Instruction
Getting off the back foot
Do these swing tips “Get on your left side,” “Get through the ball,” and “Finish” sound familiar? They should, because they are some of the most familiar admonitions in the game and for good reason. There is no question that all great players move their weight through the shot. And to hit the golf ball consistently well, all golfers need to get there. That being said, why do so many struggle with their weight shift?
One of the difficult things about golf is that it is, of all games, the most paradoxical. For example, it seems that because the golf ball is sitting on the ground, the logical thing to do is hit UP on it to help it in the air. The minute that image directs a golfer’s motion, he or she will invariably fall onto the back foot to try to hit up on the golf ball.
When I train junior golfers, one of the first things they learn, after a proper set up, is how to hit down on the golf ball. In other words, they learn to overcome the natural instinct I just described. This is the genesis of shifting their weight to their lead foot. The drill I use most often is the downhill lie drill. I have players hit balls on a downhill lie and walk through the shot (down the hill). Try it. It will be impossible to fall onto your back foot.
The second biggest cause of falling onto the back foot is leaving too much weight on the lead foot in the backswing. This is caused by something called proprioception, the unconscious perception of movement and special orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself. Translation? Our body wants to be in balance. In everything we do, from sky diving to walking down the street, our bodies are seeking balance. It’s what keeps us from falling over.
Think of the downswing as nothing more than the body seeking balance. If the center of mass of the body leans too far forward (toward a golfer’s lead foot), it immediately and unconsciously falls back to the rear foot for balance. That is the root cause of “hanging back.” If you watch golf swing videos closely, most every time you see golfers finish on the back foot it is because they have tilted too far forward on the front foot in the backswing. This was mistakenly termed a “reverse pivot” for a long time. But, in fact, there is not “pivot” at all. John Jacobs referred to this as rocking, a much more apt description. This rocking motion is responsible for perhaps 80 percent of hang-back problems.
The correct movement
[youtube id=”WTBdi4g-ubI” width=”620″ height=”360″]
- A “step” on the right foot (turning into the right leg, more than out over it).
- A push up (not a lift) through the right shoulder.
- A push off the right foot toward the left side. It is much easier to push off a flexed back leg than a straight one so the lower and upper body can “separate.”
- A push up through the left shoulder.
The torso will separate from the hips and legs and stay slightly behind the ball as the lower body pushes hard toward the lead foot.
The movements I described are verified by 3-D motion analysis systems such as the AMM (Advanced Motion Analysis). For more information, I would urge you to looks at some of the work by Dr. Young-Hoo Kwon. Dr. Kwon is a professor of biomechanics at Texas Women’s University. His work, in conjunction with golf teaching professional Chris Como, is some of the best work in the field on this subject. Their research is really enlightening as it deals with center of mass and center of pressure movements in the golf swing, and most importantly, the difference between them.
One of my favorite images that nicely illustrates the proper weight shift in a golf swing is that of a pitcher pushing off the rubber and stepping toward the plate.
For practical purposes, it reveals what I and many others have taught for many years: If the body weight is slightly on the rear leg in the backswing, we can push off to the front side in the downswing. The “hang back” look of so many amateurs can be corrected by understanding this principle.
It should be noted that when I say that golfers move slightly to their right side (for a right-handed golfer) in the backswing, I am not describing a “swaying” motion; simply a slight center of mass movement to the right foot in the backswing in order to feel a push-off to the left side. Watch Adam Scott’s swing as he does this. It’s a thing of beauty.
[youtube id=”oa29TMPqq9E” width=”620″ height=”360″]
The final way that golfers end up with their weight on their back foot is from over-swinging; simply trying to swing much harder or faster than their body is capable of. Try this: Swing as hard as you possibly can. You will notice some recoil — a spring back to your rear foot as a reaction to the speed of the motion. You see this in long drivers quite often.
I do not believe that golfers should try to intentionally slow their swing down, but I do want them to swing at a speed that allows them to feel the motion of the body. I’m often asked if there is a swing on tour I really like and although I’d be hard pressed to pick one, Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen come to mind. Their balance enviable.
So if you’re trying to hit up, or leaving weight on the front side in your takeaway or swinging like a long drive competitor, you will likely finish going away from the target. And there is no sport I can think of where movement away from the target is functional. If you’d like to send a youtube video to my Facebook page, I’d be happy to take a look and help you cure your weight shift problems.
- LIKE254
- LEGIT21
- WOW13
- LOL8
- IDHT6
- FLOP7
- OB13
- SHANK35
Instruction
Clement: Laid-off or perfect fade? Across-the-line or perfect draw?
Some call the image on the left laid off, but if you are hitting a fade, this could be a perfect backswing for it! Same for across the line for a draw! Stop racking your brain with perceived mistakes and simply match backswing to shot shape!
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
Instruction
The Wedge Guy: The easiest-to-learn golf basic
My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.
As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.
The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.
Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply. Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:
Mis-aligned hands
By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.
The position of the grip in the upper/left hand
I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean. Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.
To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.
Too much lower (right) hand on the club
It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.
Gripping too tightly
Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.
So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.
More from the Wedge Guy
- The Wedge Guy: Golf mastery begins with your wedge game
- The Wedge Guy: Why golf is 20 times harder than brain surgery
- The Wedge Guy: Musings on the golf ball rollback
- LIKE87
- LEGIT13
- WOW6
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP4
- OB1
- SHANK8
Instruction
Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!
Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?
- LIKE0
- LEGIT2
- WOW2
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK2
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
-
19th Hole4 days ago
Justin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
-
19th Hole4 days ago
‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Two star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Report: LIV Golf identifies latest star name they hope to sign to breakaway tour
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Neal Shipley presser ends in awkward fashion after reporter claims Tiger handed him note on 8th fairway
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Brandel Chamblee has ‘no doubt’ who started the McIlroy/LIV rumor and why
william reichert
Oct 20, 2016 at 10:04 pm
To move the weight from the right foot to the left(without moving the head forward as well) involves
either dropping the head slightly on the downswing or addressing the ball with significant knee flex. This is just anatomy. Moving to the left with the lower body while keeping the head from moving means that the left side of your body has gotten longer. This is impossible so there must be some action that allows this to happen. The head must drop. However if you start the swing with a little more knee flex this action lowers your head at address. Then the extra knee flex allows the weight shift to occur without further head lowering on the down swing.
Padre
Mar 27, 2014 at 7:16 am
Thanks once again Dennis. You have the uncanny ability to explain something so clear. When I read your articles I always get the lightbulb moment. Dont know if you have written books, but you should. Its one thing to know and understand something, its something else to TEACH it to someone. I once attended a a pro-am tournament and I noticed something strange. The pro’s and long hitters left shoe prints in the grass which the ameturs didnt, which I found odd, now I know why.
Keep them coming Sensei.
From rainy, but better weather on the horizon- The Netherlands
Billy
Mar 27, 2014 at 4:01 am
Great article!! I HAVE a big problem with weight shift, I hit it ok, but bad ball flight.
I also have a I fight with flipping my hands through impact.
I know if I can move my weight, ill lose my dumping the club/casting.
Thanks, good read.
DavidI
Mar 26, 2014 at 9:38 am
Thanks for a great article – adding the video and commentary make the point very effectively.
I never played more than recreational tennis, but when I’m struggling with weight transfer during my golf swing my first thought is to think of the swing as a simple tennis shot, stepping behind the ball (transferring weight to the back foot) then stepping through it as my weight moves to my left as a right-hander. I also find this helps with shoulder timing; if I’m leaking the ball right it’s usually because I’m opening the shoulders early and I think of playing a tennis shot down the line but with spin to take the ball right to left. If I want the ball to drop to the right I’ll think of getting through the ball with my shoulders opening earlier just as I would to fade a tennis ball out of the court.
paul
Mar 25, 2014 at 10:16 pm
My two year old gets off his back foot because his clubs are to heavy and he simply gets pulled forward.
Dennis Clark
Mar 26, 2014 at 11:41 am
wow starting him early…for a lot of young’uns, the club swings them, as opposed to them swinging the club. When they are old enough to develop the musculature to mange the stick, I usually start them out
paul
Mar 27, 2014 at 1:37 am
Couldn’t help it. Couldn’t keep him away from my clubs. Bought a few foam balls and a small mat with a tee. Then found an old iron with a graphite shaft and cut it down for him. Want to get the smallest set money can buy for his birthday. Now my wife has two golf nuts to contend with. Is it best to keep him away from golf for another year or two?
Jacob Koehn
Mar 25, 2014 at 9:31 pm
In tennis you move away. just saying
Dennis Clark
Mar 25, 2014 at 9:42 pm
That’s good to know; I gave Ivan Lendl a lesson once, he’s quite a decent player. I hear Connors has picked it up too.
Joel
Mar 26, 2014 at 8:26 am
This is really interesting. I’m a former competitive tennis player, and I’ve always heard that I need to be on my front foot but I’m not quite sure how to transition to that sort of feel. If anything I have a tendency to pull drives somewhat dramatically this way.
Dennis Clark
Mar 26, 2014 at 8:14 pm
Joel if you’re pulling your drives you are probably opening your UPPER body too soon in an effort to get through the ball. The upper body stays behind and the arms and club have to lower before you begin to turn through.
sedevie
Mar 25, 2014 at 6:50 pm
Dennis,
Don’t forget to add Steve Stricker and probably the best ball striker ever Moe Norman to your list of flat footers. I personally like the idea of flat feet as it allows the legs to support and the torso to stay down and through the shot. I believe this lessens the back pain compared to the typical golf swing of the legs driving up through impact and the torso being forced down to be able to strike the ball.
See Tiger Woods. jmho Great Article for a lot of golfers!
Dennis Clark
Mar 25, 2014 at 8:18 pm
A flat footer can still move the center of mass and use the force vectors I’ve described. It is a matter of where the pressure is at impact. One with a very wide bottom to their swing arc is totally dependent on getting the COM forward, while one with a much narrower bottom can have some mass a little behind. The ground reaction forces created by the longest hitters are a result of pressing INTO the ground, creating a force vector that can be used for powerful leverage. Many of the long drivers have 30″ or more vertical leap and have tremendous speed because of that strength. But this article deals with mostly average players who need SOMETHING to push off generally due to a very early release. Glad you enjoyed the piece. DC
Stu
Mar 25, 2014 at 3:46 pm
Dennis,
Great article and very applicable to my swing.
Can you give me a drill (for flat driving range or indoors) that will ingrain this in my swing? The walk through swing or is there something better?
Thanks,
Stu
Dennis Clark
Mar 25, 2014 at 4:20 pm
One thing that might help…place a board, maybe a 1-by, or even a golf ball under the outside of your rear foot and hit some balls. You may feel the pressure point I described in the article.
Kammer
Mar 25, 2014 at 11:39 am
Thanks for the article, Dennis.
What do you make of guys like Kenny Perry who basically hit shots flat-footed and then ‘finish’ on the front foot mostly for show?
Dennis Clark
Mar 25, 2014 at 1:44 pm
Yes, there are those guys: Mark Calcavecchia, Dave Stockton, Rex Caldwell. They’re in the minority, but they’re still very interesting. I think they are mostly high ball hitters with lots of spin. I’ve always wanted to look more closely at them, and now that you mention it I am going to do so. My first guess is tons of lag. But I’m gonna look. Thx