This Drill Fixes Standing Up in The Downswing for Good!

Are you one of those golfers who tends to stand up during the downswing, losing that crucial connection with the ball and turf? If so, you're not alone. A common issue for many players is standing up through impact, leading to weak shots, poor contact, and inconsistent ball striking. The key to fixing this problem lies in mastering your body rotation and understanding how to create depth and width in your swing. In this post, we’ll break down the causes of standing up in the downswing and provide you with effective drills to help you stay down and improve your ball striking.

Why Do Golfers Stand Up During the Downswing?

Standing up in the downswing is a result of improper body mechanics. When you set up to the ball, everything seems fine, but as you begin your takeaway, your arms often get pulled away from your body, causing the back arm to get stuck behind you. The lack of body rotation, coupled with a narrow backswing, leads to a lack of depth.

From this position, when the club gets close to impact, many players try to “shallow” the shaft out by standing up, raising the handle to avoid hitting the ground. But this move only worsens the problem and typically results in poor ball contact—shots that are low, left, or even with a horrible heel strike.

The Importance of Staying Down and Creating Depth

To stay down through impact, it’s essential to keep your body and hands in proper sequence during the swing. A significant factor in this is creating depth early in your backswing, which allows for better rotation of the body and sets you up for a more consistent impact position.

The key to maintaining proper posture and staying down is ensuring that your hands stay in front of your chest during the backswing. When this happens, the club moves around your body, creating more depth and width. By the time you reach the top of the backswing, your hands will be further from the ball, and your chest will be fully rotated. This rotational depth helps prevent the tendency to stand up, leading to a much more stable and controlled downswing.

How to Create Depth and Stay Down

The primary goal here is to get your body rotating properly and keep your hands in front of your chest throughout the backswing. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: The Setup

Start in your usual address position, holding the club normally. Now, place your front hand behind your right elbow. This simple adjustment will prevent the arms from pulling away from your body and encourage a more natural rotation.

Step 2: Rotate, Don’t Lift

As you begin your backswing, focus on rotating your upper body (the chest and shoulders) while maintaining that position with your arms. The key is not to let your arms take over the movement. Allow your body to rotate around your spine, ensuring that your hands remain in front of your chest, creating that essential width and depth.

Step 3: Complete the Backswing

By the time your lead arm reaches parallel to the ground, your hands should be positioned more in front of your chest. You’ll also notice that your hips have rotated more fully. This is a crucial component of staying down. As a result of this improved rotation, the handle of the club moves down toward your ankle, creating more depth, which will naturally help you stay down through impact.

Step 4: Transition into the Downswing

Once you’ve set the stage for a solid backswing, transition smoothly into the downswing. If you’ve successfully created depth, you’ll be able to rotate through impact, staying down without having to “lift” or “stand up.” This allows the club to stay on plane and deliver a clean strike to the ball.

Drills to Improve Depth and Stay Down

Now that you understand the mechanics, here are two effective drills to help you stay down and avoid standing up during the downswing.

1. The Front Hand Behind the Elbow Drill

Setup: Place your front hand behind your right elbow. This will help keep your arms in front of your body during the backswing.

Execution: Perform a normal backswing, focusing on keeping the hands in front of your chest as you rotate your upper and lower body.

Goal: This drill encourages you to create more width and depth in the backswing, ensuring that your body stays more connected throughout the swing.

2. The Rotational Width Drill

Setup: Hold the club in your back hand only and make your backswing.

Execution: Focus on rotating your upper body while maintaining proper posture. Your chest should be leading the rotation, not your arms. As you swing back, notice how the hands stay more in line with your chest, creating more width.

Goal: This drill exaggerates the need for body rotation and helps prevent the arms from getting stuck behind your body, promoting more depth and rotation through the swing.

Practice Routine: How Many Reps Should You Do?

To fully embed this change in your swing, practice regularly. A realistic practice routine would involve performing 3 to 5 reps of each drill, mixing up the clubs to keep things fresh. Start with slower swings to get the feel of the proper rotation, and gradually increase the speed as you gain comfort with the movement.

It’s also a good idea to record your swings (either with a camera or in a mirror) to track your progress. Over time, you’ll start to notice how much more depth and rotation you’re able to create, helping you stay down and improve your ball striking.

Conclusion

Standing up in the downswing is a common issue that many golfers face, but with the right drills and understanding of body mechanics, it’s a fixable problem. Focus on creating depth during the backswing and rotating properly through the shot. By using drills like the Front Hand Behind the Elbow Drill and the Rotational Width Drill, you’ll develop the right body sequencing to stay down through impact, resulting in better contact, more consistency, and ultimately lower scores.

Remember, mastering the golf swing takes time and practice, but with a focused approach and attention to detail, you’ll be able to improve your ball striking and take your game to the next level.