Drills for Better Weight Transfer and Tempo

[sarena1594]

Weight transfer and tempo are two things holding me back from more consistent ball striking.  I know these are two separate parts of the swing that are intertwined, so I'll try to explain my issues with them separately.

Weight transfer - moving from address to the top has been an issue for me.  I've noticed that at the top of the backswing, good players (right handed) have their left shoulder in line with the inside part of their right heel.  In contrast, I find that at the top, my left shoulder is much too far forward (sometimes as forward as the ball itself) and my right leg has no flex.  This obviously affects the downswing and forward weight transfer.  The most frequent result: a slice or a fat shot.  Does anyone have drills, tips, or thoughts to help me improve the transfer of my weight to the back foot?

Tempo - this issue is seemingly simple, but endlessly complicated.  Like others, my tempo is too fast and uneven.  Does anyone have any drills to improve tempo or "smoothness" in the swing?

I know seeing a video would help diagnose the problems a lot easier, so I'm going to do my best in the next few weeks to post one in the "My Swing" thread.

[saevel25]

21 minutes ago, sarena1594 said:

Weight transfer - moving from address to the top has been an issue for me.  I've noticed that at the top of the backswing, good players (right handed) have their left shoulder in line with the inside part of their right heel.

That isn't a generalization of good players. It also depends on the width of your stance. Check out Spieth in the image below. His shoulders are way ahead of his back foot.

23 minutes ago, sarena1594 said:

I find that at the top, my left shoulder is much too far forward (sometimes as forward as the ball itself) and my right leg has no flex.

Let that back leg lose some flex. It will help you be able to maintain a more steady head and stop you from tilting towards the target. If your shoulders are ending up in front of the ball then it is a good chance your tilting towards the target at the top of the backswing. Which probably means you are laterally shifting your hips way too much.

I would check out the threads below.

26 minutes ago, sarena1594 said:

The most frequent result: a slice or a fat shot.  Does anyone have drills, tips, or thoughts to help me improve the transfer of my weight to the back foot?

See the threads above.

I would work on how your hips and torso turns first. This will help greatly in your ability to get the weight forward at impact. The more you lateral shift the harder it is to get your weight forward.

27 minutes ago, sarena1594 said:

Tempo - this issue is seemingly simple, but endlessly complicated.  Like others, my tempo is too fast and uneven.  Does anyone have any drills to improve tempo or "smoothness" in the swing?

The reason why you feel fast is because you don't get your weight forward. When you lack weight forward at impact you end up flipping at the ball. This is why you hit fat shots. Also, that move makes a swing feel fast because your feeling the club fly past the hands.

Tempo is something created from good swing mechanics. It isn't something you should really worry about.

 

[sarena1594]

Thank you for advice and the links.  I think the video in the 2nd link perfectly sums up my issue, so I'm going to work the centered turn.  Hopefully everything else will fall into place after that. 

[tshapiro]

I'm going to make a guess that both of your issues are related.  Why - you seem to be focusing on the specific body part movement which should be by products of the main action and not the main action itself.  Focus on the main action and the other parts will work naturally.  As a general principle, you want to build a balanced coil in the backswing.  Main backswing action - keeping your head centered, keeping your right knee slightly pressed inward, focusing on the back of your left hand (the epicenter of the swing), coil and build a stretch of the muscles in the upper left part of your back and the inside of your right upper thigh.  In my thinking, other than staying centered, balanced and on plane (back of left hand), I don't focus on body parts - I focus on building the coil.  In the end, it's the coil action that powers the swing.  As you get better at building the coil you'll find that you naturally do things more in line with that action.  Timing - after you've built the coil in the back swing, use your body coil to begin the downswing.  In other words, build the coil in the backswing, use the coil in the down swing.  That is the essence of the golf swing.  It's like bouncing a basketball... the ball action dictates the timing (natural harmonic motion) not the timing of your downward press.  You react to the bounce... just like you react to the coil in the golf swing.