Reverse weight shift The most common problem we see is the dreaded reverse weight shift, which causes a tremendous loss of power. This is where the golfer makes too big of a turn, where their shoulders and hips turn the same distance, the arms collapse close to their body and the back leg straightens.
From here, the tendency is to hit behind the ball, weakly. You should always let your weight go in the same direction as the club.
Drill: To make sure you make a full turn with a proper weight shift, take your regular stance, then toe your back foot in. This will restrict your hip-turn and allow your arms to stay wider at the top of your backswing.
Another way to fix a reverse weight shift is to practice with a ball under the heel of your back foot. This, too, will restrict you from turning too much.
Fake shoulder turn Another fatal power flaw is the fake shoulder turn. The golfer just lifts the club straight up never turning the leading shoulder behind the ball. The weight stays on the front leg causing the arms to get too close to the body.
On the downswing, they keep moving ahead of the ball, never shifting their weight off of their front side and the weight continues to stay forward the whole time.
Drill: This is the opposite of a reverse weight shift. Take your stance and toe your back foot out significantly.
This will allow you to make a bigger turn. Also try to be ery wide with your takeaway.
Swaying Another common problem is a sway. In an effort to get behind the golf ball, the golfer shifts his weight outside of his back leg to the outside of the back foot.
If you sway back, you will inevitably sway on through as well, shifting all your weight to the outside of your front foot. That will normally produce a weak shot to the right.
Drill: To promote a good turn with proper balance, take an old shaft and stick it in the ground just outside your back leg. Then make your swing, trying not to slide into the shaft.
Swing Deceleration Another problem that troubles many golfers is swinging the club back quicker than they swing it down to the ball. The speed of your backswing and downswing should always match.
Drill: To try to make the same speed swing, take your driver and tee up three balls in a row. Using a full swing, try to hit the first ball only 150 yards. On the second ball, try to increase your distance and hit it 175 – 180 yards with a full swing. On the last ball, use your normal golf swing and hit it your normal distance feeling like it’s the same swing you made on the previous two balls.
Comments