Hi, I noticed that in a couple of tips you said that the trigger for you is pushing off with your right foot. A pro had once tried to show me this, but I could not get the timing since at the time I was using my arms which I don’t now. So the reason you teach bringing the right leg to the left knee is because it’s easier to learn? A friend does the pushing off with the right foot and plays beautifully but perhaps it’s more difficult to learn? Thank you very much. Michelle
I teach bringing the right leg to touch the left so you turn and shift your weight. If they are touching you can then remember the position and do it exactly the same every time. Do a different swing and you will get a different result.
You can use whatever trigger works for you. This is why I give people 3/4 different triggers.
Hi Paul,
Does it seem that you have a little more momentum when you use the right leg as a trigger? When I throw a ball, I do seem to push off my right leg. I’ve been actually using the straightening of my left leg as a trigger, because I think it prevents me from moving forward. It just seems like a smaller movement and maybe I don’t generate enough lower body energy. Does it make any difference ?
Danny
I find that using the right instep as the trigger allows my to fully use the weight I loaded on the right instep to turn my body circular. Not sure if it is a momentum thing as opposed to a driving harder thing. I cannot do it with the left leg trigger. I am right sided so I like feeling the weight come off this side. Just try both and use the one you feel works best.
I am doing the movements properly but some shots I am thinning I still find it hard to not come out of some shots when driving my lower body today I hit some great shots with a lovely divot and ball stopped sharply on green.
I would like to work on drills to stop coming out of my shots I have forgotten the drills you made
Keep up the great work Thanks
Hi Paul,
I can sure relate to this tip. I had a 235yds to a par 5 in a best ball tourney last weekend. With a fair amount of
people around I flat out topped it. Between swinging too hard and raising up I feel I learned from this shot. I took
a video of my swing after the tourney and noticed my head coming up on the back swing also which I imagine is
not a good thing. Any thoughts on trying to correct this problem. Seems like I have way too many thoughts going
through my head before I swing.
On a positive note my handicap has dropped from 10 to 7 since I have been following your tips.
You were just trying to be the hero. As I just said to the Paul below you need to be thinking of the movement and doing it exactly the same every time at a level you can do it at. Once you do you can then go a little faster. In a situation like that you should have been telling yourself to swing at 50%.
As for the “triggers “there are so many you CAN get lost!The easiest to remember are ,in my opinion the popular “Bump forward “of the left hip or the pulling of the left knee (or leg )forwards .
You should point out that before starting the downswing there is the “Squat “or ” sitting on the bar stool “movement .
Because you see a few pros squatting does not mean that everyone should be squatting. I have never thought about doing this in my life and I certainly do not do this. Why not make the golf swing simple so people can actually play better. Get them thinking about this and it will be a disaster.
Paul,
Went to do a fitting today. My club head speed is 77-78 MPH. It has actually slowed down some. On course I hit the ball very straight unless I raise my chest ot roll over the top. Still am not able to raise hands very high over my head. Drives run out at about 190 to 210. 5 iron 150 yards. Shooting upper 70’s from 6000 to 6200 yards. Any ideas on increasing distance?
Thanks for working with me. Rod
I have a whole section on Power. Just search for it in the red navigation bar.
Basically, you need to loosen your wrists so the club whips faster. In loosening you should be getting more lag angle. Then this has to be connected to something which is your body rotation.
I can only tell people so many times to do these drills. Make sure you are constantly doing them:
Thanks for this video tip about how to “straighten the left leg” to trigger the hip-turn needed for an effortless golf swing. I have tried it, like it a lot and told others about what I see as its advantages. One of my golfing buddies says his golf instructor has cautioned him against straightening his front leg to start the hip-turn because doing that, the instructor claims, can lead to serious leg and knee injuries. So, he tells my friend to keep some flex in his front leg until he finishes the swing and is, in effect, posing as he looks at the target. And, of course, I know that Tiger needed knee surgery to repair his left knee so that concerns me though since I am almost 70 (but in good health for my age), I will never be able to apply Tiger-like force to my front knee. I like your analogy to the baseball toss naturally finishing with a straight left leg because as a pitcher and shortstop for many years I know it never injured my knees — but I would like your reassurance that at my age I am not making a risky move if I straighten my left leg to trigger my hips.
I will be playing Bear’s Best the end of this month (October, 2013) so I hope to drop in to thank you in person for the excellent insights into the golf swing you have provided me as a member of Ignition Golf. I have had many excellent golf instructors –including 3 always in Golf Digest’s Top 100 list — and yet none has given me as much help morphing my upper body driven swing into a hip driven swing as you have.
Thank you for your kind words about my teaching. I truly appreciate it.
If you snap the leg like Tiger Woods then you may hurt your knee. I highly doubt you will even come close to this. I have done it for well over 20 years as hard as I can without a problem.
If you keep the flex in the knee you will move too much laterally. Although there is some lateral in the swing I do not want you to move too much. I want you thinking about turning and let the lateral occur on its own.
Let me know when you get to town. It would be great to meet you.
PaUL
GREAT TIP. HOWEVER, I AM LEFT-HAND DOMINANT, BUT PLAY GOLF RIGHT HANDED. HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TO THROW A BALL WITH YOUR OPPOSITE HAND? It simply does not work the way that you demonstrate. It is more like my oldest daughter used to throw a ball. Just an observation
Just do the drill with your hands on your hips. This will give you the same result. Then you are going to have to get used to it because if you are right handed this will certainly feel different.
Hi Paul I have just joined and have found your way of teaching very usual and it has already improved my golf
but i still have bad rounds or a bad 9 holes then a good 9. What i find hard to do is to know at what stage do I start
bring the golf club down with my arms after I moved my lower part ? rgds David Gallagher
You are not bringing the club down with your arms at all. You are bring the club down wit your body. Your arms are connected to your body. When you turn your bod your powerless arms will move down to hit the ball. Want more power? Turn faster. NEVER hit harder.
I think you need to watch some more videos and get a little more knowledge about creating powerless arms. You can find some of these tips by searching:
My swing looks great, I am finishing with my legs touching, my golf club is at the proper angle in back of my head, but I cannot get the circular motion with my hips. I am moving forward causing me to sometimes hit the ball right off target. I thought I was turning properly until my friends told me I was moving forward first.
Paul
I have just gotten rid of my favourite everyday and indoor practice shoes . For the last couple of years I have made many thousands of practice swings ,all triggered by straightening my left leg . My right shoe (trailing leg ) wore through to the innersole exactly under the ball of my big toe and then spread sideways a bit . My left shoe did not wear through at all .This shows that the right leg is the driving force no matter what the trigger is even if it does not feel that way . By the way -love the ‘say yes ” concept -it has brought discipline to my practice regime.
Cheers–Ian
Do you still have the shoes. I would like a picture of them.
Yes, the weight does have to come off of this back foot. Interesting it wore through your shoes. Good job. You are someone working hard on your swing. Hopefully, it is paying off.
Slide would cause the club to attack to much from the side resulting in pushes and push fades (these can be equally as back).
It is a turn and a shift. I don’t need you to think shift because you are going to end up on the tip of the back toe with legs touching. You cannot get there without shifting. So I know you are going to shift. What I don’t know is are you going to turn. So from the top I need you thinking TURN not SHIFT. Hope this clarifies it.
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26 Responses to “It Is a Turn Not A Jump”
June 12, 2013
Steven DHey Paul:
I’d never thought of jumping up in the downswing but I’ll try it tomorrow. NOT!!
Thanks for a great tip nonetheless.
June 12, 2013
Paul WilsonSteven,
NOT is right!
June 12, 2013
MichelleRichardsonHi, I noticed that in a couple of tips you said that the trigger for you is pushing off with your right foot. A pro had once tried to show me this, but I could not get the timing since at the time I was using my arms which I don’t now. So the reason you teach bringing the right leg to the left knee is because it’s easier to learn? A friend does the pushing off with the right foot and plays beautifully but perhaps it’s more difficult to learn? Thank you very much. Michelle
June 12, 2013
Paul WilsonMichelle,
I teach bringing the right leg to touch the left so you turn and shift your weight. If they are touching you can then remember the position and do it exactly the same every time. Do a different swing and you will get a different result.
You can use whatever trigger works for you. This is why I give people 3/4 different triggers.
June 12, 2013
DannyBenjaminHi Paul,
Does it seem that you have a little more momentum when you use the right leg as a trigger? When I throw a ball, I do seem to push off my right leg. I’ve been actually using the straightening of my left leg as a trigger, because I think it prevents me from moving forward. It just seems like a smaller movement and maybe I don’t generate enough lower body energy. Does it make any difference ?
Danny
June 12, 2013
Paul WilsonDanny,
I find that using the right instep as the trigger allows my to fully use the weight I loaded on the right instep to turn my body circular. Not sure if it is a momentum thing as opposed to a driving harder thing. I cannot do it with the left leg trigger. I am right sided so I like feeling the weight come off this side. Just try both and use the one you feel works best.
June 12, 2013
paulelliottPaul,
I am doing the movements properly but some shots I am thinning I still find it hard to not come out of some shots when driving my lower body today I hit some great shots with a lovely divot and ball stopped sharply on green.
I would like to work on drills to stop coming out of my shots I have forgotten the drills you made
Keep up the great work Thanks
June 12, 2013
Paul WilsonPaul,
Here you go:
Spine Angle Follow Through: https://ignitiongolf.com/follow-through-eyes-tilted
Topping: https://ignitiongolf.com/stop-topping-golf-ball
Focus on repeating perfect movement not going as hard as you can. Once you get a little more consistent you can then increase it a little.
June 12, 2013
BrienRicciHi Paul,
I can sure relate to this tip. I had a 235yds to a par 5 in a best ball tourney last weekend. With a fair amount of
people around I flat out topped it. Between swinging too hard and raising up I feel I learned from this shot. I took
a video of my swing after the tourney and noticed my head coming up on the back swing also which I imagine is
not a good thing. Any thoughts on trying to correct this problem. Seems like I have way too many thoughts going
through my head before I swing.
On a positive note my handicap has dropped from 10 to 7 since I have been following your tips.
Thanks for the help – Brien
June 12, 2013
Paul WilsonBrien,
You were just trying to be the hero. As I just said to the Paul below you need to be thinking of the movement and doing it exactly the same every time at a level you can do it at. Once you do you can then go a little faster. In a situation like that you should have been telling yourself to swing at 50%.
Watch:
Stop Topping Your Fairway Woods: https://ignitiongolf.com/stop-topping-fairway-woods/
June 12, 2013
RaymondCHASTELAs for the “triggers “there are so many you CAN get lost!The easiest to remember are ,in my opinion the popular “Bump forward “of the left hip or the pulling of the left knee (or leg )forwards .
You should point out that before starting the downswing there is the “Squat “or ” sitting on the bar stool “movement .
June 12, 2013
Paul WilsonRay,
Because you see a few pros squatting does not mean that everyone should be squatting. I have never thought about doing this in my life and I certainly do not do this. Why not make the golf swing simple so people can actually play better. Get them thinking about this and it will be a disaster.
June 13, 2013
RodThompsonPaul,
Went to do a fitting today. My club head speed is 77-78 MPH. It has actually slowed down some. On course I hit the ball very straight unless I raise my chest ot roll over the top. Still am not able to raise hands very high over my head. Drives run out at about 190 to 210. 5 iron 150 yards. Shooting upper 70’s from 6000 to 6200 yards. Any ideas on increasing distance?
Thanks for working with me. Rod
June 14, 2013
Paul WilsonRod,
I have a whole section on Power. Just search for it in the red navigation bar.
Basically, you need to loosen your wrists so the club whips faster. In loosening you should be getting more lag angle. Then this has to be connected to something which is your body rotation.
I can only tell people so many times to do these drills. Make sure you are constantly doing them:
DRILL: Swing Off Ground: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-swing-off-ground
Drill: Swing Off Ground Variation: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-variation-favorite-drill/
Drill: My Favorite Drill
October 10, 2013
JimMerwin10-9-13
Paul,
Thanks for this video tip about how to “straighten the left leg” to trigger the hip-turn needed for an effortless golf swing. I have tried it, like it a lot and told others about what I see as its advantages. One of my golfing buddies says his golf instructor has cautioned him against straightening his front leg to start the hip-turn because doing that, the instructor claims, can lead to serious leg and knee injuries. So, he tells my friend to keep some flex in his front leg until he finishes the swing and is, in effect, posing as he looks at the target. And, of course, I know that Tiger needed knee surgery to repair his left knee so that concerns me though since I am almost 70 (but in good health for my age), I will never be able to apply Tiger-like force to my front knee. I like your analogy to the baseball toss naturally finishing with a straight left leg because as a pitcher and shortstop for many years I know it never injured my knees — but I would like your reassurance that at my age I am not making a risky move if I straighten my left leg to trigger my hips.
I will be playing Bear’s Best the end of this month (October, 2013) so I hope to drop in to thank you in person for the excellent insights into the golf swing you have provided me as a member of Ignition Golf. I have had many excellent golf instructors –including 3 always in Golf Digest’s Top 100 list — and yet none has given me as much help morphing my upper body driven swing into a hip driven swing as you have.
Thanks for all you insights.
Jim Merwin
October 11, 2013
Paul WilsonJim,
Thank you for your kind words about my teaching. I truly appreciate it.
If you snap the leg like Tiger Woods then you may hurt your knee. I highly doubt you will even come close to this. I have done it for well over 20 years as hard as I can without a problem.
If you keep the flex in the knee you will move too much laterally. Although there is some lateral in the swing I do not want you to move too much. I want you thinking about turning and let the lateral occur on its own.
Let me know when you get to town. It would be great to meet you.
April 2, 2014
DonaldCorbyPaUL
GREAT TIP. HOWEVER, I AM LEFT-HAND DOMINANT, BUT PLAY GOLF RIGHT HANDED. HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TO THROW A BALL WITH YOUR OPPOSITE HAND? It simply does not work the way that you demonstrate. It is more like my oldest daughter used to throw a ball. Just an observation
April 2, 2014
Paul WilsonDonald,
Just do the drill with your hands on your hips. This will give you the same result. Then you are going to have to get used to it because if you are right handed this will certainly feel different.
April 18, 2014
davidgallagherHi Paul I have just joined and have found your way of teaching very usual and it has already improved my golf
but i still have bad rounds or a bad 9 holes then a good 9. What i find hard to do is to know at what stage do I start
bring the golf club down with my arms after I moved my lower part ? rgds David Gallagher
April 19, 2014
Paul WilsonDavid,
You are not bringing the club down with your arms at all. You are bring the club down wit your body. Your arms are connected to your body. When you turn your bod your powerless arms will move down to hit the ball. Want more power? Turn faster. NEVER hit harder.
I think you need to watch some more videos and get a little more knowledge about creating powerless arms. You can find some of these tips by searching:
SWING TIPS > POWERLESS ARMS
Also, here are the ones on coiling and uncoiling
Coiling: https://ignitiongolf.com/learn-coil-backswing
Uncoil 1: https://ignitiongolf.com/uncoil
Uncoil 2: https://ignitiongolf.com/uncoil-follow-up
Move Head: https://ignitiongolf.com/move-head-back/
April 28, 2014
geraldkoenningMy swing looks great, I am finishing with my legs touching, my golf club is at the proper angle in back of my head, but I cannot get the circular motion with my hips. I am moving forward causing me to sometimes hit the ball right off target. I thought I was turning properly until my friends told me I was moving forward first.
April 29, 2014
Paul WilsonGerald,
So you are sliding. You need to get the lead leg locking.
Watch:
It
June 16, 2017
IanCarolinePaul
I have just gotten rid of my favourite everyday and indoor practice shoes . For the last couple of years I have made many thousands of practice swings ,all triggered by straightening my left leg . My right shoe (trailing leg ) wore through to the innersole exactly under the ball of my big toe and then spread sideways a bit . My left shoe did not wear through at all .This shows that the right leg is the driving force no matter what the trigger is even if it does not feel that way . By the way -love the ‘say yes ” concept -it has brought discipline to my practice regime.
Cheers–Ian
June 19, 2017
Paul WilsonIan,
Do you still have the shoes. I would like a picture of them.
Yes, the weight does have to come off of this back foot. Interesting it wore through your shoes. Good job. You are someone working hard on your swing. Hopefully, it is paying off.
June 18, 2017
JAMESPATERASHi Paul,
for driver\woos does the turn rather
than tilt back (slide)
cause an “over the top” swing?
thanks
June 19, 2017
Paul WilsonJames,
Over the top is you hitting with arms from the top. This can be coupled with you immediately shifting your weight to the left leg.
Shifting Weight Too Soon To Forward Leg: https://ignitiongolf.com/shifting-too-soon-forward-leg/
Slide would cause the club to attack to much from the side resulting in pushes and push fades (these can be equally as back).
It is a turn and a shift. I don’t need you to think shift because you are going to end up on the tip of the back toe with legs touching. You cannot get there without shifting. So I know you are going to shift. What I don’t know is are you going to turn. So from the top I need you thinking TURN not SHIFT. Hope this clarifies it.