By now, most GolfWRX readers are familiar with force plates and the center of pressure (COP) tracking devices designed for golf. And if you haven’t already, you must try one.
These devices have been an eye opener to coaches and players alike. They range from general COP trackers to sophisticated, fixed force plates that can measure load and unload. The development of these tools has gone hand in hand with what we’ve uncovered about how energy is created and transferred in the golf swing. That knowledge has helped modern golfers hit it farther than ever, as they can now quantify and track yet another important variable in the golf swing.
One the major issues I see with amateurs and some elite players is getting too much weight toward their toes, especially during the transition. This has a major effect on the plane of the club, angle of attack and path. If you work on trying to keep your center of pressure in a linear fashion between the middle of your feet going back and through the ball, culminating in it rotating onto the left heel at impact, you will hit it better.
I want to share this drill in a video as it has worked for some tour players of mine. Lifting your toes up inside your shoes is something you can do in competition as well as on the range.
A good adage to remember about the feet is that the toes are the brakes, the middle of the foot is for balance and the heels are for speed. We want to utilize the middle of the foot, not the ball, and also the left heel. Obviously, if you get onto your toes, you need a counteracting feeling. Lifting your toes up, or just lifting your big toes, keeps the weight back allows the body to explode open at impact rather than raising up and staying closed, which gets the hands active through the ball.
Watch the video and try the feel. It really works!
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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!
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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
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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?
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Jack
Apr 27, 2017 at 8:44 pm
Tried this last night. It help me. I will continue doing this until I stay off my toes.
Thanks for the tip!!!!
Jalan
Feb 23, 2017 at 8:24 pm
I actually tried this at the range yesterday. I found it very effective, not just for keeping me off my toes, but for also helping me transfer my weight properly..
TheCityGame
Feb 23, 2017 at 12:26 pm
This is a great tip. Last fall, I went to see my guy because my contact was getting inconsistent. I was right up on both toes in transition.
He had me focus on getting onto the back heel when I was at the top, and my weight naturally shifted to the left heel.
When you get up on those toes, you have nothing to do except push back onto your heels, and thrust your hips forward. Very difficult to stay consistent.
Tom Slagle
Feb 22, 2017 at 8:45 am
Would that be like Lexi Thompson and Bubba Watson?
Richard
Feb 21, 2017 at 12:54 pm
Gee! center face contact with the ball is better than non-center face contact :):)
What can contribute to causing the center of your clubface to get closer or further away from the ball while swinging a club that is a constant length.? Sudden Growth spurts with arms?
Hmmh let me think about that.
Is the ball in golf moving or stationary?
What is a good stance and footwork for soccer and basketball and tennis and badminton and table Tennis (moving object sports) is not necessarily good for stationary object sports like Golf.
Hmmh.
So a movement pattern that alters ones distance from the ball is perhaps non ideal.
Phil
Feb 20, 2017 at 12:31 pm
I guess Justin Thomas is doing it all wrong then…
TheCityGame
Feb 23, 2017 at 12:31 pm
This isn’t about staying flat-footed. Justin Thomas doesn’t get up on his toes like Yarwood is talking about. His right foot comes up early, but he’s pushing onto the middle of his left foot.
Getting up on your toes is related to early extension and forces an OTT move. JT does not do this.
Phil
Feb 23, 2017 at 12:55 pm
Take a look at this video, you’re wrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shk6obgJMsE&t=47s
AceW7Iron
Mar 13, 2017 at 8:06 am
I agree with CityGame…Thomas does finish hard on his toes but he certainly does not start on them. Look at the video closely and watch his weight as he swings back…its toward the middle of his right foot almost as if his toes could be elevated. The onlt time he gets his weight forward is on the downswing when its obvious his toes are no longer pressure free but he is actually riding them.