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Originally Posted by jamesh  Thanks for all of your replies. My problem specifically, is that I start the golf swing with my upper body. Recently I have been topping the ball, and I understand that this often results from starting the swing from your upper body. The notion of a “swing trigger’ isn’t mine. I have seen it in lots of literature and most recently in Jim McLean’s 8 Step Swing.” The advice seems sound – but it is difficult for me to implement so I was looking for something a little easier to start with. Some good suggestions that I have come across – one is to start your downswing before you finish your backswing – you can’t move your arms in two directions at the same time – so your lower body will lead the downswing and you arms will follow. Another suggestion is to lift your lead heal off the ground and re-plant it to start your downswing. I think many of us already have a downswing trigger and are unaware of it. Here is something on topic from the Net
As you watch many professional golfers you’ll see many variations on the swing trigger. So what is it? The swing trigger is the movement that starts the swing. One example is Jack Nicklaus’ stationary press. He describes it like this. “By firming up my hands as the final preparatory movement, I get a strong sense of affirmation of the coming swing throughout my body. This simple little device seems to alert all my muscles to the job at hand without tensing them in any way. Thus it has become a critical part of my game, a preface to every shot I play. You should work to build a similarly strong “starter” into your game.”
Other golfers have different triggers. Gary player has that familiar kick of the right knee as does Vijay Singh to a lesser extent. Others have a subtle and sometimes not so subtle forward press where there is a sense of the body moving forward and then backward with a smooth clubhead take away into the back swing.
http://www.golf-mental-game-coach.com/swingtrigger.html |
Jamesh,
The swing triggers this article refers to are ones that start the backswing, as it suggests some use a forward press of the hands, some move the trail knee in towards the lead and I have seen one where the club head is swung forward of the ball then back to the top. The reasoning is that the trigger starts off a flowing motion rather than pulling the club back from a stationary position, it also helps people who freeze over the ball, Garcia had this problem.
I think you need some advice on how to make your takeaway from the ball.