Hello everyone,

Which part of the body starts the downswing and how?

Based on studies carried out on the best players in the world, we can say that the downswing begins with a lateral movement of the pelvis towards the right of the target.

In technical jargon, we call this the lateral ground reaction force. The beauty of this is that it starts for professionals before the run-up is completely finished. This lateral sliding is more or less important depending on the golfer's profile.

It is more pronounced in Scotty Scheffler, who also has above-average anterior posterior strength (rotation) and vertical strength, which partly explains his distinctive foot movement.

Tiger Woods also had a very pronounced lateral movement before his accident. For these 2 players and many others, the left hip slipped towards the target on the way down by more than 15 centimetres.

For some players, the hip only slipped 2 or 3 centimetres, like Justin Thomas or Rose Zang, but whatever the system, the descent starts with this movement.

Good golf to you all,

Vincent Trojani.