be about starting the sequence correctly. Here’s the order of operations for a great downswing:

1. The Hips Initiate: The first thought is lower body. A slight "bump" of the lead hip toward the target, shifting your weight and getting the club started on its downward path.
2. The Torso Follows: As the hips begin to clear, the torso and shoulders respond, starting to unwind. The very important feeling here is that of your back staying to the target a little longer while the hips lead the way. It’s this separation between your lower and upper body that creates what is known as "lag."
3. The Arms Drop Passively: This is the most beautiful part of a great golf swing–you don't have to actively pull the club down. Your body has created the space for the club to drop naturally.
4. The Release Happens Naturally: Once the arms have dropped into this powerful position, your natural rotation through the ball will allow the club to release its power through impact with maximum speed, right where it counts.

Drills to Groove the Correct Feeling

Knowing what should happen and feeling it happen are two different things. Drills are the best way to bridge that gap. Here are three simple exercises to help you ingrain the ground-up sequence.

1. The Pump Drill

This is a classic for a reason. Take your normal address and make a full backswing. From the top, don't hit the ball. Instead, "pump" the start of the downswing by bumping your lead hip and letting your arms drop about halfway down. Then go back to the top. Do this three times: "Pump one... back up. Pump two... back up. Pump three... back up." On the fourth pump, go ahead and swing all the way through to a full, balanced finish. This drill ingrains the feeling of the lower body starting the action before you add speed.

2. The Step-Through Drill

This drill is amazing for feeling how power transfers from your feet. Set up to the ball, but with your feet together. As you start your backswing, take a small step back with your trail foot. Then, to begin your downswing, take a decisive step toward the target with your lead foot, planting it firmly. As that foot lands, let your hips and body unwind naturally through the ball. It's almost impossible to start with your arms when using this drill, your step forward forces your lower body to be the initiator.

3. The Separator Drill (No Club Needed)

To feel the power source in your core, drop the club. Get into your golf posture and cross your arms over your chest, grabbing your shoulders. Make a nice, full backswing turn. Now, from the top, try to turn your belt buckle to face the "target" while keeping your back and shoulders pointed away for as long as possible. You should feel a significant stretch across your torso. This is the separation between your upper and lower body - the real engine of a powerful golf swing.

Final Thoughts

The downswing may be the fastest part of the swing, but its beginning is rooted in a patient, powerful sequence. Resisting the urge to throw the club from the top will allow you to harness your body's potential energy. By initiating your swing from the ground up, you'll find more power and consistency. Actually seeing if your hips are firing before your shoulders can be tough to diagnose on your own. This is where I find modern tools like Caddie AI can really help. With swing analysis right on your phone, you remove the guesswork. You can get instant feedback on your movements and even ask specific questions about sequencing or search for drills when you’re practicing, helping you groove the right feelings instead of reinforcing old habits.