Understanding and Teaching
Jack Nicklaus said in his book , “As many readers know only too well, the transition from backswing to forward swing is the most critical, and difficult, phase of the golf swing. The slightest false move here can destroy all the good work that’s gone on before.” How very true.
Yet, for some reason, golf instructional magazines almost never talk about transition. And, if you go to the lesson tee at any typical course or driving range, you will seldom hear the teacher talking to his or her students about it. Nicklaus was right when he said it was the most difficult phase of the golf swing, but is it really difficult to teach?
A better question might be, is it really difficult to learn? With many students, the answer is yes. It takes a certain amount of coordination to make a proper transition move. It also helps if the student started the game as a kid, because kids naturally seem to make good transition moves. This is probably due to the fact that the club is relatively heavy to them, so they automatically use their lower bodies to start the downswing. People who start the game as adults generally find the club to be light, so they tend to power the club forward, mainly with their upper bodies.
When is it appropriate to teach transition? It won’t do much good to teach it if the student has a poor setup and/or a poor backswing. We have to make certain that the student is set up properly and has a good backswing and top-of-the-backswing position before we introduce transition instruction.
Some of you are certainly saying by now, “But the top-of-the-backswing position is a position within the transition motion!” You are correct. But, for teaching purposes, we find that if you consider the backswing and movement into the top-of-the-backswing position to be before the transition, this works best.
What constitutes a proper transition? All sorts of ideas have been touted, such as moving the hips laterally and then rotationally; pushing off the back foot; moving the forward knee; moving both legs at the same time; etc. While these feelings may be valid for certain individual golfers, an examination of the science of the transition reveals some interesting information.
The lower body does indeed start the downswing, and the primary muscles used on the right side are the gluteus maximus (buttocks) and biceps femoris (back of thigh), and on the left side the vastus lateralis (outer thigh) and adductor magnus (inner thigh) (from ). In other words, the muscles around the hips and in the thighs are primarily used.
The hip movement is both rotational and lateral. Too much hip rotation leads to coming over the top, and too much lateral hip movement leads to swinging down too much from the inside. A proper blend of both is necessary for a good transition.
Drills can be effectively used to teach transition. Here are some that various USGTF professionals have found success with:
Step Drill
Have the student address the ball normally, then place the forward foot against the back foot. Start the swing. As the club is nearing the top, the student then steps forward (towards the target) with the forward foot. This is a good drill to feel when transition actually occurs. It is also difficult for the upper body to get too aggressive with this drill.
Shaft Bump Drill
This is a drill used by many instructors. Place a shaft vertically into the ground just outside the forward foot. The student needs to then bump the shaft with their forward hip or thigh to start the downswing.
Stop Swing Drill
The student swings through impact and stops the club post-impact in the 3 o’clock position (clubhead pointing to target). If the student does the drill properly, he or she should feel the hips being “whipped” quickly, through the impact position.
Foot Back Drill
This drill is good for too much lateral hip movement through impact. Have the student take a normal setup position, and then move the back foot perpendicularly away from the target line about 8 to 10 inches. This encourages more rotation and less lateral movement through impact.
Quiet Hands Drill
Bobby Jones said about transition, “It’s the leisurely start down, which accounts for the gradual build-up of speed, without disturbing the balance or timing of the swing.” Since too many students rush down from the top prematurely with the hands and arms, have them consciously pause at the top with their hands for a count. While this shouldn’t be done for an actual swing, it’s a good drill to learn to quiet the arms and hands from the top.
Feet Together Drill
This comes from the legendary teacher John Jacobs. Have the student hit shots with their feet together. A student who swings too aggressively with the upper body will lose balance.
The quality of the transition move may be the highest correlating factor to skill level among golfers. Being proficient at teaching this phase of the swing will surely bring the games of your students to new highs.
