Weight shift is the root of all evil

Question
QUESTION: I've been conscious of weight shift for awhile now.

A long time ago I was having a problem with a bad hook in general (probably about a year and a half ago) and it was all attributed to hanging back on the right foot (a person who joined me on the course noticed it).

I also found that my driver stance was way too wide.  I narrowed it probably about 6 inches and I started hitting it pretty straight (although not as consistent as I would have liked).

About 6 months ago I was having a problem with the hybrids, where I would have a violent whipping of the club at impact once in a while.  Once again attributed to the right foot getting stuck.  I've been hitting them pretty decent for quite some time now and one thing I did was stand a little more erect (some knee flex).  I also got a set of Ping G10 hybrids and it is almost impossible to hit a bad shot with these.

The latest thing had been getting a shank on pitch and chip shots after about an hour of practice. I found out about a series of checks (vertical clubface at waist level on backswing and downswing, weight on the forward part and heel of the left foot).  The shank I attributed to muscle fatigue so I limited my practice to about 30 minutes and things have been moving along fine.... until last week.

I was at the range 2 hours before playing golf last Friday.  Then I went out. Did fine with driving and the hybrids.  I had a meltdown with the gap wedge on the first hole and 2nd hole where the shank popped up (luckily I escaped with double bogeys).  I put it away and was using my PW and SW for approach shots and somehow salvaged 47 for 9 holes.  I had been having trouble with wedges, where I would be able to do 1/4 swing and 1/2 swing pitches but not full swings (shank or horrible pull) and then I may have discovered the problem on the way to play tennis Sat AM.... I was doing a 1/4 swing pitch and noticed when I slowed down a little, that my right foot was planted and the left foot was on the toe (the dreaded reverse weight shift).  So I got back to shifting weight properly and managed to start hitting the wedges consistently again and even added the "knockdown" shot to the repertoire over the weekend.  How a reverse weight shift managed to creep into my wedges, even though I was able to walk up and smack the living daylights out of a 24 degree hybrid or a 7 iron, I don't know.  Maybe I was swinging too fast with them.  I believe what I did do is quiet my body a little bit more with them.



ANSWER: Hi Lou:

Who knows, except good thing you fixed it.  Weight shift is, in my opinion, overexaggerated anyway.  The role of the body is to support the golf swing.  Of course when you are finished with a swing you should have your weight on your left side, body facing target, right toe in the dirt, but how you get there should be the result of moving with the swinging motion of the club.  The lower body should start and support the swing through impact, then the momentum of that swing should take you around to the finish.  The weight on your feet should always be in the middle of the foot to the heel, never the toe.  Good job.

Eddie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The good thing is I can fix it but I need to really nail down the cause of why it happens (and the worst happened), other than muscle fatigue causing laziness.  For instance, on Friday I went to the range early in the morning and hit 40 balls total and played golf later in the afternoon (it was horrible - I shot 51 for 9 holes with a meltdown on the last two holes).  Ironically, my driver was going straight down the center of the fairway and I was hitting the 7 wood very well.  I had a really horrible fade (more like a slice that started off going left; it would still end up on target but I'd lose about 15 yards) with my hybrids. My short irons - anything over 1/2 swing would shank.  I went over to the range after playing golf and everything eventually returned to normal.

There is an adjustment I made to my swing with the woods and hybrids about a month ago.  I stand a bit more erect with the knees slightly flexed and can really hit it solid. The pull with the hybrids and woods is pretty much history and I may get an occasional slice (not really bad, though).

My short irons were the strongest part of my game now they're getting to be the weak point. There is one thing:  just for the fun of it, I had my wrist-floor measurement taken (35") about a week ago and found out that Ping yellow dot (1.5 deg upright) with a standard length shaft was my fit. I don't know if it would be feasible to have the lie adjusted on my irons (it is only $29 at Pro Golf for a set of irons).  

Anyhow, on correcting the shank, I did a couple things.  I was trying out a gap wedge that I got new the other day and was having a problem with a full swing pitch.  The cure was to take my shag ball stick and lay it parallel to the target line (sort of similar to the 2 X 4 drill) and try not to hit it.  My wedges have been fine since.  This morning I went over to the park and started out ok with my 9 iron and then the shank reappeared after 20 minutes or so (it wasn't constant, it was more occasional and probably more pronounced with the ball below the feet).  The fix was to start with a 1/4 swing, then a half swing to ensure my right foot is coming up. After that, I regained consistency with the 9 iron.  

Answer
Lou:
I still believe it's your balance.  I bet you hang back on your back foot too long and if you do that, the forward swing of the club will be a little outside the target line just enough to shank it.  Your weight will also probably shift towards your left toe instead of the outside of the left foot towards the heel.  Watch your balance, I'm guessing it to be the problem.  Your drill of laying the shag bag stick next to and parallel to the ball is a good one.  I do it with my students with a 2 x 4.  Once set up, I put the 2 x 4 about a half inch outside the toe of the club.  If they miss the 2 x 4, they hit it good.  If they hit the 2 x 4, they shank it.  Pretty simple, but I bet your balance is bad.  Don't allow the weight to shift to your toes, when you make your forward swing towards the target, feel the weight get accepted into the outside of the left foot, towards the middle of the foot to the heel, not the toe.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member