To Shift Or Not

Filed in archive Golf Instruction on October 23, 2008

This was a funny kind of golf season for me. The weather in my part of Canada wasn't always conducive to golf early in the season. Work commitments kept me from the fairways more than once and weekends seemed to be front-end loaded with "chores".

But when I did get out, either to practice or play, I was conscious of what is probably the one issue I've had with my swing for years.

The weight shift during the back swing.

Now that the weight shift in the backswing has again been called into question by Messrs. Plummer and Bennett and their Stack and Tilt swing method, I found myself pondering the pros and cons of a weight shift over and over again.

To wit, I purchased Manuel de la Torre's book, Understanding the Golf Swing (an ironically cynical title if there ever was one).

De la Torre is a legendary teacher and proponent of Ernest Jones swing principles.

In its baldest terms, de la Torre advocates an arm swing and no weight shift during the back swing at all.

"Keep the weight split 50-50 at address and during the back swing", he writes. So I tried it at the range. For the irons, my results were exceptional. High, straight shots with no tendency to pull or push/fade.

For my fairway woods, likewise.

For my driver, the results were quite good. But when I decided to shift my weight onto my right heel during my backswing, I found I could deliver a harder blow to the ball on my downswing (what de la Torre calls the "forward swing") and get increased yardage.

I tried both methods over and over and the results were the same But that little weight shift onto my right heel really added some distance when I used my driver.

The one thing I ensured was to make a tight coil on my backswing, turning as far as I could.

My conclusion? As I have always believed, there are many ways to hit a golf ball well.

Perhaps using two methods in one's game is as valid a way.