I am a teaching pro, and having taught hundreds of students over the decades, I have come to the conclusion that getting weight distribution right is 80-90% of the swing until one gets to low single-digit handicap. All the stuff that we teach about positioning doesn't matter unless the weight distribution is correct.
Yeah but 95% of us viewers are hacks that cant stop chunking and thinning. You are talking to 5% of people and the 95% of us are not helped by this type of crap. TEACH US TO GET THE CLUB TO THE BALL WITHOUT CHUNKING OR THINNING. That is what plagues all of us and i am glad you at least dont talk positions but please, this is a waste of time until we can learn to swing horizontally at the right clubhead height
This is one of the most simple, concise, BEST golf swing videos I have seen. As a PGA life member and over 16000 lessons taught in the last 10 years , Balance thru the swing is one of the things I emphasize most. I would hope Everyone will notice where his hands are at the top of his back swing, off his shoulder NOT wrapped around his head. Great Job!!!!!
Hey Bill thank you for the compliment I appreciate that and your king into one of my next videos with what to do with your trail hand at the top of your swing to keep you from over swinging:)
I just tried this. Focused on a proper set up and posture then the rest was tempo and balance. I just kept saying balance before I swung. What a revelation! Took my mind off the million swing thoughts and just balance and smooth! So easy to know when you’re wrong when you wobble in the follow through!
You’re picking up what I’m putting down, that’s for sure Mark. Let the swing tell you what’s happening versus trying to force it. Find the balance and let go!
Makes total sense…I’ve recently focused on slowing down my backswing and this has improved my ball striking….now I realise it’s probably because it helps me stay balanced better than when I swung back fast!
This is a superb explanation. About 2 months ago I had a lightbulb go off to stop thinking about arms, wrists, etc. and just let the body drive everything. My only thoughts are 1.right hip rotate back 2.get to the top and set 3. left hip rotates back. The rest is left up to the natural instincts of the human mind to figure out and you'll find it does a pretty good job of dropping everything into place. Suddenly my ball striking is infinitely more consistent and I can fade and draw on demand and as a result my handicap is plummeting. A similar approach is illustrated really nicely by this drill and video. Cheers
@harryrees. That’s awesome thats my biggest fault i always worry about my arms. And my best iron shots drives etc… i never have a thought except good rotation. I need to give this a try forget my arms altogether. Glad i read this comment we shall see how it goes
@@nigelfsu good luck hope it treats you as well as it has done me! It's a weird feeling at first, feels too simple if that makes sense... I just had to trust it
Thank you for saying that, I wasn’t trying to exaggerate although I did make for a nice title but I do think it’s 100% true that it is the source of all swingers the reaction to the fighter flight either being in balanced or not
You are spot on. I call it "mental clarity" but I think it's the same. Get rid of technical thoughts, let your intuition flow. And what does our intuition produce naturally in any motion ? Balance 😮
Great advice! Balance is a fundamental. Tension free is important as well. Soft arms and wrists. Firm grip to maintain club face stability. Start moving the club with center of chest turning, not using the hands and arms to start. The arms will swing to the top and the wrists should set naturally without intention. Edited: I'd say after some practice that a "firm grip" is probably not a good description. A light grip in the fingers but keeping the club from slipping in the hands.Need to feel the weight of the club and allow it to work.
Agree. Natural gradual hinging has helped me a lot as well. Still there is this vertical component with your arms as well. Otherwise you go too deep and flat inside. Your opinion is appreciated. Thanks.
The missing link to finding my swing EVERY time I play. On the range, I spend a couple of minutes with the “grass whip”, and magically every thing comes together. Easy perfect backswing, pause at the top, and powerful shots off the middle of the club face every time. Thanks!,,
Thank you for sharing that, so glad it helped I couldn’t agree more I think it’s really the perfect moment to try to practice in your warm-ups and your practice sessions on the Range
Interesting, I get my best strokes or results when I think 60% to 70% golf swing. It is amazing to me how slow and smooth the swing feels and how good the results are
It sure is that’s one of my facilities with my business partner Devan Bonebrake hosted the golf fix on the Golf Channel, and now we are opening Studio Golf across the country our first location is in El Paso Texas and many more to come!
As I recall, the drill wasn't about balance, it was about Tiger letting his arms start to drop first in his downswing. Tiger hated the drill and it took him almost a year to get comfortable doing it.
Regardless of whether or not Butch was trying to ingrain some other feel, the net result was that Tiger was ingraining the perfect balance at the top of the swing. Not a terrible thing 🙂
@@Criscross292Again, the drill has nothing to do with "balance." It was about Tiger getting his arms to drop through in front of his body and slowing down his hips to allow this to happen. This guy is just trying to sell his idea of "balance" by using the Tiger/Harmon drill. It was not about "balance", it was about "sequencing" Tiger's swing.
I am 65 and in the past month have taken my swing speed from around LPGA averages to within 5-8% of PGA average. You just nailed the reason for me. Balance! I thought and have been told by numerous sources that the reason was keeping my weight forward. No, it is being in balance! There are times when I will be in perfect balance and hit my 7 iron 170 (on Trackman). For me this is an insane distance. The swing feels effortless, like you describe. The holy grail is to be able to replicate this at a higher percentage than 1-2 out of 10 (which actually becomes a problem on the course). I still tend to rush the initial downswing move which puts me out to in ~3-5 degrees. I can see this clearly on video.I have been struggling with this. I think the pause at the top might be the secret sauce I have been looking for. When it hit my club at max and review the video I do see a natural pause at the top and a slower start of the downswing from max top. This typically results in a more neutral path or slightly in to out. Balance N,S,E,W is the most accurate explanation I have heard. Thanks so much for this insight.
Erik, if you can hit your seven iron and 170 yards on Trackman you’re in the top 1% of golfers at any age let alone 65 you are in the top .1% of golfers 65 and over. Keep up the great work please stop and go is a great tool but your job is to really understand the feeling because the feeling is the thing you’re trying to replicate. And your key right into it that feeling Hass to be a sense of balance and describing it is north south east and west is the best way I’ve come up with to describe it I’m glad it’s resonating with you.
The balancing is just one part. The hardest would be club face impact. Most amateur golfer got it wrong and struggled to understand the right club face strike, matching your grip and right timing to release or maybe not.
Obviously impact is important, but if you’re not coming from a balance balance position your impact will be inconsistent at best. One leads to the other.
@@Maggsgolf Agree too but if that's the case,, getting the right grip before leading to upswing balancing is equally important. I still think there are several keys priorities in golf must be executed at the same time. If we neglect one of them, the whole swing will collapse.
Mike...this is white light. It is like Moe Norman without the autism. God bless him. Thank you Sir! When trying to connect a thousand swing thoughts the swing becomes like a painting by numbers. The reality of the swing is like the Nike swoosh. Collect and release. 🙏🙏🙏
The first thing you should do to improve your putting is to change your UA-cam handle. Call yourself @1Putt548 most of cutting is psychology do you believe you’re going to three Putt or do you believe you’re a great putter and the answer will be correct
I like your teaching but still don’t understand position of right hand at the top. Think I’m missing something? Could you elaborate how you get it proper position ?
One thing I’ve searched EVERYWHERE and haven’t found that I’ve wondered about is balance between ball and heel. I’m natural slightly balls of my feet biased but wondered if I should strive for more neutrality?
I haven't watched this video, but if it's not clickbait, assume this is about always maintaing balance in a certain way such as to control the rotation of the clubface on the correct path with speed. So the source of "all" errors is a failure to maintain balance or something like that. But I would say balance is a byproduct of proper posture, proper use of all muscles correctly, and proper sequencing in the firing of those muscles.
I don't understand why Tiger is the example for a good swing. He destroyed his back and his knees and had to have multiple surgeries because of it. A swing that destroys your body is not one i want to copy.
If you watch my video it was not a description of copying Tiger swing it was to notice the key moment in every swing. Tiger was just the example for the stop and go drill as he is always a powerful example in golf.
@@Maggsgolf powerful example of how to destroy your body. I just wouldn't use anyone as an example who's form basically crippled him. He's just lucky we live in modern times.
OK or trying to find your balance while trying to hit the ball will in fact turn on your fighter flight response system every time. But what do I know I’ve only been a Golf Instructor for almost 2 decades.
The second you claimed that your "fight or flight" response system is protecting you from being embarrassed I stopped the video and I'm out. That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard in my life.
If That’s one of the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard in your life, you must hang out with some really smart people, also how do you know what I said if you turned it off?
There are some really stupid golf instruction videos on UA-cam, with some absolute moron self proclaimed golf "professionals", but I have to say this one takes the cake 🍰 👏
I am a teaching pro, and having taught hundreds of students over the decades, I have come to the conclusion that getting weight distribution right is 80-90% of the swing until one gets to low single-digit handicap. All the stuff that we teach about positioning doesn't matter unless the weight distribution is correct.
You are so correct. The transition on weight forward and turning hips out of the way is 80% of swing.
Obviously I couldn’t agree more, thanks for your comments coach!!
Positions are basically useless
Yeah but 95% of us viewers are hacks that cant stop chunking and thinning. You are talking to 5% of people and the 95% of us are not helped by this type of crap. TEACH US TO GET THE CLUB TO THE BALL WITHOUT CHUNKING OR THINNING. That is what plagues all of us and i am glad you at least dont talk positions but please, this is a waste of time until we can learn to swing horizontally at the right clubhead height
This is one of the most simple, concise, BEST golf swing videos I have seen. As a PGA life member and over 16000 lessons taught in the last 10 years , Balance thru the swing is one of
the things I emphasize most. I would hope Everyone will notice where his hands are at the top of his back swing, off his shoulder NOT wrapped around his head. Great Job!!!!!
Hey Bill thank you for the compliment I appreciate that and your king into one of my next videos with what to do with your trail hand at the top of your swing to keep you from over swinging:)
Awesome endorsement!🙏
I just tried this. Focused on a proper set up and posture then the rest was tempo and balance. I just kept saying balance before I swung. What a revelation! Took my mind off the million swing thoughts and just balance and smooth! So easy to know when you’re wrong when you wobble in the follow through!
You’re picking up what I’m putting down, that’s for sure Mark. Let the swing tell you what’s happening versus trying to force it. Find the balance and let go!
Makes total sense…I’ve recently focused on slowing down my backswing and this has improved my ball striking….now I realise it’s probably because it helps me stay balanced better than when I swung back fast!
This is a superb explanation. About 2 months ago I had a lightbulb go off to stop thinking about arms, wrists, etc. and just let the body drive everything. My only thoughts are 1.right hip rotate back 2.get to the top and set 3. left hip rotates back. The rest is left up to the natural instincts of the human mind to figure out and you'll find it does a pretty good job of dropping everything into place. Suddenly my ball striking is infinitely more consistent and I can fade and draw on demand and as a result my handicap is plummeting. A similar approach is illustrated really nicely by this drill and video. Cheers
@harryrees. That’s awesome thats my biggest fault i always worry about my arms. And my best iron shots drives etc… i never have a thought except good rotation. I need to give this a try forget my arms altogether. Glad i read this comment we shall see how it goes
@@nigelfsu good luck hope it treats you as well as it has done me! It's a weird feeling at first, feels too simple if that makes sense... I just had to trust it
Loving the teamwork boys!! golfers helping golfers
The title is not an exaggeration imo. The single most important thing that led to my improvement was properly executing this thought. Well done sir.
Thank you for saying that, I wasn’t trying to exaggerate although I did make for a nice title but I do think it’s 100% true that it is the source of all swingers the reaction to the fighter flight either being in balanced or not
What a GREAT lesson! Yes, I've seen that Golf Channel clip several times, but did not understand what you have expressed. Thanks!
Golf is funny you see something over and over and all of a sudden you see it in a different way and it makes all the difference
This is similar to a drill I learned in the fall. Less effort more distance and accuracy. Love it!
Right on
Oh yes ... we have our grand opening video coming soon! Cant wait!
Best video ever!!!!!
Thank you I appreciate that, and if you like that one more are coming
This is Gold
🙏🏻 Thank you
Thank you Timothy
You are spot on. I call it "mental clarity" but I think it's the same. Get rid of technical thoughts, let your intuition flow. And what does our intuition produce naturally in any motion ? Balance 😮
Exactly!
Interesting comment about the hip speed on the take away and how it should remain the same on the downswing, through follow-thru.
Nice lesson!
Cheers Mike, took this onto the course today and it worked a treat. Heres hoping what i learned, stays. Subbed.
Thank you so much for sharing more videos to come stay tuned!
Great advice! Balance is a fundamental. Tension free is important as well. Soft arms and wrists. Firm grip to maintain club face stability. Start moving the club with center of chest turning, not using the hands and arms to start. The arms will swing to the top and the wrists should set naturally without intention. Edited: I'd say after some practice that a "firm grip" is probably not a good description. A light grip in the fingers but keeping the club from slipping in the hands.Need to feel the weight of the club and allow it to work.
Well said!
Agree. Natural gradual hinging has helped me a lot as well. Still there is this vertical component with your arms as well. Otherwise you go too deep and flat inside. Your opinion is appreciated. Thanks.
This is genius! Holy grail
Thank you Rich I really appreciate it I hope it helps!!
There is a nanosecond between day and night...isn't there? The Twilight Moment. Great Great video!
I’ve always marveled at the pro’s perfect balance at finish. Definitely going to give this a try!
I did as well I just saw it on a more basic core level and realized it was the most important thing
Wow. Wow. It's working
Keep going it keeps working :-) so happy it’s helping keep me posted on the progress! More videos to come
check out George Knudsen's book. The Natural Golf Swing. Its all about this topic
Great coach!!
Read the book. Didn’t get as much as Mike gave me from watching a few vids. Props to Mark Immelmann who introduced me to him on his podcast. 👍
The missing link to finding my swing EVERY time I play. On the range, I spend a couple of minutes with the “grass whip”, and magically every thing comes together. Easy perfect backswing, pause at the top, and powerful shots off the middle of the club face every time. Thanks!,,
Thank you for sharing that, so glad it helped I couldn’t agree more I think it’s really the perfect moment to try to practice in your warm-ups and your practice sessions on the Range
Interesting, I get my best strokes or results when I think 60% to 70% golf swing. It is amazing to me how slow and smooth the swing feels and how good the results are
Awesome
Is this the driving range in Oceanside, CA?
It sure is that’s one of my facilities with my business partner Devan Bonebrake hosted the golf fix on the Golf Channel, and now we are opening Studio Golf across the country our first location is in El Paso Texas and many more to come!
Looks like a familiar place - Great tip and explanation coach
It is!
Thank you. I know my balance is a big source of my struggles. I’ll work with more focus on it.
Really happy it’s helping give this a try I think you’ll see some real gains in your ball striking
As I recall, the drill wasn't about balance, it was about Tiger letting his arms start to drop first in his downswing. Tiger hated the drill and it took him almost a year to get comfortable doing it.
Regardless of whether or not Butch was trying to ingrain some other feel, the net result was that Tiger was ingraining the perfect balance at the top of the swing.
Not a terrible thing 🙂
Exactly Kris Kross, you have to imbalance for your arms to drop in. Balance is the central key. 🔑
Agree, I think that is the best 4 minute video in UA-cam. Most of us want or were taught to start with the lower body.
@@Criscross292Again, the drill has nothing to do with "balance." It was about Tiger getting his arms to drop through in front of his body and slowing down his hips to allow this to happen. This guy is just trying to sell his idea of "balance" by using the Tiger/Harmon drill. It was not about "balance", it was about "sequencing" Tiger's swing.
Thank you for bringing up fight or flight and embarrassment. That is a big deal and should be taught early and often.
I couldn’t agree more this to me is the most overlooked aspect of golf and it’s happening to everyone all the time
I am 65 and in the past month have taken my swing speed from around LPGA averages to within 5-8% of PGA average. You just nailed the reason for me. Balance! I thought and have been told by numerous sources that the reason was keeping my weight forward. No, it is being in balance! There are times when I will be in perfect balance and hit my 7 iron 170 (on Trackman). For me this is an insane distance. The swing feels effortless, like you describe. The holy grail is to be able to replicate this at a higher percentage than 1-2 out of 10 (which actually becomes a problem on the course).
I still tend to rush the initial downswing move which puts me out to in ~3-5 degrees. I can see this clearly on video.I have been struggling with this. I think the pause at the top might be the secret sauce I have been looking for. When it hit my club at max and review the video I do see a natural pause at the top and a slower start of the downswing from max top. This typically results in a more neutral path or slightly in to out.
Balance N,S,E,W is the most accurate explanation I have heard. Thanks so much for this insight.
Erik, if you can hit your seven iron and 170 yards on Trackman you’re in the top 1% of golfers at any age let alone 65 you are in the top .1% of golfers 65 and over. Keep up the great work please stop and go is a great tool but your job is to really understand the feeling because the feeling is the thing you’re trying to replicate. And your key right into it that feeling Hass to be a sense of balance and describing it is north south east and west is the best way I’ve come up with to describe it I’m glad it’s resonating with you.
So true 100%
Thank you
The balancing is just one part. The hardest would be club face impact. Most amateur golfer got it wrong and struggled to understand the right club face strike, matching your grip and right timing to release or maybe not.
Obviously impact is important, but if you’re not coming from a balance balance position your impact will be inconsistent at best. One leads to the other.
@@Maggsgolf Agree too but if that's the case,, getting the right grip before leading to upswing balancing is equally important. I still think there are several keys priorities in golf must be executed at the same time. If we neglect one of them, the whole swing will collapse.
If you do this these things match up automatically because you’re letting go
tiger killed in that era and his swing was effortless.. crazy explanation and i notice it takes so much more effort when Im swinging bad.
whenever my swing is off i always go back to weight shift first and it usually helps me dial back in.
Straight out of George Knudson's approach. Spot on Maggs.
Mike...this is white light. It is like Moe Norman without the autism. God bless him. Thank you Sir! When trying to connect a thousand swing thoughts the swing becomes like a painting by numbers. The reality of the swing is like the Nike swoosh. Collect and release. 🙏🙏🙏
Great video. Very helpful and makes sequencing the swing much easier! Now can you tell me how to putt? As you can see by my name, I really stink!
The first thing you should do to improve your putting is to change your UA-cam handle. Call yourself @1Putt548 most of cutting is psychology do you believe you’re going to three Putt or do you believe you’re a great putter and the answer will be correct
i see your point because i've always felt that the body being out of position and out of balance like you say causes a lot of bad shots.
Makes me think of Fred Couples too. He'll complete his swing and he's just standing there totally balanced as if he never moved.
I think you are a mind reader, Fred couples is going to be the star of my next video. Stay tuned!! it should be a good one!
yep and three back surguries later lol
I like your teaching but still don’t understand position of right hand at the top. Think I’m missing something? Could you elaborate how you get it proper position ?
the ole feet together drill is the key
Keep your swing between your feet.
Simple advice is the best I love it!
The Hideki
One thing I’ve searched EVERYWHERE and haven’t found that I’ve wondered about is balance between ball and heel.
I’m natural slightly balls of my feet biased but wondered if I should strive for more neutrality?
Just hop in the air about 1 inch in land and that is perfect balance
Your mind will automatically make you land in balance
Literally bro
Balance..turn..balance finish…got it
I haven't watched this video, but if it's not clickbait, assume this is about always maintaing balance in a certain way such as to control the rotation of the clubface on the correct path with speed. So the source of "all" errors is a failure to maintain balance or something like that. But I would say balance is a byproduct of proper posture, proper use of all muscles correctly, and proper sequencing in the firing of those muscles.
Or you could watch the video and then comment on its content as most intelligent people due.
Yes you are describing balance, try giving it a watch I am curious to see what you think about it?
I don't understand why Tiger is the example for a good swing. He destroyed his back and his knees and had to have multiple surgeries because of it. A swing that destroys your body is not one i want to copy.
If you watch my video it was not a description of copying Tiger swing it was to notice the key moment in every swing. Tiger was just the example for the stop and go drill as he is always a powerful example in golf.
@@Maggsgolf powerful example of how to destroy your body. I just wouldn't use anyone as an example who's form basically crippled him. He's just lucky we live in modern times.
Mate getting pressure into ur back foot has nothing to do with fight/flight lol
OK or trying to find your balance while trying to hit the ball will in fact turn on your fighter flight response system every time. But what do I know I’ve only been a Golf Instructor for almost 2 decades.
So i have to watch this a million times before it clicks?
No I watched it 1 million times before it clicked and now I’m trying to simplify that message so you guys can watch this once and get it
Always wondered what happened to that construction worker from The Village People
Why does Victor Hovlind always look like he has a cold?
The second you claimed that your "fight or flight" response system is protecting you from being embarrassed I stopped the video and I'm out. That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard in my life.
If That’s one of the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard in your life, you must hang out with some really smart people, also how do you know what I said if you turned it off?
Butch will strongly disagree.
There are some really stupid golf instruction videos on UA-cam, with some absolute moron self proclaimed golf "professionals", but I have to say this one takes the cake 🍰 👏
Do you have any evidence or do you just offer criticism without any original thought?
@@Maggsgolfafter 6 days I’d say it’s B
Garbage
I approve of this message
Never hit off a mat if you want to play better. First mistake.
I find it helps to shallow out my attack angle.