Backswing Load and Flex

By | on November 7, 2014 | 21 Comments |


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Paul Wilson is the creator of Swing Machine Golf and founder of Ignition Golf. Paul's golf swing technique is based on the Iron Byron swing machine. YouTube Channels: Paul Wilson Golf and Ignition Golf Tips. Please Join me on Google+

21 Responses to “Backswing Load and Flex”

  1. January 18, 2013

    HermanKoh

    Hi Paul,

    I noticed that my back leg is not as bent(almost straight) compared to as it was as set up. Would this cause any problems with my stroke as I have also noticed that I have been hitting quite a few shots fat especially with the longer clubs. Is this acceptable? or do you want the back leg exactly as it was during set-up? Tq.

    Herman

    • January 18, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Herman, This tip just explained that this was a serious problem because the leg is out of position. If it is out of position it is difficult to start the lower body first in the downswing. Work on keeping the same flex you had at address.

      The fat shots are caused by having too much weight on the back foot at impact.

      Watch:

      Fat: https://ignitiongolf.com/fat-shots-cure

  2. January 18, 2013

    barrybower

    Hi Paul Does it hurt to preset the weight slightly on the instep heel area prior to starting the backswing ,then gradually getting the 80% there at the top.

    • January 18, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Barry,

      You should not be presetting the weight on this foot at address. This never works and it causes people to start leaning too much behind the ball at set up. Keep the weight 50/50 and load onto this leg as you hit the top of the backswing.

  3. January 18, 2013

    MichaelBlock

    Hi Paul,

    On chips and short pitches do you still have 80% of weight on the right foot instep?

    • January 18, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Michael,

      For chipping you would have 70% of the weight on the left foot throughout the whole stroke.

      Watch:

      How to Chip: https://ignitiongolf.com/chipping-how

      For pitching this would depend on the length of the backswing. For a full swing yes the weight would load 80%. If you abbreviate the backswing length for medium or short pitch shots you would not shift as much weight to the back foot.

      • January 19, 2013

        MichaelBlock

        Hi Paul:

        I thank you for the link. In the past I was the guy who always used an 8 iron. This tip you gave in the link is huge to improve the higher handicappers game.

  4. January 18, 2013

    richmosney

    good evening paul..puzzling question.when i swing back,rt. arm only,no problem,wt stays on inside of rt instep..but,when i add left arm to club and swing back,swaying occurs and wt goes to outside of rt leg.it seems to me that swing plane is too much to the inside with two arms,as compared to a correct plane with one arm only..your recommendations.please!

    • January 18, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Rich,

      When the club goes back too much tot he inside you are pulling the club back with the back hand (right in a right handed golf swing). Here is the easier way to master the one-piece takeaway and stop it from going inside:

      Watch:

      One Piece Takeaway: https://ignitiongolf.com/master-one-piece-takeaway

      To get the weight on the instep you need to allow the head to move back and you need to be coiling on the proper angle. I get the feeling that when you put the other hand on the club you are keeping your head too still. This is causing a steep shoulder turn and the sway to the outside of the foot. This is tricky to fix. It is going to take a lot of practice swings. You should be watching your head move back and feeling the weight load onto this leg. This would be the most important thing to work on. Once you get this then work on the one-piece takeaway.

      Watch:

      Move Head: https://ignitiongolf.com/move-head-back

      And:

      Rotational Angle: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-rotational-angle

      Turn Back on the Right Angle: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-helicopter-blades/

  5. January 18, 2013

    JaySchwarz

    Paul,

    Lots of golf literature talks about the need for a smooth and slow transition. Is that nothing more than the result of powering the downswing with the lower body? It seems to me that if your arms are truly powerless, it would appear that they start down slow and smooth, but that it’s really the legs and hips that are making it happen.

    Thanks!

    • January 18, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Jay,

      I am using my lower body to power the swing. My swing looks easy. If your body is telling the club how fast to swing your swing would look slow. This is because the body in a golf swing does not even rotate at 3mph. If the body is moving this slow and it is telling your arms how fast to come down your swing would look slow. For those people who have a fast looking swing I know they are using their arms because they cannot turn their body that fast in life to make the arms swing that fast. So turn off the arms and use the body to power then swing. Once you do, your swing will look slow.

      Watch:

      Tempo: https://ignitiongolf.com/golf-swing-tempo

      • January 19, 2013

        JaySchwarz

        Paul,

        Thanks. I completely get that. I guess I’m just wondering if a lot of what golf “experts” are kind of missing the point. Are they seeing the result of powerless arms, and instead of talking about how the lower body works, they are trying to talk about what they see as the downswing begins?

        In other words, are they describing the result instead of what caused it? So, tips like “Start the downswing as slow as you start the backswing” are completely unnecessary if you turn off the arms and power it with the hips and legs?

        Hope that’s clear.

        • January 20, 2013

          Paul Wilson

          Jay,

          That’s right. If you are not using your arms you would have to use your body because you have not other way of swinging the club. Different teachers have different thoughts on the swing. I am using Iron Byron others are not so our styles will vary.

  6. January 18, 2013

    LawrencePerry

    Great lesson, you continue to stress and explain the fundamentals of the golf swing. This has helped me a lot to understand and improve my swing.
    Thanks.

    • January 18, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Lawrence,

      Thanks. Glad you liked it. Half of becoming a better player is understanding what you are supposed to be doing. The more you understand the more you will avoid working on things that you do not need to work on.

  7. January 24, 2013

    RandyGorman

    I finally went to a workout center and used their floor to wall mirrors and while my back leg/knee remained flexed, I noticed my front knee was a bit ahead of the back knee at the top of the back swing. I realized that my hips/belt buckle was turned passed 45 degrees. I also noticed at the top, my club head was pointing back to the right which I am guessing could lead to a push. I suspect it is human nature for the front knee to stick out past the back knee because it reduces the stress on the torque we should achieve.

    Should both knees be in exact alignment (and flexed), realizing they are angled to the right (half the angle of your hips)? When I force this to happen I noticed significant stress and torque and also notice the club head is more straight back over my shoulders, but also uncomfortable and more difficult right now to pull the trigger and turn the lower body. I believe you have covered this in previous videos about not being able to see a gap between the knees (from back looking forward), but don’t remember if you were focusing on knee flex or knee alignment.

    Randy

    • January 24, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Randy,

      From the side view the front knee would appear to be ahead of the flexed back knee because you are turning. If you are purposely moving this knee too much then its a problem. So keep working on the flex of the back knee and turning the hips no more than 45 degrees. If you do the other left should be fine.

      Take a look a my swing or pros from down the line and you will see the forward knee.

  8. December 30, 2013

    AndrewMah

    Hi Paul.

    Just wanted to check with you if it is ok for me to
    Turn in my right foot say 5 degrees to promote the feeling of keeping the right knee flexed throughout the backswing?

    As long as this does not alter my alignment and I continue to think ‘ touch knees/ touch head’, do you see any issues with this little drill to encourage the right knee flex?

    Cheers
    Andrew

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    November 18, 2014

    Bradley

    Paul, another great lesson and one that pays dividends. This site shows us the where’s, the how-to’s and more importantly, the why’s of prep steps and execution of a good golf swing. For those of us who are not “naturals” this type of instruction is very important. Your tips and especially the “feel good” tips are making me more confident in my game and allows me to see and correct issues before they become a part of my game. Moreover, practicing these steps as you present them helps me to develop the proper muscle memory I need to get repeatability. Thanks!

    Keep them coming my friend!
    Cheers!

    • November 18, 2014

      Paul Wilson

      Bradley,

      Glad you like them. I appreciate it. Tonight is the last one on feelings.

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