Golf: Fault No. 6

This one is one of the more interesting faults because there are so many opinions about how to distribute your weight along the bottom of your feet. There is one thing that everyone is 100% in agreement on: do not let your weight get on your toes in the address position. This is fault no. 6, allowing the weight to get on the toes at the address position. According to most instruction, there are three ways you can have your weight distributed under your feet. Having your weight on the balls of your feet is still the most popular. The second one that is gaining traction is to feel that your weight is heaviest just below the arch of your foot. The final advice is to have your weight mostly on your heels as you address the ball. This is by far the least popular recommendation, but the major advocate of putting your weight toward the heels was Ken Venturi. I am just glad the foot is not any bigger so there is not a fourth way to distribute the weight.

The big fault here is letting your weight get on your toes. You have a tendency to do this because you are leaning over to get down to the ball. The way to avoid this is to make sure that you can wiggle your toes at address. You cannot do this if you are putting too much weight on the front of your foot. Which way should you distribute your weight? I would give all three a try to see which one seems to give you the most relaxed swing. There are advantages and disadvantages to all three ways to stand at address. Having weight on the balls of your feet is the standard athletic position. It seems to put the body in a very good position to move. A problem can develop because the ball of the foot is not that far away from the toes. Just a slight move toward the front of the foot will get the weight toward the toes, which will restrict the turn in the golf swing. Having your weight over the arch of the foot is another way of saying that you want to distribute your weight evenly over the foot. This is not all bad, but sometimes this makes your foot overly attached to the ground. This can make your swing a little restrictive. Having your weight on the heels really allows your body to turn. The problem with having the weight toward the heels is that it sometimes becomes difficult to maintain your balance during the swing. Find the one that works best for you and remember to stay off those damn toes. The next fault ties in with the weight distribution problem, just like a lack of turn ties in with not finishing the backswing. See you next time.