What starts the downswing?

One of the most common issues I see with players who come to me to improve their swing is not enough weight transfer at impact. Many think that the lower body starts the downswing and then slide the hips too far forward at the start. This leads them to get past the ball and hit fat and thin shots. It is true that the lower body does start the swing but when we think of the hips moving first the torso and hips along with the arms get out of sync. The better thing I have found is to understand what truly starts the downswing so that we can be in sequence. What I have found works the best for most of my students is to feel pressure move from the inside of the back heel to the outside of the front heel at impact. The feeling of pressure or your weight getting to the outside of your front heel can help that first move of the hips then a clearing of the lead hip which gets the body to rotate into impact. This allows the hands a slot to swing through impact. Sam Snead use to play barefoot to feel this pressure change. When this is slightly off the path of the club is compromised along with the face at impact. What I see is too many players also get this pressure out towards the toes of the lead foot at impact. This leads to a stall in the bodies rotation. That is when the arms take over and fat and thin shots happen. Most think it is because they lifted their head. What happens is they have to find a way to get the club on the ball and get out of the way so their arms have a place to swing. We have to feel that pressure more in the outside of the lead heel to keep the body rotating. This will allow the arms and the body to work more as a unit together. Notice on all Pros at impact how much their hips are open to the target at impact. This is a result of proper weight transfer into the lead leg at impact. Work on finding this feeling and you will begin to see more consistency in your low point and ball striking.