Improve Your Swing Sequence: Pull Then Push Drill

This pull then push drill trains your downswing sequence so you can organize the transition without dumping the club early. The goal is to teach you how the body starts the club down, then how the arms and club release at the right time. When those jobs happen in the proper order, you can arrive in a strong delivery position, create more speed, and avoid the kind of shoulder-dominated move that leads to a cast. Think of this drill as a simple way to feel the difference between starting the downswing and finishing it.

How the Drill Works

The basic idea is that your downswing has two distinct phases: first a pull, then a push. The pull is the body beginning to move the club from the top. The push is the point where you brace into the ground and allow the arms to fire through impact.

A useful image is a heavy object hanging from a rope. If you want to get it moving, you do not instantly shove it with your hands. You first have to move your body in a way that gets the object started. Once it gains speed, you then need to brace yourself so it does not drag you out of position. That is very similar to the golf swing.

From the top of the backswing, your body begins to pull the club into the delivery position. That pull can come from the ground up: your legs, pelvis, core, and ribcage helping shift and unwind the system. Once the club is approaching delivery, you begin to push—not by throwing the club from the top, but by using the ground and the structure of your body to support the release of the arms.

The key is that the body’s pull should not be dominated by the shoulders. If your shoulders aggressively start the downswing, the club tends to cast, the wrist angles disappear too early, and you lose both speed and compression. This drill helps you feel a gentler, better-timed body motion followed by a more athletic arm release.

Step-by-Step

Set up normally with a mid-iron and make a backswing to the top at slow speed.
Pause briefly at the top so you can separate the beginning of the downswing from the rest of the motion.
From that paused position, feel your lower body and torso gently pull the club down. Your job is not to hit yet. You are simply moving the club from the top toward the delivery position.
As you do this, imagine the club is heavy. Let your body organize the motion rather than yanking with your shoulders or throwing the clubhead outward.
When the club reaches roughly the delivery position—the halfway point in transition—begin the push phase. Now you are bracing into the ground and allowing the arms to accelerate through.
Feel that the push happens after the initial pull, not at the same time from the top. That sequence is what creates speed without losing structure.
Make several slow-motion rehearsals saying to yourself, “pull... then push.” The pause between those words matters.
Gradually blend it into a continuous swing. Keep the same order, but remove the pause as the motion becomes more natural.
Hit short shots first, then build toward fuller swings while keeping the same sequence.

What You Should Feel

This drill is built around feel, so the sensations matter more than trying to force exact positions.

A gentle body-led start from the top rather than an aggressive shoulder spin.
The club feeling heavy, as if your body is helping transport it into position.
The arms staying patient early in the downswing instead of immediately throwing the clubhead.
A clear delivery checkpoint, where the club feels organized before you fully release it.
Pressure into the ground as you move from pull to push, helping you brace and accelerate.
The upper body resisting collapse as the arms release, so the club can whip through without dragging your body forward.

If you are doing it correctly, the swing should feel more sequenced and less rushed. You may also notice that the clubhead feels faster even though your effort level feels lower. That is usually a good sign that the order of motion is improving.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Starting with the shoulders. This is the big one. If the shoulders dominate the pull, you will often cast the club and lose lag too early.
Pushing from the top. If your first instinct is to throw the arms or clubhead, you skip the body-led transition.
Making the pull too violent. The initial pull should organize the club, not rip it down.
Blending pull and push together too soon. You need to feel the sequence before you can make it fluid.
Ignoring the ground. The push phase is not just an arm throw; it is supported by bracing and pressure into the ground.
Overthinking exact positions. This drill is about timing and sequence. The right positions tend to improve when the motion is ordered correctly.

How This Fits Your Swing

This drill fits into the bigger picture of how the body moves the club. In a good downswing, your body does not simply spin as hard as possible, and your arms do not fire from the top. Instead, the body starts the motion, the club gets delivered into a workable slot, and then the release happens with support and structure.

That is why this drill is so useful for players who struggle with casting or poor transition sequencing. Many golfers either pull too much with the shoulders or push too early with the arms. Both patterns hurt speed and consistency. The pull then push drill gives you a simple pattern you can rehearse until the transition becomes more natural.

It also helps you understand the delivery position more clearly. Delivery is not just a static checkpoint you try to pose into. It is the result of the right motion leading into it. If you pull correctly, you can arrive there with the club and body organized. If you then push correctly, you can use that position to create speed through impact.

In practical terms, this drill teaches you that the swing is a chain of events. Your body initiates, your arms respond, and then the release happens in a way that builds on the energy already created. When you learn to pull first and push second, you give yourself a better chance to hit the ball farther and with more control.