Golf Weight Shift: 8 Keys to Master This Critical Move in the Golf Swing
Getting the right golf weight shift is critical
Do struggle with balance or feel like you almost fall over during the golf swing? Maybe your left hip joint hurts after every round of golf? Are you finding it hard to make solid, consistent contact with the golf ball? If this sounds like you then there’s a good chance your golf weight shift is not correct and it’s causing multiple problems in your golf swing.
The good news is getting the right weight shift in the golf swing is easy to do and any golfer can master it quickly.
It can even help you fix your golf slice, and be the reason other problems have crept into your golf game.
Once you have shifted your weight correctly, you’re in a much better position to make great impact.
The Perfect Impact System is what used to take that next step to better ball striking.
It’s simple and easy to use and works perfectly for golfers of all levels.
>> If you like this, you’ll also like: How to Make a Proper Golf Backswing in 3 Simple Moves
5 WAYS TO TELL YOU’RE NOT CORRECTLY TRANSFERRING YOUR WEIGHT
So we know you’re not hitting the ball solid, hitting it thin and fat. But does this really prove your weight shift in the golf swing is the problem? Identifying if you have golf weight shift issues is critical to making a better golf swing.
Have a think about these things:
- Do you feel like you are hanging back after every shot with both feet close together after impact
- Do your feet move around a lot during the golf swing and you wear out golf shoes fast
- You’re not finishing on the toes on your right foot (right hander) at the follow through
- You’re not feeling a stretch in your right glute (right hander) at the top of the backswing
- You’re head is finishing up in front of the golf ball at impact instead of behind
If you can relate to any of these then you definitely have a golf weight shift issue.
THE RIGHT WAY TO SHIFT YOUR WEIGHT IN THE GOLF SWING
I learnt the correct way to master the weight transfer in the golf swing from the team at Rotary Swing which is covered in detail in this short video.
Watch the video below showing how major winner Padraig Harrington performs the correct golf weight shift.
Learn more about weight shift and how to perform an efficient golf swing by getting your FREE membership at Rotary Swing.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW WHERE I DEMONSTRATE A 2-INCH GOLF WEIGHT SHIFT MOVE YOU NEED IN THE DOWNSWING:
8 KEYS TO BETTER WEIGHT TRANSFER IN THE GOLF SWING
- Set up with the head slightly behind the golf ball
- Maintain a slight amount of axis tilt at set up away from the golf ball
- Head only moves 1-2 inches during backswing away from the target
- Maintain flex in your right leg feeling a stretch in your right glute / hip muscles
- Aim for about 70% to 80% of your weight on your right or trail side at top of the backswing
- Shift and unwind hips and shoulders at same time to start downswing
- Head remains behind the golf ball in the downswing through to impact
- Aim for 70 – 80% of your weight to be on your left side at impact
WHY SET UP IS KEY
It’s important you set up to the golf ball correctly to get a good golf weight shift. If for example you’re set up too upright with your head in front of the golf ball it’s going to be very difficult to transfer your weight correctly. A good rule of thumb is to set up with the golf ball inside your left ear (right hander).
This is the right position to guarantee a good transfer of weight from start to finish.
Next, you need to ensure you have a small amount of axis tilt where your lead shoulder is a fraction higher at set up than the rear shoulder.
A great way to ensure you have these checkpoints right is to practice setting up in front of a mirror or the reflection from a window
LIMIT YOUR HEAD MOVEMENT
Most golfers have a misunderstanding of how much head movement they need in the golf swing and how it affects your weight shift. Mostly I see them moving their head too much to the rear leg in an effort to transfer their weight.
This is often called a swaying move.
The thinking is correct, you need to shift your weight to the rear side but it doesn’t require such a massive shift to get it done right.
If you’re set up correct as explained above, you really only need to move your head 1-2 inches at the most in the backswing.
This is more than enough to the get the weight across and fully loaded for a powerful backswing.
MAINTAIN THE FLEX IN THE REAR LEG
This is without doubt the most common reason for weight shift problems. Most golfers on the backswing in an effort to get more turn will straighten their rear leg. All this does is put more pressure on your back and contributes to poor transition into the downswing.
Make sure you maintain flex in your rear leg and feel a stretch in your rear glute / hip muscles.
If you can feel this at the top of your backswing your have correctly shifted your weight.
SHIFT AND UNWIND AT THE SAME TIME
As explained in the video, most golfers get this wrong by unwinding too quickly without shifting their weight. The key is to ensure you shift enough weight across to your front leg so that you are not left hanging back with a lot of weight on your rear side.
Be careful not to start the downswing by moving your upper body.
Let the legs commence the downswing with little head movement and the shoulders will unwind slowly at the same time.
Keep your head behind the golf ball in a similar position to where it started.
90% OF GOLFERS MESS UP THIS DOWNSWING MOVE
If you find your head is moving in front of the golf ball at impact it means you are messing up this part of the golf weight shift. The reason is you are pushing too hard from your right side (shoulder and arm) which in turn is laterally shifting your hips.
If you are not rotating enough your head will move too far and put you in a poor position at impact.
Try to instead work on pulling from your left side at the start of the downswing as your transfer your weight.
Pulling instead of pushing to start the golf downswing is a key to perform a consistent golf swing.
Watch a revealing video at the yellow link below ‘CLICK HERE’ that demonstrates the great benefits of pulling in the golf swing.QUICK PIN THIS TIP
CLICK HERE to watch how to pull in the golf swing.
SIMPLE DRILL TO MASTER YOUR WEIGHT SHIFT
Here’s a simple drill you can practice anywhere to get the right weight shift in your golf swing. Take a narrow set up with your feet close together and holding the club with your left arm only. Take a step to the right as you make a backswing with the left foot in the air or lightly touching the ground for balance. (see image above).
You should feel most of the weight on your rear leg.
Next, take a step to the left as your make the downswing with the right foot in the air or lightly touching the ground for balance. (see image above).
Your should feel most of your weight on your front leg.
The key is to ensure your trailing foot each time is doing very little so you get the feeling of loading the weight in right muscles of your body.
Congratulations you have just learnt to shift your weight correctly in the golf swing.
Final thoughts
Mastering your golf weight shift is vital if you want to improve your golf scores and lower your handicap.
In fact, if you focus on getting this right before anything else you’ll find a lot of pieces in your golf swing will just fall into place.
It’s that important!
Practice the drill without hitting balls at first but then slowly build your way up to hitting short shots.
The drill goes into more detail on the Rotary Swing site on how you can improve your weight transfer even more.
Click here to go to the site and follow the links to the golf weight transfer drills video.
