Left-foot only drill will help all golfers stay centered

During the early part of the last century, there was an accomplished player and teacher named Ernest Jones.  I say accomplished because, before losing his right leg during battle in the first World War, he was able to set several scoring records on golf curses throughout the Northeast.  What’s more amazing is that after returning home from war in 1918, he set even more.

Jones used his crutches to get to the ball.  He would drop them and address the ball and swing.  He found that what he may have lost in stability was more than made up for in the fact he could no longer sway.  In other words, being on one leg demanded he stay absolutely centered as he swung and that made it easy to hit the ball cleanly every time.

All of us could benefit from this principle; that is, centeredness.  I have a drill that will allow you to determine if you suffer from too much sway in your swing.  In addition, this drill will teach you how to stay centered and show you the importance of doing so.

The first thing is to set up as you normally would without a golf ball.  From there, take your right toe and place it on the ground behind your left foot.  Not too much weight should go to your right foot as you then take a few practice swings.  If you feel yourself start to fall over, there is a good chance this drill can be of benefit to you.

Now it is time for the ball.  Tee it up off your left foot and make some three-quarter swings with an 8-iron.  After you can do this in perfect balance, swing longer and more fully.  Once you feel comfortable enough to make full swings, play around with that right foot by holding it off the ground while you swing.  Then mix it up by lightly tapping it while you swing.  To get the most out of this drill, you should work at it enough so you can do anything you want with the right foot.  This will indicate you have overcome any tendency to move your spine during mid-swing.

Now it’s time to take what you have learned and make it work with a normal stance. Address the ball as you normally would and hit some shots with an 8-iron while still maintaining this same degree of “spine centeredness.”  It should be a great deal easier for you to do this, having returned from a posture that demanded it of you.

This is a drill I highly recommend for short shots, too.  The sway, if damaging to your full swing, is doubly damaging to smaller swings that don’t offer you as much time to correct your spine position before impact.  This is especially true for those widely dreaded half-wedge shots of around 60 yards.  I also recommend you practice this drill any time you suffer from repeated mis-hits.  Not finding the middle of the club-face can be a product of swaying off the ball and then not timing it perfectly on the way back.  Practicing this drill can be a real eye-opener for the student who is looking to create a cleaner, more consistent impact.