WEIGHT shift

[dant]

I am trying to understand the idea of shifting your weight to your right leg without sliding. Which in my case promotes a nice little slice. According to my instructor I am suppose to have my weight on the inside of my right leg. Miminal turn with my lower body and most of my turn with upper body while trying to stay behind the ball. Then staying behind and starting the downswing with my lower body. Now my question is this (which I am trying the next time on am on the range) can't you just rotate or shift your weight to the right leg without trying to bring it to the inner part of the leg ( of course with out the shift). To me it is a lot harder trying to focus getting it to the inner part instead of the just the whole leg.
Thanks Dant

[Neil18]

Re: WEIGHT shift

That's the best question I've seen on here in a long time.

As with everything in the analysis of golf technique, there's reasons for all that we do. Mostly because of action and reaction. They say you can never change ONE thing in your swing. Even if only one thing is purposefully changed, something else has to change/will change to accomodate it.

The reason it is advised, for consistency, that the weight (if you shift it at all - see Stack & Tilt) should be felt on the inside of the rear leg is twofold (as far as I see it).

Firstly, centering your weight on the whole foot/leg can promote a sway in the backswing where your head and pelvis alignment becomes out slightly. Keeping the weight on the inside of the rear foot helps to keep the feeling of not shifting the head away from the target in the backswing. So it pretty much serves as a checkpoint. If you feel weight go across your whole rear foot, and even as far as the outside of it, you may well be swaying. Cos let's face it, your head is the heaviest part of your body so if it moves, you'll feel it in your feet.

Secondly, it stops the rear leg from buckling. As with the head moving, if your weight moves across your whole foot and even to the outside of it your knee will almost certainly move with it for support. It can't do anything else. We may be talking as small as an inch of movement. But we've gone thourgh the pains of a pre-shot routine and set up to provide our turn with a braced right leg. If the middle joint of that brace is moved then it's compromised and can fail in its' job.

What a thoroughly interesting question and a thoroughly boring response!

Golf technique. It spawns essays of such yawn-worthiness I have yet to encounter in another field!

But I think I'm quite good at writing them! Does that make me boring?!

Play well!

[BrianW]

Re: WEIGHT shift

I have recently studied the Don Trahan swing as it is meant to put little strain on the back. He promotes quite the opposite to 'Stack and Tilt' in that he suggests the weight is set on the rear foot at address then you only need to make a weight shift forward during the downswing. I have tried this and it does seem to work well.

[rotator]

Re: WEIGHT shift

Hi dant,

As Neil says the reason the inside of the foot is stressed for the weight to shift into, is that would stop the right leg from bowing out and the right foot rolling over.
You want the leg to be a brace for the turn, then when you shift the weight with the bump of the lower body, it's the connection to the ground. Apparently, Hogan had an extra spike custom installed in his golf shoe in that location, to give him additional connection to the ground.

You can get used to the feel of that connection, by putting a ball or piece of 2"x4" board under the outside of the right foot as you practice your swing. When you take your backswing, you will feel the weight go into the inside of the foot, and the leg providing a brace against which you can build up the torque.

Brian, I was going to comment on the Trahan swing difference in this regard, as well. It should be noted that the forward motion does not involve the forward throwing of the hips, it is a 'forward and upward' rotational turning of the body and arms to finish standing straight and tall. No hip lunge, no reverse "C", not an excessive turning to the left in the followthrough, it's meant to be easy on the body.

Ted

[GregJWillis]

Re: WEIGHT shift

I am trying to understand the idea of shifting your weight to your right leg without sliding....

I like to start out with this drill...keeps things pretty simple.
http://mysite.verizon.net/gregjwillis/LESSON2.htm

[dant]

Re: WEIGHT shift

That's the best question I've seen on here in a long time.

As with everything in the analysis of golf technique, there's reasons for all that we do. Mostly because of action and reaction. They say you can never change ONE thing in your swing. Even if only one thing is purposefully changed, something else has to change/will change to accomodate it.

The reason it is advised, for consistency, that the weight (if you shift it at all - see Stack & Tilt) should be felt on the inside of the rear leg is twofold (as far as I see it).

Firstly, centering your weight on the whole foot/leg can promote a sway in the backswing where your head and pelvis alignment becomes out slightly. Keeping the weight on the inside of the rear foot helps to keep the feeling of not shifting the head away from the target in the backswing. So it pretty much serves as a checkpoint. If you feel weight go across your whole rear foot, and even as far as the outside of it, you may well be swaying. Cos let's face it, your head is the heaviest part of your body so if it moves, you'll feel it in your feet.

Secondly, it stops the rear leg from buckling. As with the head moving, if your weight moves across your whole foot and even to the outside of it your knee will almost certainly move with it for support. It can't do anything else. We may be talking as small as an inch of movement. But we've gone thourgh the pains of a pre-shot routine and set up to provide our turn with a braced right leg. If the middle joint of that brace is moved then it's compromised and can fail in its' job.

What a thoroughly interesting question and a thoroughly boring response!

Golf technique. It spawns essays of such yawn-worthiness I have yet to encounter in another field!

But I think I'm quite good at writing them! Does that make me boring?!

Play well!

Neil
One of the drills my instructor has me do is to turn my right foot in while I take my backswing. It really makes me feel what the weight shift feels like on the inner portion of my leg. The problem is on focus so much on it that I don't shift or move my weight to my front foot. Which of course brings about topping the ball or even some nasty duck hooks. I am really working on my game because the last two years have been tough when it comes to my golf game.

[Neil18]

Re: WEIGHT shift

Neil
One of the drills my instructor has me do is to turn my right foot in while I take my backswing. It really makes me feel what the weight shift feels like on the inner portion of my leg. The problem is on focus so much on it that I don't shift or move my weight to my front foot. Which of course brings about topping the ball or even some nasty duck hooks. I am really working on my game because the last two years have been tough when it comes to my golf game.

I tried your little drill when I read your post. If it helps that's great. However I don't think it's fool-proof. I can still get the weight on the outside of my right foot with it turned in.

I guess it works both ways. Weight on the inside of the foot promotes a better turn and a better turn sees weight settle on the inside of the foot.

[dagosa]

Re: WEIGHT shift

I am trying to understand the idea of shifting your weight to your right leg without sliding. Which in my case promotes a nice little slice. According to my instructor I am suppose to have my weight on the inside of my right leg. Miminal turn with my lower body and most of my turn with upper body while trying to stay behind the ball. Then staying behind and starting the downswing with my lower body. Now my question is this (which I am trying the next time on am on the range) can't you just rotate or shift your weight to the right leg without trying to bring it to the inner part of the leg ( of course with out the shift). To me it is a lot harder trying to focus getting it to the inner part instead of the just the whole leg.
Thanks Dant

I have a totally different take on weight shift...don't think about it, except in very general terms...ball down; start left, stay left. Ball up; start right stay right for maximum distance. Getting too technical relative to shift makes it extremely difficult to deal with uneven lies...which where I play, is the norm. Using the lower body to support my swing in a controlled manner allows any weight shift to occur naturally. I never thought about how my weight shifted when I threw a football or swung a baseball bat except as a support to my upper body through its full range of motion.

[Neil18]

Re: WEIGHT shift

I have a totally different take on weight shift...don't think about it, except in very general terms...ball down; start left, stay left. Ball up; start right stay right for maximum distance. Getting too technical relative to shift makes it extremely difficult to deal with uneven lies...which where I play, is the norm. Using the lower body to support my swing in a controlled manner allows any weight shift to occur naturally. I never thought about how my weight shifted when I threw a football or swung a baseball bat except as a support to my upper body through its full range of motion.

You're a fortunate fellow!

Not thinking about it, about anything, is the holy grail of golf.

If it "just happens" then you are blessed and can consider yourself very lucky!

I still need to consider it from time to time, but I have experienced it happening of its' own accord and it was very nice!

The weight shift is actually more natural than people would have others believe, but when it's all wrong, I guess one needs to know how to do it right first.

[dagosa]

Re: WEIGHT shift

You're a fortunate fellow!

Not thinking about it, about anything, is the holy grail of golf.

If it "just happens" then you are blessed and can consider yourself very lucky!

I still need to consider it from time to time, but I have experienced it happening of its' own accord and it was very nice!

The weight shift is actually more natural than people would have others believe, but when it's all wrong, I guess one needs to know how to do it right first.

I hear you...for me though when it's wrong, it's the effect not the cause. I'm very well balance making an undercut using my chain saw felling a large diameter tree because I know what's expected at the "business" end. I think too much about my balance...I could cut some thing other than the tree. In golf I could loose a shot. If the connection isn't made in that order, I have other problems, usually physical.

To change your center of gravity, you must alter a body part...pick the wrong one, which many do, you've compounded the problem. Focus on the correct manipulation of the tool, and proper balance will eventually become "more natural" and appropriate with the right tempo as your friend. Example..if I have too much trouble staying left; it's invariably because my tempo was too fast...balance is my indicator, not my cause.

That it happens of it's "own accord" for me, means that everything else I did was correct.
BTW, a 2 minute w/o each day on a Dynaboard (bladder and board) makes balance problems much easier to naturally deal with. I would recommend that to anyone with balance problems in sports to put things in perspective, naturally. There are lots of stability muscles in the hips and legs that pros use that the rest of us don't give a thought to....this is a way to address some.

Daughter is a physical therapist; sacrificed lots of greens fees for her education that now pays off .

[jambalaya]

Re: WEIGHT shift

One thing that helps a bit is to square your back foot up rather than flare it towards the rear as one has a tendency to do. Gets the weight on the inside of the back foot faster and easier. Make sure you are keeping your back knee, both knees really, flexed. Straightening that back knee especially will prevent the weight shift from occuring efficiently and naturally. Make sure you are rotating straight back and around. Dipping the front shoulder as you start the backswing can introduce a little reverse pivot which makes it difficult to get the weight on the right foot. The screwing the back foot into the ground bit is good to get you to feel the weight shift but one probably cannot think about that all the time.

I agree with dagosa that weight shift should happen primarily as the result of the lower bodies reaction to the movement of our upper body to make a swing and should not be a very conscious thought. If the backswing doesn't happen correctly and you have a faulty first move down, shifting weight properly will be difficult. I have tried all kinds of conscious weight shift moves and thoughts and they didn't work for me in the long term.

[dagosa]

Re: WEIGHT shift

I have tried all kinds of conscious weight shift moves and thoughts and they didn't work for me in the long term.

You're reading my mail...some golf instructions are like some car mechanics that want you to think about things that will keep you coming back instead of the fix that never returns.