Forward Weight Shift

The so-called exchange of weight—to the right side when swinging back and the reverse shift to the left side before starting the club down—is widely misunderstood by golfers today. Certainly the top players do not feel the exchange of weight in the way it is expressed to beginners or to average golfers trying to improve.

My thoughts on the matter are that you should pay much less attention than is commonly done to the left-to-right shift going back and concentrate on the forward shift to the left side which is a dynamic part of the proper swing. Now, on this forward shift of weight, if the golfer thinks of initiating it from right to left, working from the feet to the hips—as he does when he throws a baseball overhand—he will develop a free rhythmic swing of the club. The left knee will become a major factor in executing this forward move correctly. All tournament players seem to rock the left knee to the right while taking the club back and then rock it laterally ahead of the ball before starting the club down. Actually, the left knee is still bent slightly until after the ball is struck and doesn't straighten until the swing is completed.

Remember also in this forward shift that you start the weight forward lightly and not in one abrupt movement, letting it gather gently as the swing progresses.

WALLY GRANT, Mt. Lebanon Golf Club, Pittsburgh

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TWO ILLUSTRATIONS

Wally Grant demonstrates start of right-to-left shift of weight