Off-Season Golf Fitness Drill For Better Ball Striking

If you observe the professionals on the PGA Tour you will notice a ton of different swing styles. The golf swing is extremely intricate and so is the human body. It is possible that what works for one golfer may not be appropriate for the next golfer merely because of the way their body is shaped or moves. However, the best golfers around all have very similar sequencing and energy transfer in their swing, regardless of style. This sequencing of the golf swing is called the kinematic sequence.

Most great ball strikers share the same kinematic sequence. They generate energy and speed from their lower body and transfer that energy “up the chain” all the way through to the club head. The proper and most efficient sequence to generate energy into your downswing is initiation from the hips or lower body, followed by the torso, then the arms, and finally the club head. It is so common for amateur golfers to begin the initiation of energy with the upper body. More often than not, this leads to very inconsistent ball striking.

I’ll admit, rotating the hips into the downswing before the upper body, to most, does not feel natural and is counter-intuitive to the way most amateur golfers are accustomed to swinging. Luckily the winter time is a great time to work on the way you sequence your swing because you’re indoors and not seeing the hardships (in terms of ball flight, distance, etc.) of making an adjustment to your swing.  When adjustments are made during the golf season most will initially see their swing suffer until they become adjusted and coordinated to those changes. This makes in more likely that they will return to bad swing habits in order to maintain their scores. That’s why the offseason is a great time to implement some new technique to your swing.

Try out the impact position hip swivel drill. This requires minimal space and minimal equipment which makes it an ideal golf drill to improve your kinematic sequence during the winter. Take advantage of the off-season and start strong in the spring!

If you have any questions about the impact position drill or anything related to the kinematic sequence please contact me, Jason Rivkin, directly at [email protected].