Is this the proper weight shift?

[Golfer20]

Hi all,  I have been playing golf for about two years now and I used to shoot in the 100s and through hard work I have been able to keep it in the mid 80s (I haven't changed my handicap yet! Lol).  Here lately I have been consumed with learning the proper weight shift to try and gain some distance ( I only hit my 5-iron about 175 yards consistently.)  However I was on the range yesterday and I think I discovered something.  I was hitting my 7-iron and I focused on "stepping" down or pressing down on the ground with my left foot  rather than focusing on bumping my hips to left.  ( I am a right handed golfer).  I was wondering if this is the desirable weight shift technique or was this instance just a fluke?  I hope me describing the weight shift made sense to you all because I was having a hard to time to trying to come up with a way to describe it. Lol.

Thanks all!!!

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by Golfer20

I was hitting my 7-iron and I focused on "stepping" down or pressing down on the ground with my left foot  rather than focusing on bumping my hips to left.  ( I am a right handed golfer).  I was wondering if this is the desirable weight shift technique or was this instance just a fluke?

Not a fluke!  Yes that's very much how we like to describe the downswing weight/pressure shift.  We call it Key #2, more on that below.  I would also recommend making sure the left foot is turned out, makes it much easier to do the "stepping down" move.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/61376/5sk-video-thread#post_791160

http://thesandtrap.com/t/55426/introducing-five-simple-keys

Notice how these golfer's left foot is turned out, allowing the left knee to flex and add pressure into the ground.

[Golfer20]

Just awesome.  Thanks a ton for your reply!

[nlk10010]

Originally Posted by Golfer20

Hi all,  I have been playing golf for about two years now and I used to shoot in the 100s and through hard work I have been able to keep it in the mid 80s (I haven't changed my handicap yet! Lol).  Here lately I have been consumed with learning the proper weight shift to try and gain some distance ( I only hit my 5-iron about 175 yards consistently.)  However I was on the range yesterday and I think I discovered something.  I was hitting my 7-iron and I focused on "stepping" down or pressing down on the ground with my left foot  rather than focusing on bumping my hips to left.  ( I am a right handed golfer).  I was wondering if this is the desirable weight shift technique or was this instance just a fluke?  I hope me describing the weight shift made sense to you all because I was having a hard to time to trying to come up with a way to describe it. Lol.

Thanks all!!!

I'm no pro, so take this with a grain of salt, but I can commiserate with you. I can only hit my 7 iron about 110-120 yards on a good day primarily because, as my instructor repeatedly tells me, I'm "scooping it". My weight shifts a bit forward just before the top of the backswing but then my right (trail) shoulder and arm take over and tip me backwards, causing a fat hit and a scoop. The feeling of keeping the weight down on the left foot may serve to prevent this backward tilt, if indeed that's your problem.

Hey, if it works, stick with it, I certainly have heard of others using this thought. Of course a lot of thoughts work for the first few times then seem to lose their magic, but if concentrating on keeping your weight down (I have heard it expressed by someone as "I plant my left foot on the ground and make sure it stays there") then you are indeed fortunate.