Pro-Tips – Weight Transfer

This week centers on one of the biggest faults I see on the range tee and one of the quickest ways to get a few more yards and hit the ball straighter.  A question that I am asked a lot on the lesson tee is “how do I hit it farther?”  Distance comes from both centeredness of impact with the golf ball on the club face and swing speed.  If a player can improve the speed of the club, the ball will travel farther.  With many swings, people are trying to swing the club so hard that they end up pulling away from the ball and their target, and only using their arms.  All of the weight ends up on their back foot, traveling away from their intended target.  In any other sport when the athlete is trying to deliver an action with power, the hips rotate toward the target and the player finishes with the weight traveling toward the target. Think about a pitcher trying to throw a fastball over home plate while stepping toward second base or a football quarterback trying to throw down field while running away from the wide receiver.  In both cases the ball is going to come out with very little velocity and most likely off target.

 It is the same in the golf swing.  In order to get distance and power on your shots, you have to have the body moving through the swing in the direction of the target.  In most of my lessons, I try to get my students to finish with their back toe on the ground and their back hip over their front foot.  This makes sure that the hips move through the swing and the student ends up with 90-95 percent of their weight over their front leg.  If you are having problems ending in this position, try a couple of these on the practice tee.  First, put one of your clubs grips under the outside edge of your back foot.  This is very similar to the rubber on the pitcher’s mound that the pitcher pushes off of to deliver the pitch to home plate.  You are using the grip to push off of getting your weight moving toward the target.  Another good practice technique used by Gary Player was a small step toward the target with the back foot after you take a swing.  Sometimes it is hard to make good contact with that much movement, but it is a good drill to use in the back yard just swinging the club. 

The more you transfer your weight through to the target, the farther you shots will go and the better contact you will make as the club stays in the hitting zone longer. 

– Chad J. Maxim, PGA
Head Golf Professional