GOLF INSTRUCTION

Golf tips: Try a bucket of water
to improve your weight shift

Noted golf instructor and columnist, Mel Sole offers golf tips for GolfInstruction.com readers on all aspects of the game.

(Dec. 12, 2006) - I was recently working with a golf student who was having a hard time shifting his weight through to his front side. Most of his shots were off the back foot as seen in the photo below.

To help him feel the correct motion I asked him to imagine he had a bucket of water and he was going to throw the water out in front of himself. (I used a basket and a golf ball for these pictures because I could not achieve the desired result with the water bucket.)

I asked him to hold the bucket with the front facing towards the target, then to swing the bucket back ...

... and through to the target without having the water splash back on him. He performed the move perfectly.

If he performed this task the way he was swinging the club earlier, this is what it would have looked like:

As you can see the water would not have gone forward!

Next, I asked him to take his club and perform the same move as with the bucket.

The improvement was instantaneous, and he now has a good weight shift.

So, if you are having trouble shifting your weight (and most high handicap golfers do), use the image of the water bucket to get the correct feel!

Mel Sole is Director of Instruction at the Phil Ritson-Mel Sole Golf School. He has more than three decades of teaching experience in South Africa, Canada and the United States. His unique approach to the mental side of golf has produced amazing results for golfers who have struggled for years. Mel's diversified roster of clients includes stars in professional sports, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and many more golfers of all ages and skill levels. GOLF Magazine consistently ranks Mell as one of the top teachers in North America. He is a teaching editor with Golf Tips Magazine and is the author of Golf Step-by-Step. Mel's lessons have been featured in Golf Digest and GOLF Magazine. For more information, call (800) 624-4653, e-mail info@ritson-sole.com or click here.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management.