WEIGHT TRANSFER IN THE BACK SWING
February 12, 2015
We often hear about weight shift or weight transfer in the golf swing but time and time again we see golfers confused about how our weight actually moves. The high majority of touring professionals will transfer some weight to their trail leg during the backswing and this helps load the muscles to then fire in the down swing to help produce power and an efficient delivery to the golf ball.
Understanding how that weight is transferred is key to allow you to produce the correct movement. Many golfers “try” and shift weight in the back swing and this often leads to a poor lower body movement causing a sway.
Instead of thinking about “shifting” weight, think about your trail hip being anchored as you wind up your torso against it. You will not only feel your weight move but you will also create a stretch between the upper and lower body ready to fire as you start the down swing. Here your weight will move as a result of the torso rotating rather than any shift of the lower body.
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Andy and Piers.
First love your webside.
I am working on my backwards swing. I know that it is important not to allow the weight to move outside of the right foot, however, I do feel some l…
Andy and Piers.
First love your webside.
I am working on my backwards swing. I know that it is important not to allow the weight to move outside of the right foot, however, I do feel some lateral move in the backswing and I have noticed in your vedios, you seem to have a slight lateral move both with the hips and head in the backswing, but not to the extent that your weight is outside of the right foot. Is it ok to have a slight backward move?
I had read articles, vedios of some teachers, there should be no lateral move in either the backswing or downswing. (turn in a barrell) When I try this on the backswing, not much of a problem but immediately turning the hips on the forward swing, my right side immediately moves out and over. It is hard to move the weight left side and therefore the swing bottoms out too early causing all types of miss hits.
Moving to my left side by shifting the weight, can move the “low Point” forward and contact the ball first. Allowing my left leg to accept the weight transfer and “post up” on that leg, helps to clear the hips. Does that sound about right?
I would appreciate your comments on my thoughts.
Hi Charles. Really glad you like the website. You are going to hopefully love the improvements we have planned for this year. To answer your question. We don’t really want any lateral movement during …
Hi Charles. Really glad you like the website. You are going to hopefully love the improvements we have planned for this year. To answer your question. We don’t really want any lateral movement during the back swing but we do want a good “wind up” and that includes a slight head rotation usually. The “turning in a barrel only wants to happen in the back swing. We want to break that barrel during the down swing by shifting that weight like you say and posting on your left side. It will move the low point and in our opinion is crucial for ball striking. Hope that answers your question?
Thanks
Andy
Andy and Piers,
Just a quick question, this week i went on a pressure mat and it showed that when i shifted my weight in the backswing my weight went to the front of right of my right foot (right h…
Andy and Piers,
Just a quick question, this week i went on a pressure mat and it showed that when i shifted my weight in the backswing my weight went to the front of right of my right foot (right handed golfer). I was told that at the top of my backswing my weight should be in my right heel?
Any thoughts on this? When i tried on the course i just really far away from the ball and it affected my strikes.
Thank you
Sam
Hi Sam. Thanks for the question. It sounds like your hips will not be doing a good job of rotating. You would possibly be swaying also. Take a look at the Sway videos and there will be some fixes in t…
Hi Sam. Thanks for the question. It sounds like your hips will not be doing a good job of rotating. You would possibly be swaying also. Take a look at the Sway videos and there will be some fixes in there. Make sure you are balanced with the weight at address on your arches and not forward. The better the hips rotate the better the pressure shift. As the right hip goes back so should the pressure. Please take a look in Sway and let us know if you have any more questions.
Thanks
Andy
Hi,
Should I be able to see my lead foot at top of backswing?
Hi Tommy great question, the only way you could see the lead foot is if you have a lot of torso rotation and/or you’re really flexible or your back swing is vert short. So no you shouldn’t normally s…
Hi Tommy great question, the only way you could see the lead foot is if you have a lot of torso rotation and/or you’re really flexible or your back swing is vert short. So no you shouldn’t normally see your lead foot, I hope that helps.
Thanks so much Piers
How much do you allow the left hip to turn on the backswing. Do you keep the hip joint “tense” or just keep a natural level of restriction (in other words, allow a pivot, but don’t let the right hip …
How much do you allow the left hip to turn on the backswing. Do you keep the hip joint “tense” or just keep a natural level of restriction (in other words, allow a pivot, but don’t let the right hip completely swivel? I am probably not describing this as well as I could, sorry. I am very flexible and over rotation in the hips is an issues for me, but if I don’t rotate at all, and just push against the hip joint on the backswing, my weight doesn’t transfer to my right heel and I lose my balance.
Hi James. Great question. That all depends on what you are struggling with in terms of ball flight or contact etc. Yes we want a certain amount t of movement from the lead hip and train hip. In the ba…
Hi James. Great question. That all depends on what you are struggling with in terms of ball flight or contact etc. Yes we want a certain amount t of movement from the lead hip and train hip. In the back swing. The more rotation the more the weight will move back towards the heel. This may sound simple but it sounds like you just need to be somewhere in between what you are feeling at the moment. Restricting them too much will certainly cause to you struggle with balance so free them up a little and you will see the difference. It’;s just about creating that balance and freedmen to swing. Hope that answers your question?
Thanks
Andy
Thanks Andy.
Pleasure James!
I like to setup at address with my weight 80/20 trail leg / lead leg to help get the transfer moving is this okay as long as I make sure to transfer left on the downswing? Any negatives to presettong …
I like to setup at address with my weight 80/20 trail leg / lead leg to help get the transfer moving is this okay as long as I make sure to transfer left on the downswing? Any negatives to presettong this weight over the back leg at address?
Hi David. If you find it works then that is absolutely fine. It will certainly help you create more time to square the face up. Is it working for you?
Thanks
Andy