Proper weight transfer

I have been having a problem on weight transfer.

Because of that, I've been either push slicing everything or pulling everything, so I'm currently playing a litte bit of a military golf

Well, I've filmed my swing and has far as I've seen I'm not reverse pivoting but I feel that my weight is completely on my left side when I'm at the top of my swing.

Have you got any tips to help me?

I guess the camera lies because that is pretty much the definition of a reverse pivot. Upload the video for us to see.

FortAsel,

Review this 1st video, as it talks about weight shift, mostly in the back swing.

Look carefully at how Sean resists the momentum of the back swing with his right foot. He doesn't allow his upper body to sway over his right foot, nor does he allow his foot to roll over. You'll want to feel the weight transferring to the right foot's instep and right heel.

Then look at his practice downswings at about 4:19 into the video. The very first move he makes, which is extremely subtle by the way, is a lateral hip move (or bump) of about one to two inches towards 1:00 o'clock. Don't actively turn your hips, as they will turn automatically out of the way by the pivoting upper torso.



In this other video, Sean discusses down swing weight shift.



Look carefully at 2:50 into the video where Sean says the whole downswing revolves around the left leg. This is where the whole upper torso (including synced & connected arms) and hips revolve around or pivot around the left leg.

A couple of points.

To effectively hip bump, do so by pushing off with your right foot's instep. If you feel the weight on it during the back swing, this is very easy to do. Don't accomplish this lateral bump by leaning the hip over to the side like a hula dancer. It must be done with your right foot pushing off.

After the hip bump, you'll be ready to pivot your upper torso and hips around your left leg. Make sure to keep your head back until later as it'll get pulled up after impact. Try to think of your head and left leg as anchors of an axis with which your body can rotate about.

This is not dancin this is supposed to be golf.

Seriously I get to a point where some of these videos are just too complex for me. Too much to think about.

It seems that if you feel the weight transfer you have SWAYED and the forward move is restricted if not impossible. Just turn the shoulders keeping a tight coil and the release is almost automatic. Just turn the body through from there. Its really easier than we think, once we take our arms out of it.

Here is a common exercise to instill proper weight shift and balance that can be used on the course in your practice swing.

Set up normally. Take your normal backswing but move your left foot back to be next to your right foot by the time the club reaches the top. In your downswing, you will be forced to move your left foot back to its original setup position, or else you will fall over.

two drill that will help with your weight transfer

1) swing with your feet together and shift the weight and rotate around

2) place a club shaft on your chest with the shaft under your arm pits and rotate around.

at your finish your hip should be pointing at the target with 99% of the weight transfered to the front foot, try to keep your head looking down at the ball.

I am finding out why there are so many approaches to the question of weight shift. At least that is my current conclusion. I think how you shift your weight has a lot to do with what degree you are an arm swinger as opposed to a "body" swinger which in turn describes what degree of connectivity you have between your arms and torso.

If you are disconnected at the top of your swing and initiate the downswing with a hip bump to post up on the front leg, the dropping of the club into the slot is practically a separate move. Their is a timing issue here and getting the weight completely over to the left side takes more effort and thought. If your are more connected at the top (left and right arm pits held more tighter to the body) The hip bump does more of the work in dropping the club into the slot. You don't have to think as much about pressing the front foot into the ground to feel the weight shifting. A hip turn pulls the club around more in a more connected swing. In the arm swing method, you have to move your hips more actively to keep ahead of arms. You have to develop a tempo that keeps things in sync. You have to really feel the front leg post up and say "OK, now I can bring the arms through".

Don't get me wrong, both types of swing work very well for golfers. But it seems to me that when we give advice on shifting weight, we need to consider this factor.

Proper foot work is absolutely critical to an effective golf swing. If you want to be dancing on the green, take the time to learn the steps.

A good golf swing is simple. Learning it can be frustrating. Take one small step at a time. Eventually you'll get there.

I agree to what you're saying to some extent. If you sway over your right foot, your swing is dead. If you can not feel the weight shift into your right foot's instep, perhaps you're too tense. Make sure that your weight is over the ball of your feet at address, and not on your heels or toes.

Try this drill as it may help you gain that weight resistance feel on your right instep. At address, tilt in your right knee towards the target a little so that your right side weight is on the inside edge of your right shoe. Your right shoe's outside edge should be off the ground by about half to quarter of an inch. As you swing back, keep your right knee bent and focus on your right foot instep and heel, as they should feel somewhat compressed.

This is a good drill. Just remember that during the downswing, prevent your head from moving forward at first.

IMHO, the hip turn doesn't pull anything around. I believe that a subtle and lateral hip bump is a trigger do get the body to move around and forward. It's the shoulders and chest that move the club around.

Name one current PGA player that swings the driver solely with their arms.

Keep it simple...

As you complete the backswing with your weight on your right side and you begin to transfer to the forward swing, plant your left foot spikes into the ground.

This does two things...it begins the weight shift to the left and it begins a proper downswing from the bottom up (avoiding an over the top move).

When I'm planting the left spikes, I'm hittng very solid golf shots without even thinking about it.

MPS67:

I think hardly anyone swings solely with the arms. I just think it is harder to sychronize weight shift with your arm movement when you've become disconnected at the top. Some people just lift their arms more and have to time the arm swing with the body movement more.

Here's a method that works providing your back swing is correct. Remember that your back swing can only be correct if your stance and posture is correct, which can only be correct if your grip is correct!

Anyway, the "method that works:"

Step one: Find your left hip bone...
Step two: Imagine that, at address, you are standing in front of a wall, with your back facing the wall.
Step three: Imagine that, at address, you have a very strong resistance band connected to your left hip bone. The other end of the band is connected to the wall directly behind your left hip.
Step four: Take your back swing and normal hip turn. Feel the resistance band lengthen out with a huge amount of tension that is fighting to come back. This is your "coil."
Step five: Let the power of the resistance band bring your hips back.

At this point, your left hip will shoot back. It will turn back to the left extremely fast (or as Tiger woods would say, "as fast as they can possibly go.") At the same time, your weight is transferred from your right foot to the left foot. It is extremely important to have enough lateral motion (motion from the right side of your body to the left side of your body) to bring the weight onto the left foot. This lateral motion and the turning of the left hip happens at the same time.

When you do this correctly, you will find that your hands are at about hip level. You right shoulder will have dropped below your left shoulder and your hips will be cleared out of the way so that you feel you can hit nothing but the ball. You will feel loaded with energy, and you will have a feeling of freedom to strike the ball cleanly time and time again.

O.K. wait a minute.

Isn't the coil (or extension) felt on your left side, as your shoulders eventually pull your hips around in the back swing? There's no force that I can imagine that draws your hips back to the imaginary wall. At the top, the muscles between your hips and left shoulder are taught. Therefore, it's easy for your hips to pull down your upper torso. But this hip bump and simultaneous hip turn must either be pulled on by the hips, pushed on by the right lower body, or both. The uncoiling is of the upper torso as it pivots forward and around. Don't you agree?

I get into trouble when I try to force the uncoiling instead of allowing the torso to uncoil. I don't know if its true for everyone but I hit it better when I swing the club. This may be due to my body size (xxxl). trying to get a big coil and uncoil gets some interesting second shots.

I agree. What I explained was just an imagination or visualization that a golfer can use to properly execute hip movement. I think golf is a lot easier when you strive to create repeatable feelings, instead of trying to memorize positions.

Your explanation is spot on though; I agree with every bit of it.