The Downswing Sequence: Golf technique, drills and fixes

The downswing is the move from the top to impact, and it is over in about a quarter of a second. Lab studies of skilled golfers find a consistent order: the pelvis reaches its top rotation speed first, then the torso, then the arms, then the club, each one faster than the last. Starting down with an upper-body throw from the top instead is the classic cause of an over-the-top, out-to-in swing, which TPI calls perhaps the most common fault among high-handicap golfers.

Start from the ground

Let your lower body start down while your upper body is still finishing the backswing. The pelvis turning toward the target a moment before the shoulders stops turning back is what stretches your coil a little more. TPI measures this extra stretch at about 5 degrees on average for Tour players and found it larger in skilled golfers than less skilled ones.

a slight stretch across your midsection as the hips change direction first.

Make the first move a small shift of pressure into your lead side, not a spin. GOLFTEC data shows pros' and low handicappers' hips moving about 1.5 inches toward the target by impact, while 30-handicappers' hips end up slightly away from it. TPI's Greg Phillips puts it simply: golfers who come over the top tend to twist first; they need "a little bit of lateral" before the rotation.

your weight settling into your lead foot before you turn hard.

Unwind in order

Unwind from the inside out: pelvis, then torso, then arms, then club. In elite amateurs hitting drivers, the pelvis hit its top speed roughly a tenth of a second before impact and the hands peaked right at impact, with each segment spinning faster than the one before. The same order showed up in professionals and elite amateurs, men and women, on wedges, irons and drivers.

a whip: the big parts lead, the club arrives last and fastest.

Let your arms drop down as the lower body starts, rather than throwing them out toward the ball. An upper-body throw from the top sends the club outside the plane and across the ball. Sergio Garcia's feel for this is pulling down on a bell rope first, then turning.

pulling down first, then turning.

Keep your chest from spinning open early, and don't let your hips race off on their own either. Leading with the lower body doesn't mean turning your hips as hard as you can. In one study's worst shots, the pelvis peaked early and fast and the upper body never caught up; in the best shots, the torso stayed connected and reached a higher speed closer to impact.

Keep the lag

Hold the wrist set you made in the backswing into the downswing and let it release through the ball, rather than throwing the club from the top. TPI calls an early release "casting": it leads to a cupped lead wrist at impact, adds loft, and costs power. A good impact has the shaft leaning slightly toward the target. Don't chase an extreme hold: a simulation study found a delayed release gives only a small speed advantage.

the clubhead trailing your hands, then catching up through the ball.

Feel it

Pressure moves to your lead side first, the arms fall, and the body unwinds with the club arriving last. If the ball starts left and slices or pulls, the most likely story is an upper-body throw from the top. Don't force a bigger stretch than your body allows: a review of golf back pain notes that the extra early-downswing twist likely raises stress on the spine. If your back hurts when you rotate, stop and get it checked. A note on what's known: the ordered sequence is consistent in skilled golfers, but amateurs vary more, and in one study of elite amateurs the timing of the sequence did not differ between shots they rated well-timed and mistimed. Centred contact mattered more to how a shot felt.

Fix-its

You come over the top (pull or slice) Start down with a pressure shift to the lead foot, not an upper-body throw. TPI links this fault to the upper body taking over, and to limited hip mobility and poor separation of the lower and upper body.
You spin open from the top Rotation isn't the first move. Shift a little toward the target first, then unwind (Phillips: "The fix isn't no rotation. It's better sequence.").
You cast the club (early release) Get the lower body working first so the upper body doesn't throw the club. Check impact for a slight forward shaft lean instead of a cupped lead wrist. TPI also lists limited hip, ankle and trail-wrist mobility as causes.
Your hips fire and the upper body gets left behind Lead with the lower body but keep the torso connected. In Neal's data the best shots had the torso reaching a higher speed closer to impact, not the pelvis peaking early and fast.
You hang back on your trail side Use the step drill below: step the lead foot down to start the downswing so your weight has to move forward.

Drill

Bell-rope rehearsal: swing to the top slowly, feel the arms pull straight down as if ringing a bell, then turn.
Diagonal-stick drill (Phillips): lay an alignment stick from your trail foot out past your lead foot, aim your body normally, and feel like you're hitting along the stick to the right. This builds a small lateral shift before the turn.
Step drill (Fleetwood): lift your lead foot during the backswing and step it down to start the downswing, then swing through. You can't hang back if you step into it.
Film yourself down the line at 120 fps or higher (240 is better). At 30 fps the downswing is only about eight frames. Check whether the club stays under the shaft line you set at address or moves above it (over the top).
If you can't separate your hips from your chest, mobility work comes first. TPI recommends hip and spine mobility before the sequencing drills; a TPI-certified pro can screen you.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-26.