Toe-to-Heel Weight Distribution

Proper Weight Distribution

Weight distribution in the address stance involves not only inter-foot distribution (i.e., weight distributed between the right and left foot) but also intra-foot distribution (i.e., vertical weight distribution within each foot); this post will discuss how the weight should settle within each foot vertically, from heel to toe, to create a balanced, stable stance during the setup capable of eliminating many potential downstream errors. Jack Nicklaus is correct: Most golf swing errors (90% or more) occur during the setup (i.e., GASP - grip; alignment/aim; stance/setup; posture/position); golfers should spend more time on GASP and takeaway than they spend on anything else because all that follows is a consequence of a good setup.

A quick Google search illustrates the most common bit of advice from various golf authorities regarding this subject: Most seem to advise the student to position more of their weight in the balls of the feet. For the anatomically challenged, the ball is the fleshy, firm part on the bottom of each foot located below the toes and just above the arch. The bottom of a normal foot contacts the ground primarily in three general areas: the heel; the toes, and the ball; the inside arch, in a normal, standing anatomy, is raised above the ground between the heel and ball of the foot, with the toe pads lightly touching the ground. (Actually the outsole of the foot also contacts the ground, but you should NOT feel that--especially in your golf setup.)

The theory behind the advocacy for positioning weight in the balls of the feet is always explained in terms of other sports; baseball, tennis, and basketball require ready positions that call for more weight situated in the balls of the feet to facilitate reactionary, springlike movement forwards, backwards, or to the sides. The obvious problem, of course, is that golf doesn't require any such sudden "reactions" from its "ready" position, so the reasoning is weak.

Then, of course, are the problems that can arise when skewing weight into the balls of the feet (and thus engaging the toes). As your weight shifts more towards your toes and away from your heels, the toes will begin absorbing body weight and you will notice that your upper body and arms tip excessively toward the ball, creating an unbalanced stance, and so the hosel of your club head will inch ever closer to the ball, introducing an increased risk of shanking. The address shaft angle will steepen, and you are more prone to be steep coming back down. If you go too far, you may unconsciously attempt to regain balance by shifting towards the heels during the downswing, which can move the club head across the line, cause early extension (loss of posture), and an increased chance of hitting pulls and slices. You can also tip further forward if you lose your balance; again, you'll see shanks and fat shots. None other than golf great Tom Watson advocates for this "athletic setup" with weight in the balls of the feet, but I wonder if he doesn't just mean "weight away from the heels." Hank Haney also states emphatically that more weight shoiuld be in the balls of the feet, not the heels. Jim Flick, the coach who helped Nicklaus in his later years, advocated for weight in the balls of feet, while his famous student, Jack, did not (see below). I had a recent local golf lesson from a PGA teaching professional who actually told me to shift more weight into my toes without any explanation!

There are a few who seem to advocate shifting more weight into the heels and with seemingly little in the balls of the feet, but this can cause the opposite problems as described with the "balls of the feet" crowd: Hooks, pushes, toe strikes, thin shots, and an unconscious downswing move that shifts weight towards the toes in an attempt to regain balance, or if unsuccesful, falling backwards. One particular "brand" of instruction in this cohort advocates "balancing on the ankles," though it's possible they actually mean being balanced between the heels and balls of the feet; it's hard to know because they never describe what "ankle balance" is. Too much weight in the heels produces an extremely flat shaft angle and a "sit down" look in the golfer at address, with a very erect posture.

The next largest (and most prestigious) group of golf gurus and professionals unambiguously advises amateur golfers to balance their weight evenly between the heel and ball of each foot. Shawn Clement uniquely describes such weight distribution by asking the student to imagine that the arch of each foot is a "suction cup" gripping the ground. And since we've already established that a healthy arch doesn't really touch the ground, Shawn is actually describing an equal distribution of weight between the heel and ball of each foot. None other than the great Jack Nicklaus advises golfers to distribute their weight this way--evenly between the ball and heel--in his great book, Golf My Way. When utilizing such a stance, you will easily be able to raise your toes very slightly off of the floor of your shoes and leave them that way throughout your swing, because the toes should have no weight on them. Other notable proponents of this advice include Ben Hogan, Jim McClean, Sean Foley, and Nick Bradley.

Japanese Geta Sandles

I believe this last group--Nicklaus's group--has it right: The best way to address the ball is to vertically distribute your weight in each foot evenly between the ball and heel. To find this position if you have address balance problems, you will need to shift away from your tendency; if you tend to concentrate weight in the balls of your feet (probably most golfers because of what traditional golf instruction has preached for years), you will need to rock back away from your toes at address until you feel your heels engage and your toes disengage. You should imagine you're wearing traditional Japanese Geta wooden sandles. Some of these sandles have raised wooden extensions that are roughly located at the ball and heel of each foot; they approximate how you should feel--both the heel and ball of the foot carrying an equal amount of weight. If you've been a toe-leaner, you're going to feel way back on your heels; and if you've been a heel-leaner (less likely and less problematic), you'll feel the ball of your foot engage more.

Other things you may notice when redistributing your address weight in this manner include a taller feeling posture with arms that hang freer (you've created more space for your arms), lower hands that feel more inside your eye line, and a flatter club shaft while at address. You will need to definitely unlock and protrude your glutes with a straight back to remain balanced. Your toes will feel ever so slightly raised off the floor of your shoes. Your quads will disengage and your glutes will engage more. It's easier to produce greater downswing speed by twisting the lower body (knees and hips) forward (swinging more "from the ground-up") when starting down from this balanced heel-to-ball weight distribution.

A drill for ensuring you achieve this position (or at least verifying that you're setup correctly) is to get into your address posture and then hang an iron from under one of your armpits using two fingers, with the club head hanging down. The shaft should hang straight down and pass through your knees and point at the ball of your foot (your armpits are over the balls of your feet). At the same time, you can utilize this drill to ensure your feet are shoulder-width apart (as they should be at a minimum for all fall swings, regardless of club length); in this case, the club shaft will hang down inside the heel. If you're doing video analysis, you can use vertical lines to check these positions as well.

The only times you should favor the heels or toes at address is when you face uneven lies. In the case where the ball is below your feet, shift back into your heels by bending your knees more and try to stay that way through impact. When the ball is above your feet, shift into your toes by straightening your knees more and maintain that feel through impact. You'll hit better shots from those trouble lies when remembering to make these adjustments.

Finally, this method of weight distribution isn't only helpful in the full swing. You can use it to good effect in the short game (chips and pitches) and putting, as well. Try putting with weight concentrated towards your toes in your stance; you will notice that it's very easy to move the lower body unintentionally, while it's easy to keep the lower body stable with the weight balanced between the heels and balls of the feet.

Most traditional golf instruction tells us that your weight should be over the balls of your feet. You’ll read this in books and magazines, and hear it from teachers and TV golf pundits all the time. Not only is this instruction dead wrong, you’ll lose power and consistency this way, but it’s also potentially harmful to your body.

Golf Swing 102c. Setup: The Perfect Golf Weight Distribution and Balance

Your weight should be 50-50 on your left and right legs and between the balls of your feet (those cushioned pads just below your toes) and your heels. I'm surprised how many people think their weight should be supported by their toes. Starting with your weight too far forward is one of the worst mistakes you can make. It throws off all of the critical angles—spine, legs, hips, shoulders and head. That creates a domino effect, resulting in a weak swing and fat shots.

Jim McLean: Find Your Balance

Your weight should be distributed between the balls and heels of your feet and equally distributed between the two. You should be able to tap your heels and wiggle your toes. At this point you have counter balanced your weight. You should be able to draw a vertical line from the back of your shoulders through your knees to the balls of your feet. Now you are in balance.

Set Up for Success

Good footwork, too often overlooked, promotes balance, power, and consistency. Good footwork starts with balance at address. From the beginning of the swing, the weight moves from the middle of the feet back to the heels. When you finish the swing, your weight will finish on your front foot heel. The weight should NEVER be on your toes.

Learn to Squash the Ball at Impact

When hitting shots, you want to make sure that your weight is centered on your arch. Not the balls or heel of your feet. If your weight is on the balls of your feet (Because you're too far from the ball) as you address the ball, your hips will be prohibited. The result is that you'll straighten yourself up in your downswing.

How good is your balance??

The ball tends to be lined up off the heel [when the weight is on your toes] and can lead to pulls and hosel rockets. To set up properly you want to ensure you have the weight in the middle of your feet. I often like to bounce slightly up and down to ensure I have achieved this position. As I go through my swing I am cognizant of trying to keep my weight over my feet and not let it sneak out over my toes or lean back on my heels at impact.

Set up for Success

While developing a sound foundation in your golf swing, focus on where your weight distribution is located. Ideally, you would like the weight evenly distributed between the balls of the feet and heels at address. If you reach too far to get to the ball, your weight will go too much on the toes. If you remain upright and bend your knees with too much flex, your weight has a tendency to go back on the heels.

Golfers need to feel it in the feet

A golfer should settle into the arches of the feet and allow them to compress. This will activate the feelings in the ball and heel of the feet. They will really come alive! This notion that a golfer sets up or balances on the balls of the feet is nonsense! Sure, there is weight on the balls of the feet, but it is a result of compressing the arches. Tiger has this mastered this in recent months. Prior to that he was back on his heels. This one, simple adjustment has paid huge dividends for Woods.

Tiger Woods Golf Swing with Sean Foley

So I just gave it a try, basically going for the feeling that my armpits were over the balls of my feet, and it instantly felt better - more balanced, more relaxed. Then a number of things started falling into place: I actually felt torque between my upper and lower body; I stopped swaying; my tendency to "lift up" at impact disappeared (which I realize now was what my body had to do to keep from falling over forward because of how far I was bent over); and I stopped yanking the club way inside on the backswing and lifting it to the top, which I've always done.

Eureka!!! The setup change that has me BOMBING it - Golf Rewound

Optimally, a golfer's weight should be evenly distributed between the heels of the feet and the balls of the feet, and he should be able to lift up the back of his heels slightly (or lift up his toes) without becoming unbalanced if his body weight is evenly distributed over the feet.

Address setup

What happens when weight distribution is off? The first thing you may experience is a swing that feels out of sync or off balanced. More specifically, if your weight is too focused over your toes, you will lose the whip power of rotation in your swing. You are instead using the "shot put" method with your body. This creates a dramatic loss of power.

Fix Your Golf Swing: Solution 1: Correct Weight Distribution

In ‘five lessons’ he says “Your weight should be a bit more on the heels than on the balls of the your feet, so that, if you wanted to, you would be able to lift your toes inside your shoes.” When you look at him setup from down the line it appears as though that’s where he has his weight distributed. It certainly doesn’t look like it’s on the balls of his feet.

Ben Hogan Feet Placement And Positioning

Become an Angled Pile Driver

Roman Pile Driver

Shift your weight. You're supposed to do that--first into your right foot on the backswing and then into your left foot on the downswing. Instructors explain this to new golfers who then typically proceed to sway their hips in an effort to transfer the weight. But that's not how it actually should occur; the hips shouldn't move at all to the right on the backswing and only fractionally to the left on the downswing. Instructors would be better served by telling their students to leverage the ground by pressing their weight into the earth going back and coming down, as they turn. That's a better description that results in a lot less lateral movement.

I'm a huge proponent of "swing centers." You have two. The first--the lower--is in the middle of your pelvis, a few inches below your navel. The second--the upper--is your sternum. You need to understand how these two centers should align in the golf swing at address (creating your "secondary spine angle" or "Reverse K"); at the top (upper center is over the right instep, pressing nearly straight down on the right leg, while the lower center remains in place); and finally their orientation coming down.

It's the transition--starting down--where the upper center switches it's "pressing" focus. It might seem strange, but the key to "shifting weight" properly doesn't just rely on your lower body; your torso has a large role, because the torso, along with the arms and club, represents a lot of weight; the legs simply serve as posts over which the torso weight is concentrated (makes sense if you think about it, because both legs are the same weight and collateral). The upper swing center should stay behind the lower, creating an angled midbody line that points inside the left foot at the top and coming down; this angle may even shallow somewhat in the downswing, meaning the lower swing center moves towards the target while the upper center moves little or not at all (this varies among players).

I like to think that I become an "angled pile driver" in the downswing. (Not to be confused with the wrestling variety, I'm talking about a mechanical pile driver, much like the angled one pictured above used in ancient Rome.) To start down, with my back still turned to the target, I feel that my upper swing center begins pushing into my left leg as my arms drop, causing my left foot to press into the ground; the tilt of the torso means the upper swing center is pushing into the left leg at an angle. My upper swing center acts as the "driver" and the left leg acts as the "angled pile." This is from where that "press a sponge" with the left foot image comes; I think the only real problem with that simple sponge image is that the student might believe it means to press straight down, which could cause too much lateral movement and get the upper center too vertical or the torso too much "on top of the ball" or even over the left leg (i.e., lunging).

In the attached images of Brendon Todd at the top of his backswing and start of his downswing (below from Golf Digest), the yellow circle illustrates the upper swing center and the red circle illustrates the lower center. The orange line indicates the torso tilt or secondary axis tilt created by the correct orientation between these two centers. The green arrow shows how the upper swing center is directing pressure into the feet--either the right foot at the top of the backswing or the left foot during transition and downswing. In the case of the left foot, you can see that the pressure is moving into the left leg at an angle, whereas it was much more on top of the right foot at the end of the backswing.

Follow the Green Arrow

When you press into the ground at an angle with your left foot, you're learning to leverage against the ground for power. Otherwise, you're just "firing a cannon from a canoe" by swaying left and spinning your hips. The correct move, however, is what causes a simple, centralilzed "weight shift" and hitting from the ground-up, which is one of those near universally espoused tenants of golf (in golf instruction, there's always some outlier who will disagree with something). This is from where hitting into a firm left side and bump the left hip advice come. This creates that appearance or feel of "squatting" that's so often described in great swings, where the upper center dips slightly (see Todd's head dipping down, as he pressures the ground using his chest to push into the left leg and foot). You're setting the stage to sequence the downswing properly when you make this your first move before starting down.

Pressing into the ground doesn't mean introducing tension. Be careful that you do not straighten the left leg early, extend early, or grip the club tighter. Another feel is that you're sliding into home base with your left leg. Your left leg should be generously bent when you pressure your left foot (it may feel like it flexes a bit more), and your left leg should gradually straigten out towards the finish. Ensure that you have a generous lateral bend as you rotate forward to prevent losing your incline to the ground (i.e., early extension); the chest is both pushing down on the inside of the left leg and covering it. Don't grip the club harder just because you're pressuring the ground or you may end up slicing.

Shawn Clement speaks about pressuring the ground in one of his videos on downswing weight shift ("Best Downswing Weight Shift"). He talks about the "weight shift" being "about an inch long" and that it "happens from behind you." This is another way to describe pressuring the ground. It's an apt description, as it removes the perception that the hips sway around to shift weight; instead, Shawn states that rotation causes the weight to move. Shawn describes and demonstrates the weight falling back into the left leg, with the torso still tilted away from the target. And when he does it, he looks just like an angled pile driver--his tilted torso pushes down into his left leg while his back is still turned. About midway through the second video on the transition, Shawn talks about the "squat," where the torso is pushing down into his left leg for leverage.

If you do this properly you should notice a more piercing ball flight and more distance, because the move leads to more lag and compression. If you've been hitting pulls of any flavor, you may notice more pushes, as your path is being moved more in-to-out.

So in review: From the top and before unwinding, feel like you're pressing your left foot into the ground, while your chest and shoulders stay back. Your head and chest may drop a little as you load into your left leg with your torso still angled away from the target. You'll be an angled pile driver.

The body should feel as though it's driving down and into your left leg as you rotate toward the target. A great way for you to ingrain this proper feel is to drive your right knee toward the target as you swing. This will help you move weight both toward the target and into the ground. The more effectively you do this, the easier it is to rotate the body and also to make a full extension of the arms through impact.

Ground Up vs. Top Down

An image I use with my students is to imagine a sponge filled with water underneath the left foot. Begin the downswing by squeezing the water out of the sponge.

Better Downswing Sequence In The Golf Swing

As you start down, you need to feel your weight going straight through your left foot and into the ground. In essence, you're using the ground as the resistance needed to generate power...

...But as you change direction and swing down, the pressure should increase dramatically -- in other words, squash the sponge!

David Leadbetter:Squash The Sponge

Maximum power is achieved, when hitting the ball, as your weight is hitting your front foot...

...Another common problem that occurs when your weight is not transferred to the front foot prior to impact is allowing the clubface to get ahead of your hands at impact. If this happens, you will be adding loft to the club and losing distance.

Arizona Golfer News

 

Forget Your Hips, Consider Your Knees

Knee position at the top.

We often hear that the downswing starts "from the ground-up." And then, we invariably hear that this means we should focus on our hips, which inevitably leads to debates about hips rotating versus bumping, ad infinitum. Amateur golfers develop all sorts of bad habits as a result of this debate.

But if we're focused on "ground up" sequencing in the downswing, doesn't that mean that we should start with the feet? And then ankles? And then the knees? Followed by the hips?

The first thing you should feel in a "ground up" transition and downswing is increased pressure in your left foot, almost as if squishing water from a sponge under that foot. This all occurs while your back is still turned towards the target (see "Knee position at the top" image).

Knee position at impact.

A few notable golf instructors and professionals have spoken or written about how weight should move in the feet. Some talk about "rolling the ankles" (which sounds painful). And a few have written about the knees' movement during the downswing. I'm proposing that you consider the lateral, "rotational" movement of the knees. Why? The knees are closer to "the ground," kinetically-speaking. And you don't have to worry over weight movement in the feet or twisting an ankle, as you haplessly try to figure out what rolling them means. It seems that, if you move your knees correctly to start the downswing (especially that right or back knee), the weight shifting sensed through the feet is correct, and the hips automatically, kinetically, perform the correct actions.

Knee position at finish.

Here's a tidbit that is not offered openly by very many teaching professionals: The knees move laterally, linearly, and "rotationally." The rotational part is an important, elusive tenet and one you may not have heard elsewhere, but the knees face the target line at address (i.e., towards the viewer in face-on view and parallel to the target line in DTL view) and turn to roughly face the target prior to impact. It's an optical illusion, or simply a misunderstanding, that leads weekend golfers to believe the knees remain in their address orientations throughout the swing; and put into practice in this way, it's a large power leak.

Note the images accompanying this post of touring professional, Jeff Overton, hitting an 8-iron in the face-on view. Using a golf swing analysis app, I drew red circles over the address positions of Jeff's knee caps to demonstrate how the knees shift and "rotate" during the swing. At or approaching the top, you can see that the right knee doesn't really move from its address position, while the left knee moves slightly toward the right knee (pointing at the ball). At or approaching impact, both knees have shifted toward the target considerably, both knees are still quite bent, and they have "rotated" more towards the target. At or approaching the finish, both knees are now facing the target. The right knee is bent, and the left is mostly straight. The right knee, though facing the target, has replaced the address position of the left knee. Both knees are nearly touching.

You may be thinking that the knees don't really "rotate" or turn, biomechanically speaking, and you'd be right. What actually occurs is that the left or forward hip joint undergoes external rotation (moving from an internally rotated position at the top of the swing), which allows the inside of the left leg to face the target line and the left knee to go from facing the target line at address to facing the target at impact.

The right hip internally rotates so that the right knee folds inward towards the left knee; during this movement, the right foot rolls to the inside but remains roughly on the ground, lengthwise, until it's finally forced onto the toe by continuing rotation. Both the "right foot roll" and the right knee "folding inward" occur together as a result of the correct lower body movement. It's possible that this "right foot roll" is the origin of the "ankle rolling" advice.

 

Regardless of which knee you choose to focus on, either knee is making specific movements and can lead the other knee to follow properly. Now, what about the knees moving laterally and linearly? If you should prefer thinking of the left knee: The bent left knee should move--laterally--out over the left foot (maybe even fractionally outside the left shoulder), separating itself from the right knee, causing the infamous "squat" look that Sam Snead made famous. It's also at this time when the left knee "rotates" to face the target, because the left hip externally rotates. This movement of the left knee forward begins WHILE the club is still setting at the top, which enhances lag on the way down.

The linear part of the movement really refers to the action of both knees. After the initial separation and lateral movement of the left knee, the right knee follows along the same line traveled first by the left knee; it appears to tuck in behind the left knee's address position when viewed down-the-line.

Not all pro golfers utilize a separated knee action and its pronounced squat move. But all of them have knees that move toward the target prior to impact and "rotate" to face the target.

Now to make a powerful transition in your golf swing from your backswing to your downswing you should transfer your weight from your back foot to your front foot.

A great way I have found to do this is to initiate the downswing by moving the front knee towards the target.

However, it’s a good idea when doing this to try and keep the back knee where it was in the backswing because this knee separation creates lag in the downswing, which helps to create the late hit that every golfer wants because it gives longer golf drives!

The Golf Swing: What Your Legs Should Be Doing To Hit Longer Golf Drives

If you're having trouble keeping your swing consistent when a match is on the line, key on your left knee to start your downswing. When you practice, remember to support your backswing with your right leg, then move your left knee and thigh laterally, then rotationally, to your left. This allows your arms to drop the club inside the target line on the downswing for long and consistent shots.

Jim Flick: Knees Are Key

Even as the wrists are completing their part of the turn, the lower body has moved into the backstretch. The left knee moves laterally into the downswing and pulls on the left hip which in turn pulls the left arm downward. At the same time, the right knee begins to drive toward the target, taking with it the shoulders, arms, and hands.

When you execute the swing properly, the leadership of the legs creates a lag of the hands and clubhead, resulting in what's commonly called a delayed release. In this position, just prior to impact, the wrists have not yet uncocked and there is a tremendous amount of club head speed ready to be unleashed.

Instruction Tip #50 - The Downswing | The Shark

Jim Furyk won the Tour Championship and the Fedex Cup in 2010—thanks to his left knee. As we show in this video, the most consistent winners in the history of golf also started their downswing with their left knee. This made them consistent winners because it helped to insure that their downswing sequence was in the right order and that their front spine angle remained fairly constant.

Furyk Wins $11.35 Million with Left Knee

Sequencing Drill: Place and hold a clubshaft behind your back just above the shoulder blades and a soccer ball between your knees, and assume your address position. Just before your shoulders reach the top, drop the soccer ball by moving your left knee toward the target. This move will produce the feeling of a correct transition and a "sitting-down" look in your lower body.

Automatic Transition

The idea is to make your backswing move, then get a real sense of 'squatting' and 'settling' in the lower body as you fuse the two halves together by reversing momentum from the ground up. Your weight shifts back across to the left foot, left knee working towards the target while left hip and left shoulder pull in that same direction. The result is a natural shallowing of the swing plane as the right arm and shoulder drop, setting up the desired inside attack on the ball.

Driving to Success

To do this the legs start by shifting both knees and ankles targetward. It is true that the head stays behind the ball, but the core of the body shifts and clears past the ball rather dramatically. This assists the hands and arms in making their initial drop to the waist high area while wrists are still fully hinged. At this stage the right wrist should still be bent back fully but the palm is now facing the ground not the sky. With the palm facing down this insures the clubface is also facing down or toward the ball and requires no scooping or manipulation to be squared up in time for the hit.

Golf Lag: Stop Casting, Lag like Tiger Woods

Use this image to check your weight transfer: Your right knee should point at or slightly in front of the ball at impact. That shows you've made a good shift. Here's the sequence: Left knee points behind the ball at the top; right knee points toward it at impact (above).

Tom Watson: Right Knee Power Key

As I transition my weight from my right side to my left side, I begin the necessary move of the right knee toward my left knee. You can see that happening here as I drop the club on the downswing and rotate my hips open. As the right knee gets closer to the left knee, the left knee straightens out.

Quick Tips To Play Better

 

Hip and Shoulder Separation

Bae's Shoulder and Hip Separation

Many of my blog posts go over the same information, again and again, in different ways. That's because golf is often based on feels, and everyone learns a different feeling to engrain some fundamental. I write about what I try and what I find useful, primarily so that I can go back and revisit these things from time-to-time. I revisit them because they're the fundamentals that can easily be forgotten or overlooked; a round can suddenly go south because a grip has drifted too weak or too strong, pre-shot alignment is rushed and faulty, an unconsious sway on the backswing, improper weight distribution, etc.

I've posted extensively on the hips' role, the shoulders' role, how to pivot, separation, about lag, creating distance, etc. But I wanted to spend a few more electrons on the subject of separating the hips from the shoulders to generate power. Now, I've examined Jim McClean's X-Factor a few times on here, and you'll find the usual for-and-against golf enthusiasts out there on the interwebs debating that very subject. Reputable instructors will offer up valid logic on why you should or should not resist with your lower body while your shoulders turn on the backswing. Take a stance on just about any "unassailable" fundamental of golf and you will eventually find someone--someone with a low or scratch handicap--who disagrees.

I believe that the so-called "X-Factor" of hip and shoulder separation is far more important in the transition and early downswing at generating power and consistency than using separation in the takeaway and backswing to generate potential power. I believe this because there are examples of long-hitting professionals who turn their hips a lot on the backswing (more than they believe or more than Jim McClean says they should). But on the downswing, their hips ALWAYS start first, before ANYTHING else moves; I haven't seen slow-motion video yet of a single professional golfer who moves the shoulders before the hips (if they did, they would immediately be OTT and NOT hitting inside-out). Their entire pelvis shifts towards the target a few inches (and thus so do both knees, pushing weight into the left leg) and then rotates (the belt buckle turns) towards the target, followed closely and sequentially by the belly, shoulders, arms, hands, the club, and finally the club head. This sequential unwinding "from the ground up" produces the kinematic sequence--the use of the entire body somewhat like a whip to send energy from the ground up and out (inside-out) through the club head and into the ball.

Sticking with the belt buckle swing thought mentioned above, try to start your downswing by first moving the belt buckle over the left (or front) leg WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY rotating the belt buckle towards the target. All of this should happen while the shoulders are still mostly closed and the arms completely passive--almost floating. Another way to think of this--to ensure you're not throwing, casting, or hitting with your arms from the top--is to imagine that you have a golf club extending from your belt buckle and that you're trying to hit the ball using nothing but the belt buckle motion, while your arms come through afterwards with a second club. Your arms are lagging behind your belt buckle. FORGET YOUR ARMS! They will naturally, quickly, and fluidly follow the motion of your lower body. I've found that thinking of hitting the ball with my belt buckle (thus shifting my belt buckle targetward and rotating around at the same time) helps keep the instinct to hit the ball with the arms at bay.

A "from the ground up" downswing, that enables hip motion to separate from shoulder motion, starts in the feet and how the weight is distributed in them--front-to-back--to provide balance. Verified when I recently took a golf lesson from a local PGA teaching pro, I've had a bad habit of sitting back on my heels when taking my stance (setup as part of GASP), and this can absolutely destroy the ability to easily shift the hips forward and rotate and properly. I've had to make sure that my weight is shifted into the balls of my feet (shifted towards my toes but not in my toes); the weight is mostly in the arches, balanced evenly between the heels and toes. One should only be on the heels for a lie below the feet, and only on the toes for a lie above the feet. The correct athletic stance that promotes an easy shift and rotation of the pelvis while the shoulders remain closed feels almost as if one is preparing to dive into a pool or receive a serve in tennis. There are a few teaching professionals (e.g., Chuck Quinton) who, predictably, contradict this fundamental, but most touring professionals, like Tiger Woods and Tom Watson, and teaching professionals, like Shawn Clement and his "suction cup" foot analogy, advocate for the balanced ball-of-the-foot approach, and that seems to work best for me. Chuck's admonition seems related to keeping the left knee healthy (implying this is what caused Tiger's knee woes), but someone like Tom Watson is currently in his 60s and hitting the ball a mile. I think I'll believe Tom Watson and the PGA pro I saw on this one.

At the top, the shoulders should momentarily stay put (stay turned away from the target), while the pelvis (hips) execute the motions described above in the transition to the downswing. The shoulders and arms follow because they physically must do so. No thought should be given to moving the shoulders and arms (and club); simply let the hips start the process and let everything follow and unwind. In a sense (at least in terms of how it should feel), you're making a move to hit the ball with your legs and hips, letting everything else follow! The amount of lag generated by doing this correctly is amazing and the distance and consistency that is achievable by learning to trust this one movement cannot be overstated.

This is useful throughout the bag (except for the putter, where you want a stable lower body). You need to do this in the sand. You need to do this when pitching. You can even do this--albeit very slightly--when chipping. Let the lower body lead and find out how easy this game can be.

For me, this works best with a centralized backswing pivot, where the right shoulder pulls directly back and behind the head; in other words, no swaying. For me, a backswing sway can be so slight and so easily and unintentionally introduced when focusing on the right transition and downswing; it will wreck the benefit of a properly executed downswing sequencing. When you're doing it right--putting both a proper backswing pivot and hip-shoulder separation on the downswing--you'll be fully and naturally posted up on your left leg at the completion of the swing.

Watch your favorite guy on the Tour -- Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Vijay, me, anybody -- and forget about his arms and hands and head when he makes a golf swing. Just focus on his belt buckle.

Then watch another swing, this time trying to focus on your guy's hands in relation to his belt buckle. They're always, always just a little behind through contact.

Let your belly lead your hands - Golf - John Daly - ESPN

Rotating your lower body toward the target helps propel the ball from the sand and assists in maintaining acceleration. Try this for a swing thought: Turn your belt buckle to the target.

Tiger Tips: Belt Buckle To The Target : Golf Digest

The way they sequence that power’s delivery to the ball is the key to maximum efficiency and distance. For an effective kinematic sequence to occur they must start the downswing from the ground up. That is to say that the hips start or fire first, followed by the torso, then the arms and finally the club. If this order is compromised power loss and errant shots will occur.

The more turn you have while keeping the shoulders stable/still the greater your potential for the “X Factor” stretch in the downswing and generating power. If you found it hard to do this test you will find it difficult to sequence correctly in the downswing.

Blackburn Golf | Tips & Articles | Sequencing Successfully!

Conventional wisdom states that the downswing begins from the ground up. A golfer must shift his weight forward and begin rotating his hips before swinging his arms forward. Golf instructor Jimmy Ballard explains that when your weight shifts forward and your hips rotate properly your arms “respond naturally, falling into the correct downswing plane” as they approach the ball.

Slide vs. Turn Golf Downswing

The transition from backswing to downswing is crucial to generating power and accuracy. The key is to start the downswing with the lower body.

In the best swings the lower body starts forward while the upper body is still turning back. The left hip turns toward the target as the shoulders continue to coil. That takes terrific timing and a lot of practice.

Tom Watson: Lead With Your Lower Body : Golf Digest

Rotating through impact can be felt in different ways, such as a pull with the left side, push with the right side, downward push off the right foot, inward kick with the right knee, left hip clearing, etc. There are numerous ways to feel the body’s rotation. It doesn’t matter what your feel is as long as it starts with the lower body. It’s not a passive role by any means. There must be a conscious effort to turn the body all the way until the finish.

A great thought is turning the belt buckle to the target as quickly as possible as you swing through the ball. It targets a key area – the hips – and engages the lower body and creates speed in the unwinding process.

But remember, rotation must be sequenced correctly.The lower body shifts weight first and rotation to the target comes second. You maximize everything you got by following that sequence. Some amateurs do the opposite and rotate too early. This tends to throw the club outside the target line and cause slices and pull hooks.

Tour Players Rotate Through Impact | Scratch Golf School

The best way I can describe the feeling of using the body to hit the ball is, it’s an UNMISTAKABLE feeling that I used my legs and hips. After the shot has been hit, I feel a radiating all the way down my right leg and in my hips whereas, I feel nothing in my hands and arms.

Golf Tip - What Starts the Downswing?

Most amateurs just are not able to get the club in the slot because they rotate their shoulders early from the top of their swing. This, of course, throws the club outside the target line and usually results in a slice, a pull, or even a top.

Jim Suttie: The most important move in golf ... get in the slot

At the top of your backswing, your back should be facing your target if you have completed your shoulder turn correctly. Your back should stay facing your target for just a second as you begin your downswing. This will allow the golf club to swing down properly on the correct swing path as you approach the golf ball at impact.

Starting the downswing by opening up the upper body too early will lead to an over the top swing as well as an out to in swing path. This can lead to either a slices or pulled golf shots. At impact, the shoulders should be square to your target line so it's important that they don't open up too early from the start of the downswing.

Perfect Your Golf Downswing Transition

Keep your back facing the target at the start of the downswing.

What this 'feel' will do is keep your club to the inside on the downswing. If you open your shoulders real quick, and NOT have your back face the target, this will throw your club to the outside, and lead to an over the top swing, and hence a bad golf shot. This is a problem slicers are notorious for having.

So when you reach the top of your swing, do this:

Feel that your hips bump slightly laterally, then begin to turn out of the way.

The key is to keep your back facing the target for a split second longer as you make this initial move with your hips. You should feel that your back resists against your lower body. Your upper body stays still, your lower body begins firing, your golf club is automatically dropped into the slot, your golf ball goes straight and far!

Golf Tips - Fixing your Slice - Keeping Your Back to Target

A quick look back at Hogan’s original quote in this essay tells us that “...under no conditions should the downswing be inaugurated by the hands.” I agree wholeheartedly. It is folly. Watson agrees as well:

“A lot of fairly good players try to start everything down together: feet, hips, arms, shoulders. I made the mistake of trying to do that myself for several years with no great success. If you start everything down together, there is a strong tendency to throw the clubhead at the ball with the right hand too soon, dissipating your power and not helping your accuracy, either. I converted to starting down with the lower body and became both longer and straighter.”

Secrets In The Dirt

Do you[r] best to keep your back facing the target for longer and you will set up the ideal DOWN swing sequence that will move the golf club on a path that travels outwards through the ball rather than across the ball. You can do this by controlling your armswing and shoulders consciously and deliberately or by using your lower body in such a way that the result is that the shoulders are delayed.

May, 2012 | Golf Confidence Academy

Professional golfers transition to the downswing by moving their lower bodies. In every great golf swing the legs and hips move first. The torso follows the hips; the shoulders follow the torso; the arms follow the shoulders; the hands follow the arms; and the club follows the hands. That’s the order of the downswing. : The sequence is from the ground up. The lower and upper body have to be synchronized. Strong hips and stabilizers create strong downswing.

Cindy Reid Golf

Just like that basketball player, you want to be on the balls of your feet -- not the heels, not the toes. That's the key to balance. No good athletes in any sport play with their weight back on their heels. It's important that you start with your weight on the balls of your feet and keep it there through impact. You can easily check your set-up position in a full-length mirror.

Tom Watson: To Set Up Right Get On Defense : Golf Digest

If you swing your belly button back and through you are activating and/or energizing many of the muscles that Mike Austin wanted you to utilize in the swing, including the internal and external obliques, the transverse abdominis, the glutes and the sartorius, just to name a few. The good news is that you don’t have to think about those muscles, if you don’t want to. Just swing that belly button. The further and faster you move it (albeit smoothly) the further that ball will go.

The Belly Button | Mentored By The Legend – Mike Austin

 

Clarifying the Hips' Role

Typical sway (rear view).

The dreaded sway is a plague. For one thing, it's hard to discern if you're guilty of it if you're not paying attention, and an amateur golfer with a sway is usually focused on other parts of the swing. And the opposing sensation--the correct one--will feel wrong when first attempted. Let's face it. A sway feels powerful to a beginning golfer; after all, they're "shifting weight to the back foot" like they've been told to do. But they can't figure out why they're seeing all these weak, floaty, fat shots coming off their club. Must need to swing faster...or sway more. Nope.

I recently understood why--finally--I had thought that keeping my right knee bent was helping me during a particular round but didn't seem to help much subsequent to that. I had assigned the results I was getting at the time to the wrong aspect of my backswing. Yes, I was keeping my right knee more bent in the backswing, but the real help was that my pelvis was passively turning in a more centered fashion WHILE keeping my right knee bent! This is a prime example of how we golfers can go on wild goose chases for that "thing" that will always be with us on the course, when in reality we can only count on a few key fundamentals and physics. We must continue coming back to those and working on them.

First, there are some setup characteristics that encourage an over-active hip rotation and its more desirable opposite. The more closed your stance (as if presetting for a draw), the more likely you will over-rotate the hips going back. Conversely, squaring your stance (or even opening it a bit) will decrease the possible amount of hip turn going back; the caveat is that a more open stance increases your chance of hitting outside-in. A ticked-in right knee will discourage hip over-rotation, as will a right foot that is kept perpendicular to the target line. Finally (already alluded to this), keeping the right knee bent in the backswing will prevent the hips from turning too much going back.

Correct right hip pivot.

Even though you do shift weight to the right foot (for a right-handed player), the pelvis--and thus the right hip--should never move to the right from its address position. Instead, the right hip rotates both backwards and towards the target in response to the right shoulder pulling straight back (causing the left shoulder to turn behind the ball); the rear hip never moves away from the target or to the right, which is the textbook definition of a sway and probably some form of a reverse pivot. The weight automatically stays concentrated on the inside of right foot and right leg as its supposed to.

In other words, imagine a line drawn on the ground that extends from the ball to between one's legs at address (i.e., a line perpendicular to the target line). A correct backswing hip movement has the right hip rotating back and around towards that line while the left shoulder turns to point at or just behind the ball; the right hip should not move further away from that line. This is a key distinction. And when you first do it correctly--when you've been swaying away--it will feel wrong...until you actually hit the ball and feel what happens.

A sway usually involves a straightening right knee due to (or as a result of) active hip rotation, while the correct, passive hip pivot in the backswing--with the hips initially resisting and remaining stable during the takeaway--allows the right knee to stay bent in order to keep the hips level and prevent the upper body from leaning to the left. During the takeaway, you should strive for the feeling that the hips and knees stay parallel to the target line initially and only pivot back due to the shoulders continued turn; this creates tension in the body that can be used to add power to your swing, while the stable lower body contributes to more consistent contact.

Examine a professional golfer in their address and backswing positions and you'll see that their rear leg at the top of the backswing appears to keep the same angle it had in relation to the body at address: The rear leg appears--from the foot to the hip--to be angled towards the target throughout the swing, while a swayer's rear leg goes from the correct angled appearance at address to an upright or vertical appearance at the top of the backswing. Heck, a severe sway can even have the rear leg angled entirely in the other direction at the top!

It's that centralized pelvic motion brought about by the proper rear hip rotation that allows for an easy weight shift to the front leg, dynamic front hip rotation (that mirrors the rear hip rotation in the other direction), and powerful, compressive impact. This is what Shawn Clement refers to when he talks about the correct weight shift and hip pivoting action--his "braced tilt." As a matter of fact, the left hip in the downswing nearly mirrors the motion of the right hip's backswing movement. At the completion of the backswing, there's a subtle, small shift of pressure into the left foot (many call this shift a "hip bump"); following that subtle move, the left hip simply turns behind the golfer and away from the target, while the upper body and arms stay passive! In reality, the left hip pivots both away from the target and upwards, due to the straightening left leg. The upper body shortly follows, and this makes it easy to keep one's head behind the ball, swing inside-out, and hit a push-draw. Performed correctly, you will notice a distinct stretched feeling all along the left side of the rib cage; a line running along the side of the left leg and left torso will resemble a crescent shape at impact.

Also, keep this in mind: The correct sequence of the aforementioned rear hip movement for the takeaway and backswing always follows the turning of the shoulders. The shoulders, arms, and club make a centralized turn first while the lower body remains still, and the shoulders eventually reach a point where they can't turn further; it's here that the rear hip turns back and behind the golfer to allow a 90-degree shoulder turn. Don't turn the hips before the shoulders. The correct sequence is that the shoulders turn the hips going back, and the hips turn the shoulders on the way down.

Left hip and crescent shape.

You see, the term “shift” is all wrong for the backswing. “Pivot” is a better term. The right hip will pivot back like sitting back in a chair and then around – actually coiling back toward the target slightly, not drifting sideways to the right. The right foot will stay braced on the instep, and the leg will remain leaning inward like a ball player braced to push off for a throw.

Weight Shift in Golf Swing – Herman Williams Golf

Have you ever hit balls at the range next to someone who made an awesome sound when they hit the ball? That sound is compression. It makes other players turn and watch because obviously this is a great ball striker. The player has made his divot past the ball and transferred the energy efficiently from the clubhead to the ball. Distance control is one of the keys to scoring. Great golfers don’t always hit the ball accurately but they often hit the ball pin high which means they are making solid contact. Proper hip action on the backswing plays a major role in compressing the ball. A common swing thought is to transfer your weight to your right side on the backswing. Unfortunately, most players sway their hips back to do this causing fat and thin contact. The key is to allow your hips to truly turn, not sway.

Hip Turn | MySmartGolf.com Blog

 

Hover Craft

I think Jack Nicklaus' preference to hover his club at address could help many players, and I have found it helpful to me with all the clubs--even the putter. Why? It definitely smooths the takeaway and backswing because the club can't catch on the ground and be jerked off plane. It prevents unnecessary tension from forming in the arms and hands which can happen when "snatching" the club off the ground to execute the takeaway; in other words, it helps keep the arms passive in the swing, as it should be. Hovering the club or "underreaching" provides for the feeling of the arms and club hanging freely from the shoulders, so there's an enhanced sense of the club head weight. Fat and thin shots are greatly reduced, because the wrists are allowed to extend more fully at address instead of starting less extended and then extending more in the downswing.

In the case of the driver, it can preprogram your driver head to help find the sweet spot on the downswing. But it's important to hover it properly to promote this: Tee the ball so that you can hover the club to position the ball just a hair above and right of dead center, which is the sweet spot of modern drivers. Therefore, the club is just barely off the ground. Don't hover the bottom of the club even with the bottom of the ball.

With fairway woods I position the club on the barely touching the ground because I like to think of the ground as my tee; with fairway woods, I'm trying sweep the ball like a driver.

With the putter and irons, it's the same: just barely above the ground.

Provided the arm tension and posture remain constant, hovering the club should ensure clean contact. The key is to use your posture with fully extended arms (not locked) to hover the club; don't fall into the trap of lifting the club up with your arms.

...The problem is teeing up higher and placing the driver on the ground at address. For example, let's say that you tee the ball up so that 2/3 of the ball is above the driver head. If you return the driver head to its address position, you will hit a pop-up. So you will have to raise the driver head off the ground at impact. But if you do this, the driver head moves further away from your body and cause heel hits.To fix this and hit it in the middle of your clubface with higher tee height, hover the driver head (off the ground) just behind the ball. I think you will be able to fix your heel hits with this adjustment.

Can't Hit The Driver - Golf Samurai

When I watch a PGA Tour event, Champions Tour event or LPGA Tour event, I'm often struck by how many players hover the club at address. They do not rest it on the ground before starting their takeaway. To name a few players: Bubba Watson (click on the link here), Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Davis Love III, Jay Haas, Greg Norman, Yani Tseng, Cristie Kerr. Get the picture? Yet, I rarely see average golfers do this. These tour players all hover the club when the ball is teed, but a number also use the same technique on pitches and even putts. You should try it, too, especially if you feel you have difficulty bringing the club back, or would like to smooth out your takeaway, or have trouble making solid contact on pitches from tight lies.

Weekend Tip: Don't sole the club at address: The Instruction Blog: Golf Digest

JIM FLICK: I'm reminded of what the legendary player and teacher Paul Runyan described as "measuring out" or "underreaching" at address. Paul contended that if you didn't sole the club but held it just above the ground, and then kept your grip tension and spine angle constant throughout your swing, you would always hit the ball cleanly.

This principle is especially true for pitch shots, but it also holds for irons, fairway woods and, yes, the driver. And with today's fairways mowed so tightly, it really helps you make perfect contact. You want the club to return to the ball in a precise manner every time.

Jim Flick And Jack Nicklaus: Hover The Club At Address: Golf Digest

Another simple way to stay loose over the ball is to hover the clubhead just off the ground (above, right). Hovering the club promotes a free-flowing movement away from the ball and sets the stage for a smooth, rhythmic backswing. In many instances, when players rest the clubhead on the ground for any length of time, they freeze over the ball, which encourages muscle tension to creep in.

By hovering the clubhead you'll begin to feel the weight of the head. This will help you to start back at a nice, controlled pace.

David Leadbetter: Hover To Beat Tension: Golf Digest

The biggest problem amateur golfers like me and you have when it comes to the short game is chunked shots. To help prevent fat chips, try the under-reach technique. Begin by assuming your address position, with your arms hanging to their natural length. Choke down on the club about an inch (I go even shorter, about two inches), and hover the club just off the ground as you get ready to execute the shot. The combination of choking the grip and hovering the club will help you guard against hitting the shot fat. When you finally make a swing, simply concentrate on contacting the bottom half of the ball.

Golf Short Game Swing Tips at GolfGist.com

 

Get Off Your Right Side!

One of a golfer's biggest potential errors is to get lazy and fail to shift or transfer the weight FULLY to the left foot before starting down. We all know we're supposed to do it--bump to the left and then rotate. Sometimes we think we're doing it when we really aren't. Some can get part way over at impact but not far enough; the weight ends up, maybe, in the center of the stance to the inside of the left foot at impact. Maybe it stays more on the right foot than imagined. Usually, it's because we're working on some other part of the swing and become distracted from this absolute essential fundamental. All sorts of wayward shots result, including slices and fat shots.

The reverse pivot is the other golf weight shift evil that's far worse than failing to get fully to the left; these folks (fortunately not my problem) do it all backwards; they shift their weight left on the backswing and then right on the downswing, all the while thinking they're doing it correctly. You'll know them by the way the lose their balance and fall backward at impact, with more weight on the right foot at the finish than at address. Sometimes you'll even see them take a step backwards with the left leg!

To get an idea of what "correct" feels like, use Shawn Clement's One Leg Drill to exaggerate the feeling of pivoting in a centered fashion and being firmly onto the left side to begin the downswing. At impact, most of the weight should be on the left foot. This is what is often called "hitting into a firm left side or left leg." Shawn calls it "bracing one's tilt against a firm left side." The inside of the right leg and foot should be the pivot point for a centralized backswing (with most weight movement to the right provided by the arms and club only--not a conscious shifting of body weight to the right), and the left foot and leg should be the pivot point for the downswing! The right leg's main function at impact is to ensure the tilted upper body doesn't fall over while mostly supported by the left leg. So, a key part of a great forward weight transfer is ensuring that you don't move too far off the ball to begin with! Make a centralized turn (you shouldn't move more than an inch of so off the ball during the backswing weight "shift." (really more of a turn than a shift) All sorts of GREAT shots result when getting off the right side by impact, such as power, slight draws, easier fades (with the right stance and grip adjustments), low shots played further back in the stance, hitting down, crisp contact, lower ball flights, great wedges, etc. The finish will be fully over the left side, with the weight concentrated toward the outside of the left foot, like it's supposed to be.

Notice frame 5 - shift before arms come down!

 

Other drills to instill this feeling include Gary Player's "hit and take a step after impact" drill and completely lifting the right foot off the ground at the finish while remaining balanced on the left foot. Either of these makes the point that the right leg should have minimal involvement in supporting the body weight at impact and beyond.

Here's another feel to get the point of shifting into a solid left leg and stable left foot: When bumping the left hip targetward, act as if the left foot becomes firmly planted onto the flat surface of a foot stool and that the next act has one stepping up by straightening the left leg while rotating to put something on a shelf behind and above oneself. All of this should be happening while the arms are still at the top or nearly there! Don't start down with the arms before planting into that left leg, because that left leg is the power engine for the arms to accelerate from the ground up! Get the feeing that your hands and arms are lazy and kind of pause at the top (with the back turned), while you shift firmly into the left leg. In reality, the club head will keep going for a second and set at the top while you shift. The head should stay tilted back behind the ball.

Shift into left leg then fire!

 

Characteristics of a proper weight transfer during the downswing: The weight shifts linearly (targetward) into the MIDDLE of the left foot, BEFORE opening the shoulders and starting down with the arms and club. As the left hip bumps towards the target, there's a distinct, solid feeling in left hip and bent left knee, as the weight settles into the left leg (again, before starting down with the club), though the upper body is tilted away from the target. The bent left knee will shift from pointing behind the ball to pointing ahead of it, automatically. The right knee will fold in (again, linearly) behind the left knee, automatically. When the weight first transfers quickly to the left foot, the left knee is bent but gradually straightens as the left hip gradually rotates backwards and upwards during the remaining downswing motions (the left hip rotates upwards because the left knee straightens). This move is NOT abrupt or "stomping" in nature; it's a very smooth but rapid transition into the left foot (almost a pressing down feeling) that gets the weight left. At impact, there's practically no weight on the right foot. The weight will be firmly in the middle of the left foot at impact and will gradually roll to the outside of the foot at the finish.

The weight transfers in the swing purely due to the motion in the arms hands and club as they travel away from the target. Think of it this way – if I swing my arms, which each weigh 15 lbs, and a club in my backswing you can be sure that I am transferring weight onto my back foot. There is however no conscious shifting or body move that gets the weight over there.

There is no lateral body move, yet many players often wrote or spoke about a sense of weight transfer. The body stays centered while the weight is transferred by the motion in the arms and the club. Video HERE

All the best ball strikers studied displayed a tendency to transfer the weight to the front foot in a smooth and continuous flow with no backing up or slowing of the transfer...This meant that they arrived at impact with an 80/20 split favoring the front foot and the weight continued to move smoothly over to the front side beyond impact.

The tendency with higher handicap golfers (above 18) was for the weight to get too far back and then remain there all the way through impact. It was not unusual to see one of these golfers have a split of 70/30 favoring the back foot at impact.

Weight Transfer and Positioning | Andrew Rice Golf

The hips play a very important role in the golf swing. The problem is that most people do not understand the correct motion that they must make. The correct move is NOT a simple turn of the hips from the top of the swing, as many would believe.

In fact, the correct move is a slight lateral shift, or "bump", and then a turn. If you look at players like Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo, you will see a perfect example of this. These guys don't just turn their hips away from the top. Instead, their weight shifts laterally to the left side, which drops everything (arms and shoulders) into the slot. From there, they can just turn and fire through the ball as hard as they want.

Golf Tips - Hip Movement During the Swing

Secondly, good ball-strikers make a full weight transfer to the left as they complete their swing. You can't finish low if you hang back on your right side. Proof of the weight shift is your right heel.

If you've turned your hips aggressively and moved to your left side through impact, your right heel should be off the ground and closer to the target than your right toe.

Stay Low After Impact - Butch Harmon

Start the downswing by stepping down on your left heel and letting your left hip move slightly toward the target. As your lower body starts to move, pull your hands down, keeping your right elbow close to your right hip as long as possible.

Take our advice: Put your golf slice in the past

This “bump then fire” action, which is present in the techniques of many elite players, requires considerable discipline in ensuring that the weight transfer is properly executed before commencing the downswing rotation.

Understanding golf swing weight shift