Leone’s Lessons: If you notice tour players, no matter what shot
they’re trying to hit, they always seem to finish their swing with
great balance. Many amateurs tend to lose balance, especially on
the finish. If you’re fighting to maintain balance during or at the
end of the swing, there are several reasons why this may be
happening.
If you notice tour players, no matter what shot they’re trying to hit, they always seem to finish their swing with great balance.
Many amateurs tend to lose balance, especially on the finish. If you’re fighting to maintain balance during or at the end of the swing, there are several reasons why this may be happening.
It begins at the address position. If you have poor posture, bending too much from the hips, or your weight is favoring the heels or toes, from the beginning you’re going to fight to maintain balance.
Swinging too aggressively from the top on the down swing is another common problem with balance. The weight moves toward the toes and you’re leaning back to prevent losing your balance.
The most familiar problem with a loss of balance is poor weight shift — the weight moves in the opposite direction than the club is swinging. For example, during the backswing the weight should shift to the inside of the back heel. The mistake occurs when the back knee locks, and the weight reverses to the front toe. This causes the spine to tilt forward, creating a reverse pivot. To compensate, your weight reverses backwards toward your back leg, causing you to fall off balance. The club and the weight must move in the same direction.
Next time when you’re taking practice swings, try to sense the weight shifting toward the inside of the back heel by maintaining a slight knee flex. Initiate the forward swing with the movement of the left ankle and knee moving towards the target. This allows the club to drop to the inside, creating momentum that carries you to a balanced finish.
The objective is to hit shots without losing balance. The end result of a more reliable balanced swing produces more consistent shots.
