HHJGA student Javier Prensa learning the correct pace and process he should use while transitioning from the back swing to the down swing. We are focusing on this because of the negative effect that occurs when the weight of the body has passed the hitting area and arrived on the left foot well before the club head strikes the ball. Our objective is the have Javiers weight moving from back to front at the moment of impact. Meaning the majority of his weight will actually be on the back foot the entire down swing and not until impact will the majority of the weight arrive to the front foot. The ironic thing is this is actually what allows a player to continuously move the weight to the front foot and turn through without ever hanging back on his back foot. Thats right! Players that hang their weight on the back foot have most likely been told to shift their weight to the front foot aggressively and its the fact that the player is shifting forward with no regard to the speed and timing of when the weight arrives on the front side that is preventing the player from moving the weight forward. When the weight arrives to the front foot to early it willinevitably have to reverse itself or pause to allow the body arms and club to catch up. Therefore the most common methodology or process taught to players which is to move the weight of the body from the back foot to the front foot during the change of direction from backswing to downswing is the very thing that is causing players to hang back through impact. While there is no doubt that the weight does eventually and gradually move from back to front it is entirely incorrect to ask a student to shift from right to left (rt. handed golfer) rapidly at the beginning of the down swing. The weight moves as much down into the right foot during the transition as it does move left and it only moves left because of the body parts that moved to the right during the back swing are simply returning to their original starting point. I always use the example of this. If I were to chop my left arm off and put it in my right pocket my weight is now right. If I then take it out of my pocket and place it back to its original spot my weight is now left. At what point did I shift to cause my weight to move? Never! There was just more of by body on the right side so my weight was right. In a simplistic way of thinking thats how the weight shifts in the swing. The more developed a player is the more attention to detail the player and or coach should be with the development of the players change of direction. This video shows how we approaching Javiers training of this aspect of the swing but there are countless ways to learn this we are just using this process because it is in line with some other style processes we have used in the past. The drill on the right is actually a correct transition. Regardless of what you have been taught the weight stays right during the transition but it is slowly and constantly moving to the front foot one percentage point at a time because of the fact that the front knee, thigh, hip, shoulder, arm and eventually club are all returning to the place they began the motion where the weight was evenly distributed. Once they all return to the place they began then its the back side (rt) of the body that now moves through and the and only then is the weight on the front foot primarily. Im aware this is a very black and white way of explaining the weights movement during the swing and that with dynamics and a players athleticism combined with the players need to create shots and alter trajectory this process is almost to generic. However if a player is not taught this as the base line or neutral motion to adjust off if he or she will be bias in one direction and their shot making capabilities will be limited. HHJGA students understand that there is a reason they set up in the position they do at address and that reason is because it is the most athletic position an athlete can initiate motion from. We encourage our students to try and return to the same position they started in just prior to striking the ball. That allows them to be perfectly balanced during the down swing and more importantly while delivering the club to the ball. Well done Javier! The most on uneventful drills and exercises such as these tend to offer the greatest return. So dont neglect the details and be very precise in the way you execute these drills. This is one of the major corrections you will make while attending HHJGA and so understand it perfected and utilize it well! Have fun with it!
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 02:37:51 +0000
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