A Malaska Golf Member has a question about how pressure moves into your feet, how you transition, what happens to the pressure, and the sequencing behind it. This sequencing is the same in baseball and tennis as in golf. The member needs clarification when the transition or change of direction happens.
When Mike is set up to the ball using a 5 iron, his weight is relatively balanced in his feet. As soon as Mike starts back, he puts a little pressure on his left foot, then back to his right foot and into his heel. At this point of the backswing, his right hip is out of the way, and his shoulders are almost entirely turned.
Mike has pressure in his right heel, and as momentum pushes the club to the transition point, most of the force transfers to his left foot.
As Mike starts down, he still puts pressure on his right heel and twists his foot into the ground. Now, there is less pressure on his right foot than on his left. This is about pressure and not weight shift. If you talk about weight shift, then that is all about sliding.
When you twist the right spike into the ground, and on the change of direction, it keeps the right hip back and out of the way. Keeping your hip back will be difficult if you go out to your toe. Some outstanding players, like Justin Thomas, can do that. Mike says that this is hard to do.
The change of direction must happen sooner. You shouldn’t swing to the top and stand on your right side. When Mike gets to the top, the change of direction has already happened with force now in the left foot. Mike pushes down into his left foot and pushes away on the downswing. The right heel pushes and twists to keep Mike’s right hip back.
It’s important to learn the sequencing. It’s like throwing a baseball, hitting a baseball, or hitting a tennis racket. You will make the transition at the right time with all these sports. There is no top in a golf swing.