The Downswing
The Bump
The bump is the second movement a golfer must make on the downswing to prepare themselves for maximizing their results. The Bump consists of the left hip moving laterally towards the intended target. Two things happen during the Bump:
- The golfer should feel that their left hip moves forward while the upper body and head stay back behind the golf ball (Figures 1-4 “Red Arrows” show the hip moving but the player maintaining their spine angle and head position behind the ball “Orange Line”).
- The golfer’s weight should be shifted from the inside part of the heel on the back foot to the ball of the front foot (Exhibit A).
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Exhibit A
At the start of the downswing the golfer’s weight distribution is in the inner part of the heel of the back foot (Figure 1A, 80%“Red Arrow”) and the inner part of the ball of the front foot (Figure 1A, 20%“Red Arrow”). As the golfer swings down towards impact the golfer pushes off the inside of the back heel towards the middle of the ball of the front foot until they reach impact (Figure 4A “Blue Arrow”). At impact (Figure 4A) the golfer’s weight should have shifted to be “10%” in the inside of the back heel and “90%” in the middle of the ball of the front foot.
Note that the golfer has most of their tension in the quad muscle of the back leg (Figure 1A “Orange Arrow”)as they start the downswing and that tension is converted into energy/power as they push off the inside of the back heel towards the ball of the front foot through impact with the ball.