The Importance of the Golf Swing Weight Shift

The golf swing weight shift is an important part of the golf swing for several reasons. The purpose of this article is to highlight the benefits of the weight shift and how it affects your golf game.

The most important benefit of a proper weight shift is that it "clears" your hips from the right side of the swing towards the left side of the swing. Clearing the hips promotes a proper golf turn which in turn helps greatly reduce the chance of slices and blocked shots to the right.

During the backswing, the hips turn back, away from the target. In the backswing, the hips are moving passively along with the turning of the shoulders and back.

During the downswing and follow-through, the hips take a more active role in the body's rotation and golf swing weight shift. The hips essentially lead the downswing (for a microsecond) - essentially sliding directionally towards the target.

Another area where a proper golf swing weight shift will help your game is by generating a lot of power. As you shift your weight towards the target during the follow through, your hips, back, shoulders and arms are uncoiling. This uncoiling releases the stored power that comes from a proper golf backswing.

A final area where the golf swing weight transfer comes into play is preventing a reverse pivot. What's a reverse pivot? Let's take a moment to explain...

A reverse pivot is when a golfer shifts their weight forward towards the target during the backswing and backwards away from the target during the downswing and follow-through. Exactly the opposite of the way it should happen.

If you've ever seen somebody with a reverse pivot, it's a wonder they can even hit the ball!

A proper weight shift will always guarantee that the weight moves slightly back away from the target during the backswing and then powerfully towards the target during the downswing and follow-through. This proper weight shift makes a reverse pivot nearly impossible.

Practicing The Golf Swing Weight Shift

The best way to practice the proper weight transfer is to use this simple drill on the driving range.

For this drill, take out a medium to long iron. After you hit the ball, take one or two steps forward. That's right, one or two steps forward. Don't worry about the proper follow-through, what you're really concerned about is taking two steps towards the target.

Make sure you're not stepping into anyone's line of fire!

If you're able to move forward after you hit the ball, you can be guaranteed that you're doing a proper golf swing weight shift. However, if you can't take two steps forward after you hit the ball, your weight is not properly transferring to your left side.

This drill can take some time to perfect - if you find it difficult, you may need to give it a couple of days to "click". If, however, you're still not able to move your body forward after you hit the ball, it's probably best to have a golf professional take a look at your swing.

Learn more about your golf swing like the golf swing weight shift.