Weight Shift

One of the interesting things about teaching someone to play golf is that me as the teacher is always learning. Figuring out different and more productive ways of getting a student to do something is the challenge of the job. I was recently teaching one of my long time students and noticed a little idiosyncrasy in his golf swing. He was shift his weight into the heel of his right foot causing his left shoulder to lift. This lift throws the entire swing plane out of wack and an adjustment has to be made at some point to get the club back on plane. I didn't say anything immediately; I just used my iPad to video him. Later that evening, I spent a few hours looking at his swing and several others. I then, watched several videos of professional hit the golf ball. What did I discover? All good players shift their body's weight into the big toe of the right foot (for a righty). As I continued to study swing after swing, I developed a better understanding of how weight is shifted from address to the end of the backswing. At my next lesson with the above mentioned student, I showed him his video and discussed what direction I wanted to go. We discuss my observations at length and when we were both satisfied, he began hitting golf balls. The moral of this tale is that even after 22 years of teaching this great game, I can always pick something up that can help a student. The advent of video, specifically using the SwingReader App on my iPad, has given my students a much better understanding of their golf swing. Sometimes that is scary, but it is always helpful. Good luck!

Club face

The club face is a very important part of the swing and gaining control over the club face is a very important element in the golf swing. The most important face to realize is that the position of your left hand on the golf club should mirror the club face at impact. The back of your left hand must point at your intended target and be rotating towards the ground. The left wrist at impact should be bowed, not bent. If you can get your left had to behave properly, you have given yourself a great chance at squaring the face of the club at impact. Here is a drill to help you feel that sensation. 1. Take your normal address position with your left hand only. 2. Grab your left forearm with your right arm. 3. Bring the club back, without moving your left arm. Wrist set only. 4. The club shaft should be parallel to the ground. 5. Slowly rotate your left thumb toward the ball. Make sure your left wrist is bowed. 6. Slowly repeat this procedure as many time as you can. This will educate your hands on how to behave at impact. If you are able to learn this skill, your ball flight will dramatically improve and the quality of the contact will be much more solid. Good luck and good golfing!