Get your weight on the left

Practice
#21

I’ve long struggled with that same problem…

Something I was shown recently that has really helped me (caveat may not work for you…) …

** Note this drill assumes you’re standing on a mat, not grass.*
** Note 2: it’s recommended to use PW or 9i for this; 8i max, nothing bigger.*

  • take your address posture and move the golf ball so it’s under the outside edge of the ball of your back foot
    – you’re gonna do some slow practice swings before hitting a ball
  • as you turn back don’t let your back knee move behind the ball … keep the ball in the same position as you brace yourself against the ball
  • as you start the transition get a feel for either … whichever feel works for you … (a) bumping your lead hip LATERALLY towards the target or (b) rolling your weight across your feet LATERALLY towards the target
    (fyi my instructor calls it “sway to target”)
  • as you swing down consciously PUSH off the instep of the back foot and onto the front leg / front door while still keeping the ball in the same position
  • continue to move LATERALLY through (what would be…) contact while still pushing off the back foot / straightening the front leg
  • AFTER contact is when the back foot is fully off of the ball

I hope this explanation is not too confusing; it’s definitely easier when someone is showing it to you!

It does feel awkward at first, but start with a few slow practice swings then introduce a ball to hit and again start with a few slow swings.

After hitting a few full swings holding the ball in place, take it away and try to replicate all the feels and weight transfers.

Good luck!!

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#22

Yes!! I was shown one of those, and as soon as I got home that day I went into the garage, scrounged up some wood pieces and made one for myself. Great trainer :+1:

#23

Love this advice, thank you. I will give this a try tomorrow.

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#24

There’s another technique you may have heard of called “covering the ball” - basically as you turn back you … literally … keep your chest/torso OVER the ball.

A “feel” that helps me (again, caveat, may not work for everybody) with this drill is… left shoulder down on the takeaway / right shoulder down on the downswing.

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#25

I also like the Gary Player step-through motion, but - in my case, with my swing tendency, I was cautioned to separate that from the getting off the back foot problem…

… That is, the step-through helps promote a full finish into a balanced position but that follows after the weight shift target-ward during the downswing.

Part of my problem was/is actually rotating too much, too early (resulting in a lot of pulled shots).

#26

Yeah, the step thru doesn’t really help me either I have a tendency to early extend because of my back injury. The step thru just amplifies that early extension problem. I have a fitness coach that for the last year has been working on strengthening that problem and it’s getting a lot better, I’m finally getting stable.

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#27

Oh oh… Yeah, protect the back! Working with a fitness coach is a great idea - keep at it :+1:

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#28

I recently had the (mis)fortune to injure my trail big toe, bending the toe was excruciating. Chose golf over sitting in recliner.
I discovered I could avoid pain by keeping weight on my trail heel during takeaway (not a bad thing). I knew I couldn’t “push off” using the ball of trail foot, so I’d have to begin lower body rotation from trail heel. Ok, not so explosive, but in balance. I’m lucky I have a fair amount of shaft lean, but I really had to focus on it because at impact, I had to lift my trail foot before the big toe bent (ouch!). Yes, the timing is challenging especially if you struggle with hanging back. I found myself taking 2-3 practice swings on each shot just to rehearse the timing (also not a bad thing).
At finish, I was shocked to find I was in perfect balance on forward leg, trail knee pointing directly at the target, trail foot dangling in mid-air.
Ok, I did look a bit like an old overweight stork. My foursome couldn’t stop laughing. But…
Let’s recap. Golf more fun than recliner. Weight to trail heel. Better lower body timing & rotation. Forward shaft lean at impact. Complete weight transfer to lead leg. Better balanced finish. Did I mention where the ball went?
By the 19th hole, foursome wasn’t laughing.
Now, I’m not recommending injury. That rascal hurt. But imagine you can’t use or bend your trail toe. Get all the benefits without all the Gilmore. You might not get the explosive, ground force by not using the ball of your trail foot, but the other benefits offset, at least for me.
My new pre-shot thoughts:

  1. weight to trail heel in takeaway.
  2. start lower body rotation from trail heel.
  3. shaft lean at impact, while simultaneously
  4. lifting trail foot by pointing trail knee toward target.
  5. hold finish while accepting foursome applause

Hope this helps!

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#29

^ Way to overcome!
And liking new swing thought #5 :+1:

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#30

I have recently discovered a couple different coaches who promote a different way to think about the question of “get you weight on the left”. Instead, they promote starting with and keeping most of your pressure (foot weight) on your lead foot…at least that’s the feeling you’re looking for. By so doing, you are able to create space with the backswing, and establish width against passive resistance. According to Terry Bradley’s teaching in his 2/6 Golf technique, doing these things on the backswing takes care of 80% of the total swing, making the downswing damn near automatic. Of course there’s a lot more to it, but not so much more that it’s particularly complicated. My ball striking has greatly improved since starting to learn this method over the last few weeks. I’m at the point where what feels like a totally effortless swing, from start to finish is the norm now!

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