Weight transfer during the swing or not?

[Captain_Black]

I have been mis-hitting shots far too often lately.
So I headed to the range today to try & figure it out, I thing my main problem is weight transfer or rather the lack of it, I find it extremly difficult to put my weight on the right foot on the backswing & then transfer it successfully to the left foot on the downswing (right handed golfer)

So I ended up leaving my weight 90% on my left foot during the whole swing which resulted in much better ball contact & shots.

So my question is, why bother transfering the weight at all during the swing, why not just leave it on the leading foot? or am I missing something? Is there another reason for the weight transfer?

It may be a numpty question, but please be patient, I am quite new to all this.

 

[ash01]

Transferring the weight is important to gain power through the strike.

Your body needs to act like a coil and through this action will place weight from left to right on the back swing and the other way on the downswing.

As the weight then transfers it creates power behind the club head and if everything else is good should produce a powerful strike of the ball.

Leaving all the weight on the leading foot will possibly cause you to rock back and forth and lose control through the ball.

Thats my 10p.

Best of luck.

Ash!!

 

[chris661]

Weight on the leading foot is a principal of stack and tilt and I think, so it's not all that uncommon. Try a search on it and find some reading material.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Sounds like another convert to S&T. PM Justone and he'll give you all the help you need. It doesn't have to be a bad thing. I don't consciously look to move my weight as I end up swaying but if you find something you can take onto the course then why not

 

[Mattyboy]

I have been in the same boat and have spent lessons just working on that. Gave up the lessons as I see little point in paying for them until I could transfer weight back. Over the last few weeks I have been paying more attention to S&T and making some swing changes towards it. The strike is so much more consistent and I find it alot easier to hit a draw. Havent noticed any reduction in distance although I can see that the flat plain they advocate reduces swing width. The biggest problem I can see with S&T is with the driver as to sweep the ball you cant stack IMO.
I have bought the S&T book and expect it to arrive tomorrow. Theres alot on youtube however.

 

[SocketRocket]

Maybe this will help you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2FnfZlRwak

 

[Captain_Black]

Ah I see.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction guys.

 

[thecraw]

Or why not do what poor Henrik is now doing. Start your swing with all your weight on the right hand side, swing back then concentrate on extending the swing through impact to get your weight back through onto the left.

 

[SonicBoom]

In my recent lesson I said to the pro that I felt I should be transferring weight through the swing. He said that modern teaching says that you should concentrate more on rotation than lateral movement.
He was getting me to ensure that my left hip stayed over my left foot through impact and follow through. I had a tendancy to move laterally and push my hip forward in front of my foot. This could result in a push or worse a slice.
When I did manage to do it, I found that it was straighter and improved clubhead speed with semingly less effort. Like most changes though, feels totally foreign at first....

 

[Scottjd1]

Have a look on you tube for Mark Crossfiled '4golfonline'. He does lots of videos to cover this type of thing. He explains things pretty well.

 

[Monty_Brown]

A basic way to illustrate the point of weight transfer would be this:

Imagine taking your set-up stance without a club. Someone then hands you a beachball and tells you to throw it as far as you can in the direction you'd hit a golf ball. You will naturally shift your weight to your right, then transfer back to the left as you throw it to maximise power and distance.

The same basic principle applies in the weight transfer in a golf swing.

That said, I'm not a believer that orthodox golf technique is set in stone, so if you fancy looking into stack and tilt, go for it.