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Don Farquhar
Don Farquhar is Head Golf Professional at Rolling Hills CC, a position he has held since 1988. Don has earned several distinctive awards: 1991 South Central Section Golf Professional of the Year, 1994 South Central Section Merchandiser of the Year, 2003 & 2004 South Central Teacher of the Year and 7 Time Kansas Chapter PGA Teacher of the Year. Don has competed in 5 National Club Professional Championships and qualified for the USGA Public Links Championship. Don is also a member of the Titlist Custom Fitting Staff. Don may be contacted Rolling Hills Country Club Pro Shop, (316) 722-1181, 223 Westlink Drive, Wichita, KS 67209, or by e-mail at dafarquhar@pga.com.
Golf
2012-04-19 13:02:08
Ask the pro - series
A: Thus far in this series, with help from several sources, we have talked about the things that one must do to first get in the position to begin the swing. All of the previous articles are featured at www.theqandatimes.com. They have been the grip, the alignment and the stance. The swing is broken down into two parts. The backswing…and the downswing. We have already discussed the backswing…and part of the downswing relative to keeping the head back and making no effort to move the golf club, and how it all should feel. This month we will talk about the three checkpoints of the downswing and review of it all. First, when you are at the top the biggest mistake that most golfers make is they get the club way too far inside. This is something that causes them to cast the club, cut across the ball, and slice the ball all over the course. This is not something good and you do not have to deal with any of this type of golf anymore. Second, at the top before you begin the golf downswing you need to have the club parallel or as parallel as you can make it with your body type to the ground and your hands should be in line or as much in line with your sternum as possible. This is a good position to allow you to transition and come from the top of the backswing to the golf downswing. This is something that you need to get to and if you can get into this position you will have a great chance to hit the ball correctly and in the way that you plan to. Third, when you go from the top of the backswing to the downswing you will want to hold your lag or wrist hinge as long as possible and crack the club down on the ball like a whip. This is all started by bumping the hips towards the target and attacking the ball from the inside. If you look at nearly all of the top professional golfers you will see this specific hip bump starting their downswing. As a review, the golf downswing is very important, since it culminates into the perfect golf swing or the flawed swings normally associated with slices or short strokes. It doesn’t matter the level of success you have made with the other swing areas, this will either cancel or polish whatever had transpired before. It is the peak and is usually the last bad corner you need to go through before you head straight to the finishing line. Nothing annoys like achieving the best grips, stances, posture, top swings and backswings only to blunder at the downswing. Frustrating indeed, but don’t worry, there is a way forward. Just learn and be aware of the fatal errors that can ruin your golf downswing. Spinning your hips while failing to move the weight laterally, turning your right shoulder high toward the ball (if you are right hand person), moving the club head or slowing down the hands as you do the downswing are some of the grave problems that can ruin the downswing move. Many events ensue once errors are made. The errors can make you shoot earlier than expected. When you hit sooner, chances are you will drive the ball through a short distance. Another effect is that, it can make you hit from the outside in. If you hit outside in, you are likely to hit in the wrong direction. Hitting the ball in the wrong direction is simply slicing the ball. An erroneous golf downswing is definitely a setback to golfers, and should be corrected as early as possible. The best way to correct the moves include moving the hips laterally to the left while keeping the head back and making no effort no matter the circumstance to move the golf club. The lateral hip movement relieves the leg of some weight, turns the shoulder and sends the club to the ball by causing the shoulders to rock slightly as they turn. When you keep your head back, it prevents the upper part of the body from following the hip, and also loosens or relaxes the tension that had resulted from the backswing. The reason why we should not move the golf club with our arms, wrists, or hands, the golf club should be better moved by the shoulders for a perfect hit. The golf downswing can only be perfected by identifying the problems that ruin it are fixed using the above mentioned three methods or magic moves.
 
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